Layton’s Legacy

Good morning! Today, I have the honor of helping to introduce a new stamp set from Pinkfresh Studio called Forever In Our Hearts, created in honor of Lea Lawson’s son Layton. (You can read more about Layton and the fundraiser in this post from Lea.) This stamp set features a gorgeous butterfly and a wide variety of incredibly poignant and meaningful sentiments. The generic “with sympathy” sentiments found in most stamp sets can be a bit insensitive or inappropriate for a situation as delicate as having a child in the NICU, and the sentiments included in this set are meaningfully and beautifully phrased. Here are a few words from Lea herself about the fundraiser:

In honor of remembrance of my son, Layton Caleb, we are raising money to purchase a $50 Starbucks gift card for all 50 beds in the level 4 NICU at the U of M Masonic Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis, MN.
Fundraising will run from October 15th – November 10th. Shortly after we will purchase the gift cards, and bring them to a social worker at the hospital the week of November 17th. This is the anniversary of the date we lost Layton, and I can think of no better way to honor his memory than to give a small comfort to parents who find themselves thrust into NICU life.

If we raise in excess of the amount needed to purchase the gift cards, the remaining balance will be donated to the Upper Midwest Ronald McDonald house in Layton’s name.

I was in the NICU with Layton for 5 months and 7 days, and I remember the day a social worker handed me a card with a $20 Starbucks card in it. I broke. It’s really hard being a parent to a very sick baby in the NICU, and it’s really nice when you are reminded that so many people out there understand that. 

I also really want to be able to help keep the memory of Layton alive, and be able to share his story. I am so grateful for any donation, no matter the size, as it allows me to tell people about that amazing little boy who fought for every single moment of his life. Thank you SO much for your donation – I appreciate it more than words can explain.

WAYS PEOPLE CAN HELP

-DONATE – directly to Layton’s Legacy GoFundMe Fundraising Link.
-SHARE – not everyone is able to financially donate, but sharing on your social media outlets is welcomed & helpful
-CREATE – this year’s card drive theme is “Sensitive Sympathy” geared towards parents who have lost a pregnancy due to miscarriage or stillbirth, infant or child. They can get all the card drive info HERE.

**October is Pregancy & Infant Loss Awareness month, and October 15th is what many in the loss world call Wave of Light. It is a public way to share the memory of your lost pregnancies and/or babies. This is my version of Wave of Light 2019.**

I cannot accurately put into words the pain and empathy I feel for my fellow mothers who have lost children before they even had the chance to blossom. I know that I need my children like I need the air I breathe, and the thought of losing one of them takes my breath away. For my friends who have experienced such a devastating loss, I am sending gentle-but-intense hugs and as much love as I can.

For my project today, I kept the color palette relatively simple, focusing on pink, blue, and purple (common colors for infant loss). I began by heat embossing the beautiful butterfly image from Forever In Our Hearts using silver embossing powder on some hot pressed watercolor paper. I used hot press (a smoother watercolor paper than cold press) to ensure that all of the details on the intricate image came through.

Next, I watercolored the butterfly using Bubblegum, Lavender, and Sky Blue liquid watercolors from Pinkfresh Studio, which I mixed with some pearl watercolor from Hero Arts to create a pretty pearlescent sheen. I used the same colors to watercolor a pretty ombre background panel.

To add a bit of extra interest in the background, I stamped several flowers and foliage from Embroidered Blossoms using some of the new inks from Pinkfresh, including: Sky Blue, Aquamarine, Bubble Gum, Sparkling Rose, and Lavender. I arranged all of the blooms behind the butterfly, adhering them with liquid adhesive.

After I’d finished arranging the images, I heat embossed one of my favorite sentiments from the Forever In Our Hearts stamp set onto a strip of lavender cardstock. The final addition was some sparkling gems from the Essentials Jewels Mix.

Well, that’s all for me today. I hope you will take a look at the fundraiser, and if you are able to donate in some way to this very noble cause, I hope you will consider doing so! Thank you for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day.