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

Clarity in the Garden

I've been spending too much time working...again.  I know this because the other day I walked around my yard and found that it is now overrun with weeds.  This is the same garden I spent days planting the annuals and perennials, meticulously digging new beds, cleaning out old beds and even spent a few hours putting together a wheel barrel ( my husband was out of town so I couldn't get him to put the darn thing together) so that I could haul all the different dirts, mulches and mixes around. This same garden has in the past 2 weeks turned into a wild jungle full of prickly weeds, insatiable slugs and spotty grass.  There are strange vines actually growing in my grass now.  It's all pointing to one thing...I have neglected my garden, my place closest to tranquility in favor of work.  Sitting in front of a computer, by a phone and fax, dealing with numbers and orders. I know for a fact that when I die I will most surely think that I should have spent more time in my garden. 

When is Done Done?

This is often a question I ask myself.  I think that by definition, a truly great artist knows when they've gone overboard.  They just stepped over the line between "insightful" and gone directly to "distasteful".  Lately I've been getting "caught up" in the "more is better" attitude of scrapbooking.  I find my layouts are cluttered and heavy. Too many bits and pieces.  More squiggles, more layers, more embellishments, more everything! I'm trying to put an entire lifetime onto one layout.  It's time to STOP THE MADNESS!  Give the eyes a break. Leave some empty space.  Not every inch of that layout needs to have something in it.   Now I am trying to think each time that I place an item on the page... what is this doing there? Is it adding to the message I am trying to communicate? Or is it simply filling up space? Look at your layout quickly, turn away and look again.  Squint. It'll help you decide if you eyes are drawn to the focal point you have created, or if your eyes are simply wandering throughout the page, lost in the tangle of doodads and stuff that has been added.  If so, take some of it off.   Your layout will be focused and articulate.   When I saw this layout created with the PDQ Tailored paper by  Wendy Smedley it made me think of just how great that type of a layout can be.

Good Neighbors

We moved into our neighborhood around 10 months ago.  It's a nice quiet  place in the suburbs outside of Toronto.  We have a nice yard, garden, our very own trees and an amazing house.  Lucky for us the previous owners did all the upgrades and renovations and we were able to move right in without having to change much at all. 

Although we LOVE the house, gourmet kitchen, fireplace, loads of space...even for all my tons of business stuff, by far the greatest thing has to be our neighbors.  These are the type you read about but normally never meet.  The kind that make you say, "geez, I want to be grow up to be just like him/her". 

We've lived in plenty of fancy neighborhoods, Montreal, Victoria, Quebec City, Edmonton, France, Nice, Toronto etc, but never have I had a neighbor come over and actually help me offer to move over 100 35 lb boxes into my basement.  Normally I have to pay $150/hr to a moving crew for that.  Nope, my neighbor actually saw I just had this massive delivery of 4 palettes to my garage and OFFERED to come over and help move them into the basement.  The husband and the wife came over and helped together!  When I think about it I'm still stunned.   Who does that nowadays?  Actually offers to help you move stuff?  I thought I'd won the lottery.

Their generosity doesn't end there.  I had my girlfriend come for a visit a couple weeks ago.  She accidentally locked us out of my house.  Just so happened my neighbor was outside and I asked him if he might be able to lend us a hand.  Well not only did he manage to jimmy one of the windows in the back open without breaking anything, he actually lifted himself up through the tiny little hole and got in the house and came around and opened the door. Like he was from Cirque du Soleil or something.  It was amazing!  The guy is STRONG!  Needless to say, they now have endless supplies of scrapbooking products whenever they like.

My other neighbors cut our grass in the front yard every 10 days and have offered up all of their yard tools to me whenever I want. 

Apparently there will be a block party and fireworks celebration on Canada Day and another party in August for the people in our crescent. 

This has opened my eyes.  People are still friendly, open, caring and nice.  I know now that we can all make each day a little better for everyone, one neighbor at a time.

Scrapbooking....diversity on the way out?

I am very disappointed to hear that two unique scrapbook manufacturers are no longer. Leave Memories and Same Differences have closed down in the last 4 weeks or so.  It is a big disappointment, not just to the owners who put their money, blood and life into their businesses, but to the scrapbook community at large. One less choice, one less innovative company with it's own perspective and diversified product line.  One more hollowing out of the industry's ability to have something to offer to everyone. 

The scrapbooking world will miss you girls!  Shout Out to Kim and Holli! Best of luck on your new life adventures... I know they will be memorable!

Summer Feet

I've decided that I need to get more pedicures.   My girlfriend came out for a visit and I booked side-by-side pedicures as a treat.  It was an alternative to simply heading to the nearest coffee shop.  We soaked our tootsies and sipped on drinks and skimmed fashion mags while two professional nurse-like uniformed women carefully buffed and massaged our feet.  This is how the rich must live I thought.  Imagine how wonderful it would be to start every day like that.

Now my feet look fantastic.  I want to show them off to everyone!  Each toe a shiney gumdrop of colour, so bright and perfect.  Ready to jump into summer feet first.