Designer Spotlight with Paige Evans: Laureen Wagener

I am so excited to introduce this designer, whom I’ve had the pleasure to meet and scrap with in person and she is a delight! Let’s give a big and warm welcome to Laureen Wagener!

Name: Laureen Wagener
Location: NRW, Germany
Blog: madamerosenrot.blogspot.com
Instagram: @madamerosenrot
YouTube: MadameRosenrot
Pinterest: @madamerosenrot

Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got started crafting: My name is Laureen and I live in Germany with my family. I am studying Primary School Teaching with English but am currently taking a break from university because I was going through chemotherapy to fight against cancer, but got the most amazing call from my doctor at the end of June that I am in complete remission {talk about a happy – grinning like the Cheshire Cat girl!!}. I discovered scrapbooking in 2013 and for whatever reason only made a few pages and then got into cardmaking. I rediscovered scrapbooking in March 2016 shortly after I got my cancer diagnosis and it helped me rock through the tough days when chemo really hit. Scrapbooking helped me focus on something different other than cancer and it always makes me feel great! Since I’ve started, my style has developed and drastically changed. I am a traditional scrapbooker, getting my fingers all sticky and my table messy. I really love the look of bright pages using die-cuts and patterned paper and also completely fell in love with stitching on my layouts. I think my biggest obsession is enamel dots that I use on almost every single page. I don’t create for memory- keeping like most scrapbookers do – I don’t know if it is because I don’t have kids yet but I don’t have stories to tell for all my pictures – you will rarely see journaling on my layouts. I just scrapbook because I love the creative process of it! Also I am one lucky girl and am very blessed to be able to create for four amazing teams.

Favorite thing to create: Traditional 12 x 12″ layouts – I just love starting with a white sheet of cardstock; it’s like you are the artist sitting in front of a blank canvas and you get to decide how the page will look like and what mood the entire layout has when looking at it. I love to create layouts for others and gift them – my grandma is always very excited when she gets to hang a new layout in her apartment – she is my biggest fan. Also I really love incorporating stitching into my layouts – the texture it gives is incredible plus I get to watch all my favorite shows in the afternoon.

What do you love about this hobby? Connecting with all those amazingly talented ladies from all over the world, getting to know new people, and developing friendships. It is such a loving and inspiring community to participate in and the feedback is always amazing. The inspiration out there is just absolutely mind-blowing! I am always amazed by all the talent I see in facebook groups, scrolling through instagram, or searching pinterest. Plus I got to know my bestest scrap buddy, Elsie, from the UK through scrapbooking and social media. 😉

5 fun facts about yourself:
1. I am in love with Paris – it is my favorite city to be in. There is just something so special about the smell, the lights, and the noises that makes my heart smile.
2. I am a sucker for Disney movies – my absolute favorite is Beauty and the Beast.
3. I would love to speak more languages – speak them fluently and be able to understand it and answer without thinking – especially French.
4. I tend to think in English more than I do in German – it is my favorite language and I sometimes even catch myself talking in English!
5. I always wanted to live in America for a certain time in my life – I actually was about to be an Au Pair this summer but plans got cancelled because of cancer. I always wanted to participate in the American lifestyle and really live it – especially all the holidays.

Here is the beyond beautiful layout Laureen made for her spotlight:

CAPTURED by Laureen Wagener

The stitching of those butterflies actually took me about 9 hours but I really like and texture they add to the page. The picture is of me and my best friend Sarah taken in December shortly after Christmas. We always have the best time together being total goofballs and that photograph of us perfectly captures it.

SO HAPPY by Laureen Wagener

A layout using Fancy Free, which has quickly become my most favorite scrapbook collection. This layout was made for Scrapbook Werkstatt and the monthly sketch they put up. For the month of June it was my turn to create a sketch and a coordinating layout and this was the result.

GO SEE DO by Laureen Wagener

I still had a ton of vacation pictures from 2013 waiting to be finally scrapped and remembered and that Just Nick Cut file was just the perfect focus element for the page. I love incorporating die-cuts into my layouts, especially when they are backed with lots of patterned paper – because you can go crazy with all the papers!

BIG SMILE by Laureen Wagener

Most of my layouts do either have pictures of my mom and I, my best friend and I, or just me, and therefore I wanted to created a layout to give to my dad. I used Fancy Free again and eliminated all the girly colors – very hard for me! This is now hanging in a frame above my dad’s bed.

FRIENDSHIP AND HAPPINESS by Laureen Wagener

I made this layout with the June kits from Hip Kit Club and a cut file. I love to work with cut files and ever since I got my Silhouette for my birthday in April, you will find cut files on almost all my layouts!

CELEBRATE TODAY by Laureen Wagener

This layout highlights a photo of my sister and I from her graduation from school. My mother said she was really proud of me, because I actually did not wear something on my head, because it was so hot during the celebration. I used the amazing Fancy Free collection and stitched a bunch of circles on this layout.

MAKE YOUR OWN SUNSHINE by Laureen Wagener

This was my first Design Team Project for Just Nick and the stitching took forever and a day. I love the pops of color the embellishments bring to the page and that perfectly match the stitching!

Thank you for stopping by today and getting to know Laureen and her amazing scrapbooking style.