Layton's Legacy - Card Drive & Fundraiser Blog Hop

**Thank you to Ashten Bryant Designs for creating all the logos & branding for Layton's Legacy!! If you ever need help with re-branding, be sure to check her out!**

Today a dream of mine is coming true, as this Card Drive & Fundraiser goes live in honor of my sweet little bear, Layton Caleb. Hi friends! In case you don't know me, my name is Lea Lawson & I've been part of this wonderful papercrafting industry since 2002. Today is extremely special to me, so why don't I introduce the baby behind the blog hop!

Meet Layton - our little fighter and hero for 5 months & 7 days. Layton came into this world 11 weeks early on June 9th, 2016 with 2 serious health conditions. He endured more medically on a daily basis than most adults face in an entire lifetime. And on November 17, 2016 he joined his big sister in Heaven.

We were given those 5 months with Layton thanks to the level 4 NICU & amazing medical staff at The University of Minnesota Masonic Children's Hospital. There are 50 beds in that NICU, and it is ALWAYS full. In honor of Layton's birthday, I am raising money to purchase substantial Starbucks gift cards that can be given to these parents as they find themselves thrust into NICU life.

Why Starbucks? There is one just across the street from the hospital, and I can attest that some days you just need to step out of the hospital for a moment. Get a breath of fresh air, see some natural light & regroup. I was given a $20 Starbucks card that had been donated to the NICU during the time Layton was a patient, and I cried when I opened it. My son was getting million dollar care, and I was there day in & day out doing everything I could for him. It was stressful, scary, and one of the hardest things I've ever done in my life. Getting that gift card felt like someone was also thinking about us, and trying to help take care of us too.

I can only do so much as just one person, but together we can accomplish SO much more! Plus - we are making it fun! We have a huge Card Drive blog hop going on in Layton's honor, with tons of amazing inspiration! We also have a fundraising effort, where every $5 donated gets you an entry into the prize drawing. There are over $2000 in prizes, sponsored by some of the most amazing stamping & papercrafting companies in the industry! {You can also see all the prizes HERE.}

PRIZES

WAYS YOU CAN HELP:

1. DONATE! - directly to Layton's Legacy YouCaring Fundraiser. For every $5 donated, you will be entered into the drawing for one of the prizes above!! All winners will be drawn from donations made thru the YouCaring Site. **Prizes will be drawn and announced here on my blog on Saturday, May 19th.**

2. SHARE! - I know that not everyone is able to donate, but sharing about the fundraiser gives it more visibility! Please feel free to share the YouCaring Link or this post on all your social media outlets!

3. SHOP!

-Pinkfresh Studio will be donating 10% of TODAY'S sales. PLUS - they are sweetening the deal by giving you 15% off STOREWIDE for TODAY ONLY. Use the code below:

-CAS-ual Fridays Stamps will be donating 15% of their sales thru May 19th.
-My affiliate linking dollars will be donated thru May 19th.

4. CREATE! - this is also a card drive, and if you'd like to create a card using the theme/moodboard below, I would love that! I will be including these handmade treasures with the giftcards when I hand them over to the NICU social worker, and my dream is that the NICU will be covered in beautiful creations inspired by Layton!! Link them up HERE, and then please email me (lea@lealawsoncreates.com) to get the address for sending - and note that I will need them to arrive by May 31st.

HOW TO STAY UPDATED:

There are two ways to stay updated on the fundraising progress, and to see photos as I drop items off at the NICU.

1. Subscribe to the Lea Lawson Creates blog via email using the prompt in the upper right corner - then you will get email notifications when I add a new post.

2. Follow Lea Lawson Creates on Instagram. I will add photos & videos to my IG Stories, and likely go LIVE a few times throughout the fundraising effort and as we drop everything off at the NICU!

Anything you can do can help a mom or dad thrust into NICU life feel like someone out there cares about them as they go through a time that is very scary and very hard. THANK YOU from the very bottom of my heart for helping me do this!

BLOG HOP

Not only is this a fundraiser, but also a super inspiring blog hop with MANY stops along the way! As you hop along, you will see amazing cards created with a very special theme. I created this moodboard when we started planning Layton's nursery, and it is my very heart poured into a graphic. We have also chosen to go with encouraging sentiments, in hopes that the NICU parents that receive these cards will feel uplifted, even if only for a moment.

I am so excited to hop along, and see all the creations inspired by my beautiful boy! There are going to be so many happy tears shed this month on my part.

Of course, I have created a card for the blog hop! All of the bog hop details will be at the end of my post after my card, so let's get right to it! Here is my card inspired by my cute Layton bear!

I did create a process video for my card today! I will also still include the how to tutorial below for those that prefer to not watch a video!


   

First I cut an A2 card from white cardstock and set aside. Then I cut a block of white cardstock slightly smaller, and blended Salty Ocean distress oxide ink to it in  an ombre gradient. Then I spritzed water on it & pulled it up with a paper towel, spritzed it with shimmer spray & finally added gold paint splatters to finish it. Then I set it aside to dry.

Next I diecut the Escape the Ordinary scene from white cardstock & proceeded to stamp all the elements to it in onyx black Versafine ink. This takes a little bit of work to make sure everything is lined up, and I didn't get them all perfect...but isn't that what handmade items are all about? I'm learning to embrace my imperfections.

Next I colored in the trees, grass & moon with my Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers. I used the following colors: yellow, lemon yellow, pale green & light green - all will be linked below! Then I added some shimmer to the it with my Zig Wink of Stella clear glitter pen.

Then I stamped the mountains to a scrap of white cardstock in smoky gray Versafine ink & fussy cut them out. At this point, it was time to start layering the card together! 

I adhered each layer to the card front with foam adhesive, because I adore dimension! Plus, this amazing mountain scene just called for it. I just white fun foam & wide Scor-Tape to cover my background almost completely in foam so I won't get any weird warping or bubbling. I have found this to be the most cost effective avenue for all the dimension I add to my cards.

To finish the sentiment, I diecut the word Shine four times: once from gold glitter paper and three times from white cardstock. I layered them together, then adhered the word to the middle of my card front using mixed media glue.

The final step, as is with all of my cards, was to accent here & there with my signature jewels. I just love the little bit of shine they add to my cards...seems fitting for this one, don't you think? ;)

I know that Wink of Stella shimmer is often hard to see in photographs, so I took this shot in direct sunlight so you could see it better! 

Well, that is my sweet mountain themed card inspired by my adorable son, Layton. I hope that you liked my card today!

Now on to the blog hop info - here is a link list with all of the stops along the hop! Please be sure to leave some love for the thoughtfulness & generosity that these companies, stores & designers have shown for this Card Drive & Fundraising effort. This wouldn't have been possible without them, and I am so grateful & thankful.

An InLinkz Link-up

 Thank you SO much for being part of Layton's Legacy Card Drive & Fundraiser! I can't wait to see the impact we can make on the lives of NICU parents.

Have an amazing rest of your day!