Layton's Legacy Blog Hop

Good morning! Emily Midgett here today on the Hero Arts stop for the Layton's Legacy Blog Hop, organized by Lea Lawson. As many of you know, Lea's story is truly heartbreaking, but she is turning her experience to a positive one by organizing the Layton's Legacy Fundraiser. Lea's son Layton's experience in the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) gave her a unique perspective on seeing what NICU parents endure while waiting, hoping, praying for their little one's health. She is organizing this fundraiser to present those NICU parents with Starbucks gift cards to give these brave parents just a little breath of hope to let them know that people are rooting for them and their precious little one! You can read all about Lea's story and the blog hop here, as well as donate to the YouCaring fundraiser here. 

Below is the mood board to inspire the blog hop participants:

And here are my projects inspired by the images and colors in the mood board:

The serenity of a secluded woodland is such a popular theme for nurseries right now, and the peaceful sights and sounds of nature are perfect images to conjure for a NICU parent who might desperately need a mental break from the stress of their situation. For my first card, I created a stenciled background using a similar pattern to one of the nurseries in the mood board using our new Spring Day Reactive Ombré ink pad and the Diamond Stencil on some gray paper from the Midnight Mix Layering Paper pack. (The new Reactive Inks look fantastic blended on the colored Layering Papers!) I die cut and stamped a greeting from Smile Stamp & Cut using Platinum embossing powder and Pool Layering Papers, then layered them on a piece of Woodgrain Vellum. I hid my dimensional adhesive behind the sentiment strips and added a twine bow, then added a strip of Pool layering paper on the side of the stenciled panel. A few clear gems finished it off. 

For my second project, I wanted to recreate the sweet woodland images in the mood board image, so I used an older set as the focus: Winter Scene. I started by die cutting a circle from Pool card stock, then stamping it with the Blanket Pattern background using Mint Julep ink. I heat embossed the little deer family using Platinum embossing powder, then added the trees using Aegean and Ocean inks. I die cut some vellum clouds using the Cloudy Infinity Dies. I white embossed the sentiment from Rain or Shine onto a partial circle die cut from Midnight Mix layering papers. I mounted the whole circle die cut scene onto some beautiful woodgrain paper that was included in a previous My Monthly Hero kit. 

That's all for my projects today, but there are several ways that YOU can get involved, so head on over to Lea's blog to get all of the details on what you can do to help these brave families. Here are all of the blog hop participants: