What a tribute..!!! You all done good..!!!

ell, what a fantastic day we had. I was a bit apprehensive about the whole day, because I knew how emotional it was going to be for me and the kids. I wanted to have the event , but I didn't want anyone to come, if you know what i mean. I know that sounds stupid. Whenever I have done anything like this in the past, Mum has always been part of it, baking , serving teas, chatting with the ladies and giggling with the girls. Every time I wandered past the kitchen I expected to see her in there bleaching the teaspoons or reorganising my cupboards. I had only had 2 hrs sleep for the past 2 nights, and then slept through the alarm, so it was a mad dash up to the studio. As you can see I look terrible. I am hoping this was taken before I put my make up on and not after, lmao. Cant stand all this time it takes to straighten my hair so I,m afraid its all got to come off again. yayy!!

The gorgeous Susie was one of my helpers today, and would you believe it was her birthday. Yes she chose to spend it here with us , how sweet is she..??

Bezzie Su is thinking of a breast implant and was just trying these for size..!!!

I had them all come in early and we made all the make and takes. In reality it was to steady every ones nerves. Most of them had never had to do anything like this before. The lovely Katie was terrified and I think she only turned up cos she daren't not, lol.

L - R Katie, Kate and Susie.

and sitting down, Jeanne (chocolate lady), Pam (kitchen fairy) and Bezzie Su.

Standing up are the 2 fabulous sisters Sue and Denny ( giddy and giddier ) who were in charge of teas, cakes, raffle, and looking after me. They did a fantastic job.

Talking of cakes look at all these beauties. This is Emmis ingenious cake stand made from boards and champagne glasses. Cool eh..??

Look at these beauties. Our Ben came in early to decorate them. I think he has missed his calling..!!

Ben and the lovely Katie decorated these the night before.

and these.

Hope this pic gives you an idea of the size of them. It would feed a family of four..!!!

We were overwhelmed with how many of the ladies brought in cup cakes and cakes. Thank you to all those I can remember.....Heidi, Theresa, Bezzie Su, Sue, Denny, Susie, Kate, Helen, Jeanne, ....Oh no my mind has no9w gone blank, I am so sorry if I have forgotten you, please forgive me and I thank you all for your generosity.

These were made by Heidi and her daughter Katie. The theme is Pirates and Princesses. Look at the gorgeous pink cupcakes on the gory skeleton plate. Flipping fantastic...!!

These were made by Jeanne, who also made and decorated the box. Oh yes..!! We decided to raffle these off as a whole, because everyone was fighting over the box, lol..

These were Susie's gorgeous muffins. Not sure if she decorated them, I suspect it was our Ben.

The girlies made enough sandwiches to feed a small army and raced around the studio doing whatever whenever. Here they are in charge of the Pinata. Well Jay was in charge of not letting Emmi loose on it...!!! We decided that we wouldn't smash the Pinata till next Sunday, so there is still time for you all to make a guess at the no of mini love heart packs are residing inside. The winner gets a workshop voucher.

Bezzie Su drew the short straw and was placed in charge of refilling all the pearly re-inkers, which is a night mare of a job.

But she used the task as an opportunity to make some background papers.

And also felt the urge for a bit of graffiti on the floor..!!

Here's some of the makes and takes in action.

All of the girls were fab tutors. Even, much to her surprise (but not mine), the lovely Katie. Here she is with one of her friends from the school she works at, who I think has suddenly become addicted to it.

And still the donations of cupcakes came pouring in. These are from Theresa who, bless her, made them specially, dashed up with and dashed off again. She didn't have time to stop because she was busy at the church. How lovely to even be bothered to think about us when she is so busy. These had a cream cheese topping and I,m told they were delicious. And just check out that stand. Oh yes I,ll be purchasing at least one of them tomorrow. Might stretch to two, cos I think it would look fabby with my Claudine Hellmuth paints on it, dont you..??

Ooh I was in cupcake sniffing heaven. We were kept busy from the word go right until the very last moment and everything seemed to run like clockwork.

It was a very emotional day for me and the kids due to my bad timing of the event. I put it slap bang in the middle of Mum and Dads wedding anniversary and Fathers Day..!! I really couldn't have chosen a worse time, but, all in all it was a fantastic success and now its over I am so glad that we did it. We are going to hold another one in October and I will let you know the dates as soon as I decide. Ha ha that means don't hold your breath..!!!!! lmao.

A big big thank you to Bezzie Su who has had to deal with my OCD, my anxieties, my panic attacks and anything else I could think of relating to the day...!!! As soon as I have finished with my nervous breakdown it can be your turn to have one, but if you can hang on till then it would really help..!! lol.

A big, big thank you to all my helpers on the day.

A big, big thank you to all you gorgeous people who live too far away , who sent donations, bought raffle tickets or just sent their best wishes. You are the best.

A big, big thank you to all you fabulous people who took the time to bake your gorgeous creations.

A big, big, big, thank you to all you wonderful people who turned up in person, many of you with fabulous shoes especially for the occasion, to support us throughout the day.

And a massive , massive thank you to Ben , Jay and Emmi, who coped magnificently on such a hard, emotional day. Grandma would have been so proud of you all, as I am. Without your help and support I don't know where I would be. I love you all so much.

And a big thank you to my Mum for leading by example in her determination to raise funds for such a worthwhile cause. She would have been in her element in the studio, telling me off for working too much, mingling amongst you all, telling me off for working too much, bleaching the teaspoons, telling me off for working too much, making the butties, telling me off for working too much, generally making everyone feel welcome and of course telling me off for working too much, lol. But most of all she would have been so proud to know that we raised over £400 . Yes £400 How fantastic is that..??

I will announce all the winners of everything tomorrow, because I,ve left the list at the studio. Plus it increases the excitement doesn't it..???

Today is Fathers Day, my 8th without my Dad here. I miss him so much still, he was and still is, my babe. It was me and him against the world. I only wish he could have seen all that we have achieved. He has never been inside an Art from the Heart studio and he would be amazed and, I know, so very proud. I know exactly what he would say to me "By eck,girl, you haven't half done good".

I,m leaving you with a song that always makes me think of the pair of them. They had a challenging relationship at times and things weren't easy, but they stuck together through thick and thin. I can always remember my Dad singing this to my Mum, usually when he was in the bad books, which was a regular occurrence. The only times that I wasn,t sat on the naughty step was when he got sent there first, lmao.. but the night before he died, Mum and I stayed awake all night by his bedside. That was the first night that I think we started to get to know and understand each other, and she told me tales I never knew. Dad hadnt been aware of anything for 2 days and we knew we didnt have long with him. Jim Reeves was always on in his hospital room and when this song came on she started to sing it to him. I felt humbled to see her sing this with such meaning to the man that she obviously loved so deeply. And wasn,t at all amazed when he opened his eyes and smiled at her, just for a moment. I have a feeling that it was the last thing he was ever aware of and he died the next day. I know they are together now and at peace. So night Mum, night Dad, God Bless, and I miss you so much. xxx