May Sketch Challenge

It's the third Monday, and Helen G. is here with the May Sketch Challenge! We're so excited to celebrate National Scrapbooking Month with you and we're gonna have fun creating… we have a LAYOUT SKETCH and a CARD SKETCH for you to choose from---you pick what you want to create. You can do both of sketches, or just one. You will get 1 entry in the PRIZE drawing for each sketch you complete.

The SCRAP TWIST that needs to be included on your project is CIRCLE ELEMENTS, for example flowers, doilies, circles, etc.

Here are both sketches:

LAYOUT SKETCH

Here's my layout:

CARD SKETCH

Here's my card:

Here are the Design Team's Projects!!

(don't forget to hover your mouse over the photo to see what each gal has to say about the project) 

Tracey G.

Toni

Christy

Jessica

Kelly

Cara

Lisa

Nicole

Layouts from our Guest Designer, Colleen Proctor:

There's also time to get another chance to win... by completing this month's Main Challenge #28.

The winner will be chosen by Random.com and is eligible for our great monthly prize from BlueMoonscrapbooking.com.

Blog... BlueMoon Blog

Face Book... BlueMoon Facebook 

You Tube... BlueMoon You Tube

Pinterest... BlueMoon Pinterest

Instagram... bluemoonscrapbooking

Lisa and Scott have generously provided two $20 gift certificates. You can win one of these fabulous gift certificates by linking your project(s) to one of our May challenges. 

NOTE: **You may submit the project you create for Scrapping Everyday Miracles  to other challenge blogs but your project must be mainly created for the Scrapping Everyday Miracles challenge in order to win the sponsor prize and/or be one of the Top 3**

All Sketch entries must be linked HERE by May 31st, 11:59pm PST.

*Important: Make sure your link is to the blog post with your project & not just your entire blog in general...and be sure to remember the SCRAP TWIST!

I cannot wait to see all your layouts and cards and have a wonderful creating everyday miracles!

Heartfelt Post

Hello, Jessica here!  A week ago my husband and I attended the play "Mercy Unrelenting" at a local theater.  The play is based on the events leading up to the murder of the Italian teenager, Maria Goretti.  I knew the basics of her story going into the play and knew that this was going to be an intense show.  This show was fantastic!  I went through the full range of emotions from convicted and hopeless to joyful and hopeful at the end.

This play bounces between three time periods; 1902, when Alessandro Serenelli and Maria met and the events leading up to and including her death, Alessandro's time in prison, and many years later in the monastery where he completed his days.  The beginning of the play sets up some of Alessandro's history and attempts to explain how he reached the point where he decided to murder Maria.  He had a rough childhood and made some bad decisions through his teenage years which led to a lifestyle in which he didn't see other human beings as worthy of respect.  This troubled me as I have really struggled lately with being the mother I want to be.  I struggle a lot with anger and impatience and worry that I will somehow "screw up" up my kids.  This also made me think about the book "Rediscover Catholicism" which I have been reading recently.  One of the things the author, Matthew Kelly, talks about is the importance of habits in establishing the person. Habits create the person, which is why they are so hard to change.

As the play went on, Maria died, and then she appeared to Alessandro in prison.  This was the turning point for Alessandro and he began to live a constructive life.  He completed his sentence and, upon release, he went to live in a Capuchin monastery.  He returned to Maria's mother and asked for her forgiveness.  She forgave him and they maintained contact.  His conversion was so dramatic, it made me realize that I, too, can change what I am doing in my life.

The final scene of the play was Maria raising Alessandro from his deathbed and escorting him to heaven.  It was such a beautiful and hopeful scene!  In a world where few believe that people can change so dramatically, it was wonderful to reflect on how someone who had committed such a horrible crime could have such a complete conversion and eventually go to heaven.

This story gave me so much hope and encouraged me to work hard and do all that I can to make the changes I feel are necessary to be the best mom I can be.  I hope that you too will take some time to think about any areas of your life that may need some changes and do what it takes to become the best person you can be.  Also, if you are in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area this weekend, go check out the play, you won't regret it!

Guest Designer Colleen Proctor's Challenge #28 Layout

2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

Hello everyone and I hope all of you moms, mothers, mamas, mums... were showered with love and warmth yesterday!  I just want to say a huge thank you to SEM for inviting me to guest design this month! It is an honor.

For this main challenge I created a 12x12 layout using DCWV new paper stack "Sunday Afternoon", stamps from Heidi Swapp"Memory File", Papertrey Inc.'s "Tiny Tags" dies & stamp set, chipboard from Michaels (covered with glitter to match layout) and Colorbok acrylic pieces "Get well", which was my old piece from my craft stash. This layout represents a little, sleeping me...  A simpler time when worries were few, days were long with countless laughs & tickles and worries of paying bills and being an adult were nowhere in sight.  I'm learning to live this way now as a 39 year old mother of one. *Bump up the amount of laughs per day = check. *Cast all my cares on Jesus = check. *Realize that living for a paycheck or even great success is an empty dream full of shallow hopes = check. *Extend daily gratitude to my Lord & Savior for His love, sovereignty & will for my life = check. This is new, this is a beautiful way to live! It's 100% freedom in Christ.

Colleen Proctor, GD