Bisous Artist & Owner Suzanne Carillo & All That It's About

Cut it Up!

I know lots of people that hate to cover any of the Bisous' papers...let alone cut it up but I wanted to show you just how different it can be once you get over the fear and cut away. These layouts only use one sheet of the Bisous paper and one piece of cardstock. On the layout titled Explore I have used the paper behind the photo to make the tree and add the flowers on the upper right. Since the paper is double sided I got the pink flowers from the other side of the paper which happens to work well with my layout. It's only your imagination that limits the amount of use you get out of the product.

Inspiration in Bacon

I was in NYC on the weekend and had the chance to see the current Francis Bacon exhibit as well as the Fashion exhibit "The Model as Muse" at the Met. While both were filled with unique perspectives on life the Francis Bacon exhibit was filled with the kind of fascinating dread that only suffering artists seem best able to express.

I have long been a fan of Bacon and his path to the dark and tortured side of existence. His caged forms screaming in anguish challenge the boundaries of art and obscenity. There is something strangely compelling in his twisted creations. Something visceral that cuts to the core of humanity. I loved the exhibit, even if I was a bit morose after wards. Sometimes sombre thoughts fuel creativity.

In sharp contrast the fashion exhibit, "The Model as Muse" was all about society's changing views of ideal beauty with regard to the female form and fashion. It was interesting to see that in the 40's models were women, not girls. Now we are exposed to children or teenagers as women and the body image that is associated with 15 year old rather than a woman. It is unfortunate that men are not subjected to the same standards as women. The photos in this exhibit were stunning.

Licensing Bummer

Well I had my hopes up that this would be the year I finally make it to the Licensing International Expo  held in Vegas in June. Normally it was held in NYC. This year in an effort to reduce the cost to exhibitors they changed the venue and went to Vegas which they said reduced the pricing by 60%. Even with that reduction the cost is still an incredible $4,600. WAY too pricey when you add in the cost of flight, hotel and food when I'm flying from the east. I'm bummed. I have been designing like crazy lately and some of the stuff would be so perfect for journals, cards, or fabric. Here is a little peek at one of the many new designs I've been creating lately....and if anyone is interested in licensing...let me know.

Fashion Junkie

Yes, I'll admit it...I'm a fashion junkie. I was excited to get VIP passes to the opening night shows and gala at Fashion Week Toronto.

The designer that opened the show is David Dixon who created 2 lines, one to celebrate Barbie's birthday and another Fall/Winter 2009 collection. Normally when you see these things only 25% of the clothes are actually wearable by the average person but I have to say this show 99% were. They were gorgeous. Hounds-tooth seems to be making a comeback. Black, white and grey were everywhere with a spattering of pink and deep cranberry. Iridescence was abound. There was a stunning tree/leaf patterns on one of the fabrics used that was so elegant. Feathers seem to be making a comeback as well. Over-sized jewelry is bigger and bigger all the time. Seems like the "short" pants are still in.

We had the best seats in the house...thanks Stephen from LG! And we got 2 collectibles Barbie originals...kind of a cool party gift.  You can see the fashion show here Toronto Fashion Week Opening Night if you look closely enough you can see both Robert and myself in a couple of the shots on the video.

   

 

 

 

A Challenge To Win Some New Bisous Products

See Tristann Graves' Life's a Journey blog at http://tristanngraves.wordpress.com/

8 x 8 March 21st Mini Album Class

Here is the PDQ Hot mini album I will be teaching at the Scrapping Turtle in St. Jacobs ON on March 21st. If you want info or would like to book your spot contact Hanna.

Classes I'm teaching

Here are 5 of the layouts I'll be teaching on March 21st at the Scrapping Turtle in St. Jacobs ON. You can contact Hanna if you're interested in attending. I know we only have room for 18 students for each class and I will be teaching 2 classes. One will be these layouts, the other will be a mini book I will post later.  Hope to see you there!

 

Eye Candy...or junk.

Well every time after I get my orders out from CHA I get this big urge to start designing again. I thought I would work in Illustrator for a change but decided in the end to stick to my favorite...the pencil and paper. Did up some sketches and then put this together. Not sure what I will make of it in the morning...things always look different after you have left them for a while. I've been working on this for about 6 hours now... time to walk away and see it with fresh eyes in the morning. It may be great or not...but it has got my creative juices flowing again.

Is "cute" the new "black"?

Just having a look around at a few new hip websites and I am noticing more and more that people are back in love with the word "cute". Not more than a year ago this word was a big no no amongst the "in" crafting and scrapbooking crowds. Cute was banished to the infamous "cute bunny" syndrome that they said all crafting and scrapbooking was based on and would be its demise.  Anyone in their right mind had turned their backs on anything "cute" or whimsical instead focusing only on sophisticated, artsy or eclectic.  No more animals, cartoons or faces in designs. These were considered to be in very poor taste, oh-so-lame and very yesterday. Now apparently the tides have changed and we are back to what can only be described as "Hello Kitty" cute. Over-the-top cute. Extreme pink cute. Is this the Asian influence on markets as they are obsessed with this style? How long with this new cute last? 

Tailored Line

Thought I would post a couple of layouts done with one of the older PDQ lines called Tailored. The colors go perfectly with the photos I think.