Layouts and Stories from Spain Workshops

I was invited to teach at La Sonrisa Creativa in Valencia, Spain and Marakiscrap in Reus, Spain over the weekend of September 23rd and I had a wonderful time working and playing! Spain is amazing - we love every city we've been to and Valencia and Reus were no exception. I hope that like my Warner grandparents we can serve an 18 month mission in Madrid when we're old :)

Here is recap of all that took place that fun weekend and the layouts we made in the workshops!

I woke up bright and early on Friday September 23rd and drove an hour to the Nuremberg airport for a quick 45 minute flight to Dusseldorf, Germany. The airport in Dusseldorf still gives me heart palpitations from our disastrous time moving over here...

A board showing the weather all around Germany at the Dusseldorf airport.

We've visited every mentioned city! But, funnily enough, we haven't actually walked around Dusseldorf so if the very city this was displayed in had been on it, I wouldn't have been able to say "been there, been there, been there."

 Two hour layover in Dusseldorf and then it was off to Valencia - so very Spain!

 Lola and Lorena were there to greet me and we headed straight for her shop, La Sonrisa Creativa!

It's amazing to be in and walk around local scrapbook stores - they are SO RARE these days, so each and every one is very extra special.

 Lola's brother made this chalkboard sign - happy 4th birthday to the shop!

 Fancy Free and Take Me Away are in the house!

 Lola made these big, beautiful flowers from tissue paper!

 The cash desk is made of glass with embellies inside.

 I brought a scrapbook with me filled with recent layouts - I love looking through actual scrapbooks and seeing the dimension and textures and layers.

 Lola used to be a landscape artist and her little patio in the back offered a nice and cool breeze.

Most of the students asked me to make them a pin so this is what I came up with:

All set up and ready to go! | Class is in session!

 The first class, three layouts, was from 4:30pm-8:00pm. It was a success!

Around 9pm we headed out for dinner. Let's just say I am not on "Spain time" haha. I usually wake up at 6am and go to bed at 9pm, but 9pm is when things are just getting started in Spain. I got lasagna, it was yummy.


The next morning it was mini album making time!

 I shared a separate post all about the exploding box mini album we made.

Lorena translated, she was fantastic.

2nd day class attendees!

Afterwards I was shown the lovely town of Valencia and decided we HAVE to come back as a family!

 

 New favorite building in Spain:

 We went to a place called Federal for lunch and I got a chicken burger with yummy fries.

 The main part of town.

Town hall.

 Every major city in Spain needs a bull ring!

The north train station.

The inside was impeccable!

 Here's a little "lost in translation" story - I asked "Where should we go?!" and so they told me the plans for the next while. I was just trying to be funny, asking which train we should hop on and go on an adventure. My dry humor doesn't translate well :)

 Maria from Marakiscrap came and picked me up and we drove 3 hours to her home in Reus. This Chucky doll was above my bed - good thing I found it hilarious :)


The next morning we headed to Marakiscrap!

Yay for local scrapbook stores, long live scrapbooking!

We made the 3 layouts first.

Group photo from the morning session:

 We ate lunch in an old casino-turned-restaurant.

 Yummy burger and fries, again! Why change a good thing?!

Then we walked through Reus and found some dessert. This ice cream was delicious! I got a scoop of chocolate chip cookie dough and a scoop of white chocolate in a cup cuz I don't like the taste cones (am I crazy?!) :)

Cute town center.

 Buildings by Gaudí.

 In the afternoon I taught the mini album workshop with a bonus layout - group photo:

Then we headed to the beach in Salou for dinner.

Sylvia (my translator), me, and Maria.

 I got a tropical pizza, it was good. Everything I ate in Spain was good!

Then I requested a nutella crepe and holy moly it was literally an inch thick with nutella! I couldn't even finish it!

 The next morning I flew from Barcelona straight to Nuremberg and went from door to door in 7 hours. Planes are amazing. This is a picture of what Chris and I refer to as "the split" which we vividly remember seeing on the drive from Nuremberg to Grafenwöhr when we moved here.

Here are the three layouts we made:

GIVE ME ALL THE COLORS by Paige Evans

DESCRIPTION: Backing large cut shapes with blocks of patterned paper is a quick & easy way to add lots of color! Perfect for the photos which inspired the title.

JOURNALING SAYS: One of my very favorite parts about living in Germany or even Europe in general is all of the colored buildings and flowers!

HOW TO: Die cut the pentagon background from white cardstock. Trace one of the pentagons onto the backside of your chosen patterned paper and cut it out just slightly bigger. Use that pentagon as a template to cut (7) more patterned paper pentagons and (2) photos. Create a title in the center using Thickers and chipboard then journal with a black pen below. Embellish the layout with wood veneer, chipboard stickers, buttons, and die cuts. Use the roller stamp to add some stamping. Splash matching watercolors around the layout and set it aside to dry.

SUPPLIES: Patterned paper, Thickers, wood veneer, buttons, die cuts, chipboard stickers, roller stamp: Take Me Away by Paige Evans / Pink Paislee; Cardstock, pen, adhesive: American Crafts; Cut file background: Paige Evans; Die cut machine: Silhouette Cameo; Watercolors: Loew Cornell; Ink: StazOn

DETAIL SHOT:

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BFFS by Paige Evans

DESCRIPTION: I love Paper 07 because it has so many different patterns one one sheet! Perfect for teaching classes :)

JOURNALING SAYS: I hope that you cute girlies will always be friends, even if you live worlds apart. Best friends are the best and I'm so glad you two have each other!

HOW TO: Trim Paper 07 into strips of the squares, fold the strips in half, then hand cut a heart from each pattern. Figure out the placement of the hearts as well as (3) 2 ¼” square photos onto a cream cardstock background. Replace the center heart with a wood veneer heart and add “BFFS” Thickers on top. Replace another heart with a “forever & ever” embroidery hoop die cut. Adhere everything in place. Journal across the bottom. Embellish some of the hearts with a button or die cut or chipboard sticker. Use the roller stamp to add some heart stamping. Splash matching colors watercolors over some of the hearts and set aside to dry.

SUPPLIES: Patterned paper, Thickers, wood veneer, buttons, die cuts, chipboard stickers, roller stamp: Take Me Away by Paige Evans / Pink Paislee; Cardstock, pen, adhesive: American Crafts; Watercolors: Loew Cornell; Ink: StazOn

DETAIL SHOT:

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AWESOME & SO YOU by Paige Evans

DESCRIPTION: This is the same layout we made at Scrappies, just with a different background and slightly different placement of embellishments.

JOURNALING SAYS: Everything about these pictures is so typically you! Our little sassafras we like to call Sweet & Sour :)

HOW TO: Splash white paint in the center working out on Paper 03 and let it dry. Fussy cut flowers from Paper 01, 02, 10, and 17. Find the center of the layout, adhere photos on opposite sides, then fill in the other sections with the flowers, bending up the edges and using dimensional adhesive. Create the title across the layout using wood veneer, Thickers, and chipboard stickers. Cut a die cut frame in half and tuck the halves under the photos. Embellish with chipboard leaf stickers and buttons. Journal on the bottom right side and add some stamping.

SUPPLIES: Patterned paper, Thickers, wood veneer, buttons, die cuts, chipboard stickers, roller stamp: Take Me Away by Paige Evans / Pink Paislee; Cardstock, pen, adhesive: American Crafts; Watercolors: Loew Cornell; Ink: StazOn; Paint: Americana

DETAIL SHOT:

♥ ♥ ♥ 

Here is a recap from La Sonrisa Creativa about the workshops there: http://lasonrisacreativa.blogspot.de/2016/09/4-aniversario-de-la-sonrisa-creativa.html#comment-form

And here is a recap from Marakiscrap about the workshops I taught there: http://www.marakiscrap.com/blog/nuestros-talleres-con-paige-evans/