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

Not Your Traditional Holiday Greetings

One of my favorite things I used to do when I illustrated Christmas cards was to find a way to make people laugh during what can often be one of the most stressful and busiest times of the year.

Here are some Christmas greetings that I read on Dandee shop today that made me laugh out loud...I hope they put a smile on your face too.

         

Simple Fast Christmas Layout Page Idea

I made this page with Crave paper 2 side B. I cut out the hearts from the left side of the sheet and made the bulbs out of them. I added black cardstock to this cut out area. I also used some embroidery floss in black, bits of wire for the bulbs, letter rub-ons and Crave chipboard pieces. I think it turned out cool.

Happy Holidays!

Dancing Elves

The Carousel Scrapbook

I am a total freak for the series Mad Men. Everything from the immaculate set design to the unbelievable crazy political incorrectness of the 60's to the amazing timeless fashion to the insanely beautiful dialogue that says so much more than what is actually spoken is making me fall head over heels in love with this series.

In the season finale this year there was a scene about the Kodak Slide Projector Carousel. It reminded me of scrapbooks. People experience the same feeling of nostalgia that Don describes in his pitch to his clients. A scrapbook is in fact the "original" carousel and makes us want to go back to the time and the place where we know we are loved.

Inexpensive Beautiful Gift

With the crappy economy and everyone trying to save a dime this Holiday Season I've been thinking about some gifts that can be made on the cheap. Everyone appreciates something that is unique and personalized. Decorated personal journals are perfect for both men and women.

    This journal was actually made for myself but you can see how just one sheet of the PDQ Take-Out line with the chipboard shapes transform this $3 notebook into a really nice little gift. The notebook has a little pocket in the inside front cover and if you wanted to include a gift card or a movie ticket this would be a great place to put it.

Pro Scrappers: Take Note

  I wanted to show all the intermediate and professional scrapbookers out there that you can still be ultra creative when using PDQ. The only thing is, you save time and money. Darn...I know, ; P

These 2 sample layouts show how I've used one sheet of PDQ paper, only one side, cut it up, combined it with cardstock and embellishments and created 2 totally different and unique layouts that look nothing like the original PDQ layout.

Normally for those of you that use PDQ regularly you know you always get 2 complete layouts with each sheet of paper because you can use both sides. That's when you simply leave the paper as it isand don't pierce through the paper. You simply layer on your journaling, photos and embellishments using both side of the sheet of paper and inserting it into your page protectors. You can be very creative like that, just what you choose to cover on the layout changes it completely. Taking creativity another step further is when you choose to do as I have shown and cut the entire image up. The possibilities are endless.

The next newsletter I think I will have a contest/challenge to see what people can come up with when using one sheet of PDQ, cardstock & embellishments.  So put on your creative hats all you pros!

Best Tip for Amazing Scrapbook Pages

I was asked recently what I felt was the most important technique in scrapbooking. Aside from the obvious, which is of course taking lots of photos so you have good options to scrapbook,the most valuable technique you can learn to do that will have the largest impact on your finished scrapbook pages is to understand how to resize and crop your photos.

In each layout you should have one focal photo. That means that your eyes will naturally be drawn to that photo first on the page. Everything else is secondary. The way to create this focal point is by ensuring this photo is larger than the other ones on the page, or by having some sort of embellishment that distinguishes it from the others on the page (an arrow pointing to it, a circle around it, dots around it, large flower beside it) or by having additional matting so that it stands out. Double matting a photo is the easiest way to make it a visual "bulls-eye" on the page. (Matting simply means you are placing your photo onto cardstock and leaving a border around it so that is has a "frame" in cardstock. Double matting means that you do this twice, normally once with either white or black cardstock and then again with a complimentary color that matches either your photo or your background).

Many digital cameras come with software programs that enable you to resize your photos. There are also free programs available online. Here is one I found quickly  when surfing online Dr. Pic .

Ensuring that your focal photo is larger than your other featured photos is easy when you can resize images digitally prior to printing the image. Some programs will also allow you to "stroke" or put a border around the image. This is useful since you can print your photo with your matting already on it and save yourself a step.

It is beneficial to be able to "crop" or cut your photos so that they do not include information in them that you do not want in the printed photo. Almost all photo editing software will have a cropping tool. It usually looks like scissors. You take that tool, start at one corner of your image and click down and then drag it to the kitty-corner of the image. Normally you can then see the crop or cut lines. You have the ability to put your cursor on these lines and move them until you get the image as you like and then normally you press enter and it will crop the image to the size you desired. Ideally you should have a "new" blank file open that you can then drag and drop these resized and cropped images into. That way you can print lots on one photo sheet.

Be prepared to spend some time choosing, resizing and cropping photos in your software program prior to scrapbooking. It will make the biggest difference in your finished projects.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T lacking in the scrapping/crafting wholesale industry

This is something that has been on going for a while now and I really need to vent and get this off my chest.

If you are a business owner, please, show some respect for other people's time. It's easy, really. If you say you're going to call back with your billing information, do it, otherwise simply don't order.  Forcing vendors to call back upwards of 4 or more times only to have someone else finally deliver the message that you have now decided to cancel your order is beyond frustrating. 

Do you realize how much time we have already invested in your order prior to trying to get a hold of you for payment?  When an order is placed that means the order has to be fulfilled, checked and packed. Shipping labels, dimensions and weight and cross border shipping documents (if going into the US) have been created for your package. Customized signage has been printed that goes with the products you have ordered for your store. This means we print off layouts specifically for your order. We also include any other gifts, promotions or catalogs with your order so that it is done in a professional, timely manner. An invoice is generated. Once the order is ready to ship we then patiently call and leave messages saying we need the billing information in order to finish processing and ship your order. 

It's a simple business concept...don't order something if you're not willing to pay for it.

Lack of respect for fellow business operators, be they vendors or other stores is certainly not helping the already suffering scrapbooking/crafting industry. Where is the professionalism and common courtesy? 

My Dad always told me to treat others as I would like to be treated. I wish everyone had learned that lesson. 

New Stock Market TERMS FOR 2008 and Beyond

BULL MARKET – A random market movement causing an investor to mistake himself for a financial genius.

BEAR MARKET A 6-18 month period when the kids get no allowance, the wife gets no jewelry, and the husband gets no sex.

VALUE INVESTING – The art of buying low and selling lower.

P/E RATIO – The percentage of investors wetting their pants as the market crashes.

BROKER – What my broker has made me.

STANDARD & POOR – Your life in a nutshell.

STOCK ANALYST – Idiot who just downgraded your stock.

STOCK SPLIT – When your ex-wife and her lawyer split your assets equally between themselves.

FINANCIAL PLANNER – A guy whose phone has been disconnected.

MARKET CORRECTION – The day after you buy stocks.

CASH FLOW – The movement your money makes as it disappears down the toilet.

INSTITUTIONAL INVESTOR – Investor who's now locked up in a nuthouse.

PROFIT – An archaic word no longer in use.

Reprinted from Creative Leisure News Online Publication

What would you do?

Imagine this scenario: you're attending a function with your spouse for his work. It's a cocktail and  h'ordeuvres party at an upscale restaurant hosted by a large international bank. The place is packed with bankers, wealth management people and important business colleagues of your spouse. After a while of making the rounds and talking to different business contacts in the crowd a man starts a conversation with your spouse. He seems funny, works for an international business and has some interesting stories so you continue to communicate with him throughout the evening. Meantime...your spouse has started a conversation with a friend of this man and is deep in conversation. The man uses this opportunity to subtly begin to touch your hand and arm...caressing your fingertips and back. You move away to signal that you are not interested however this does not deter him and he continues to touch you now moving lower grazing your butt with his fingertips. You signal to your spouse that you would like to leave now however the spouse does not realize anything is going on and insists that you stay longer to finish the conversation and a glass of wine. The other man continues to touch you although you have now made it obvious by moving away several times that his inappropriate touching and advances are not welcome he continues to pursue you. How do you, given the situation, social environment and context react at this point?

Do you

a) turn and face the man and tell him to keep his filthy hands to himself hoping that this won't cause a scene

b) bluntly grab your spouse away from his other conversation ( since this seems to be the only method of getting his attention) and tell him in front of both men what the guy has done and see if punches ensue

c) make a scene yourself, throw your drink in his face and leave

d) calmly insist again that you and your spouse leave without anyone knowing anything and tell your spouse after exiting the restaurant

What would you do?