From Lea Lawson:
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, and let me 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:
DONATE!
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.**
SHOP!
-Pinkfresh Studio will be donating 10% of their sales for the week.
-CAS-ual Fridays Stamps will be donating 15% of their sales thru May 19th.
-My affiliate linking dollars will be donated thru May 19th.
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 ([email protected]) 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 she drops items off at the NICU.
Subscribe to the Lea Lawson Creates blog via email using the prompt in the upper right corner - then you will get email notifications when she add a new post.
Follow Lea Lawson Creates on Instagram. She will add photos & videos to my IG Stories, and likely go LIVE a few times throughout the fundraising effort and as she drops 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 Lea 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.
Jeanne Streiff here today representing Impression Obsession Stamps. I'm thrilled to be a part of this great cause.
Here is my project for the hop. I loved the colors on Lea's mood board!
I stamped the flowers and leaves from WP858 Layered Roses using IO Inks (Seafoam & Beige) and then added some details with colored pencils and a marker for the background. The sentiment (D6235 Simple Pleasures) was stamped using Chocolate IO Ink.
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.
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.
Hi Everyone!
