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Daughter creates Christmas present for mom out of 'good news' stories

Katelyn Harper and her husband cut up pieces of positive news stories to create a sunflower for her mom

SHINGLE SPRINGS, Calif. — In this business, we know a good story when we see one and this story is full of good news. If you look closely at Katelyn Harper's creation, you'll see there's good in the fine print. 

"Sharing is right here. Helping there," Harper said as she pointed to part of her art. 

Her sunflower painting is made up of positive news stories. Each clipped and snipped and arranged in the form of the bright yellow flower. 

Harper made it for her mom, Teresa Crowley, as a Christmas present. 

"They are just random bits and pieces," Harper said. "They are all positive news stories."

Harper listened every time her mom called and talked about the sad news lately, especially the news of the Camp Fire in Butte County. Harper took those conversations to heart and decided to make her mom a gift that would make her smile.  

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"It was wonderful, I was just touched," said Teresa Crowley. "It was amazing, I was crying. I'm not a big crier."

Crowley said she's tuned out the news recently because sad stories took up too much space in her thoughts. 

When she realized each petal and leaf of the sunflower represents a good story, it was the perfect present to open this Christmas. 

"It was touching to know that each time she put a piece on the mosaic she was thinking about me during the whole process," Crowley said. 

The Crowley family has their own positive stories to look back on from the year. 

Harper married her sweetheart Graham and as of recently, they have started helping people who survived the devastating Camp Fire in Paradise. 

"I've sent so many packages to strangers," Crowley said.  "But it makes me feel good to give them something when they've lost everything." 

This sunflower is a reminder that there are many positive stories happening in the world, if you look close enough.  

"It's one of those pieces you can hand down generation to generation to remind you to look at the bright side of things," Crowley said. "There's a lot of good going on in the world. A lot of the times its not prevalent. There's more good in the world than evil."

On the back of her painting, Harper also added a QR code that will take her mom to a Google document with all of links to the positive news stories she included in the piece. To read those stories, click here.

Continue the conversation with Madison Meyer on Facebook.

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Watch more: Above and beyond! A Bakersfield police officer explains how and why he helped secure more than $10,000 in new uniforms for Camp Fire first responders.

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