iLovetoCreate and the Southern Women's Show

Dear Southern Women of Charlotte NC,

YOU ROCK!!!  I enjoyed the time I spent with each and every one of you!!! Thank you for sharing your joy of crafting, your life challenges, your girlfriend stories - you are all an amazing group of women!

Hope to see you again next year!
xo - Linda

I just returned home from the Southern Women's Show held in Charlotte, NC and WOW!  I was invited by iLovetoCreate to represent them along with my bff crafty sister Tiffany Windsor.  I'm still overwhelmed with the amazing response and the warm welcome we received at the show. 

The show was attended by 23,000 women and 4 men - yes I counted!! (let me just say this, the men that I met - well you all rock to because you were there supporting your ladies, patiently waiting as they visited our booth, carrying their bags )

It was the first time that the CHA sponsored a Craft Pavillion.  Many ladies knew we were there and made their way back to see us first.  Others found out as they made their way to the back and were thrilled to be be able to sit, relax and craft.

At time's we were 4 people deep running 8 make and takes.  While I showed how to design a silk scarf with Tulip Fabric Markers,

 Tiffany showed the ladies how to make a phone pouch from felt and the Aleene's brand of adhesives.

We heard comments like:

I'm not creative, but I can do this!
I can't believe I just did this!
This is awesome!
This is such a stress reliever!
I wish I had more time to create!
I'm going to invite my girlfriends over for drinks and crafting!
This would be great for my kids!
WOW - NO MESS!
and more


Here's Beth with the scarf she designed.  She loved it so much she brought her daughter back on Sunday!

This Mom and Daughter duo sell their jewelry to make a little extra money.  Jesse sold so much jewelry in 2 weeks that she was able to buy a blackberry! Did I mention she's 14?  WOW!!
They had so much fun crafting together and you could tell that crafting was a big part of their life and really strengthed their mother/daughter bond.

The stories that these women shared with me of their triumphs, their struggles, their families will not be forgotten.  They were so relaxed when they were crafting and they opened up.

Of course we werent the only ones in the craft pavillion, there were also booths featuring quilting, knitting, papercrafts and more.

When Creativity Knocks featured a stage and live tapings of their show along with Make N Takes at their booth.

Their MITI's were very well attended as well. - so nice to see friends at the show!

It was so nice to be able to connect with the ladies who craft.  We really just wanted to show everyone that it is Cool2Craft!  I really enjoyed every minute of it and hope to be back next year!!

New Friendly Plastic Video - How to create a mosaic pattern in Friendly Plastic

In this episode, Linda Peterson shows you how to create a mosaic pattern in Friendly Plastic.

Back to School time- Get your crafty on!

Today's the first day of school for the Springfield, Missouri public school kids.  Today is Elise's first day of High School and Julia's first day of fourth grade!  All I can do is sit here and think...where did the time go?  I say that all the time.....

Couldn't help but share this adorable wiggly pencil worm project designed by Pattie Donham-Wilkinson and courtesy of ILovetoCreate.   It's a fun way to celebrate back to school and who know? Maybe they will love this pencil so much - they'll wanna do their homework!

Don't let time with your kids slip away - they grow up before you know it.  So take time to breath...enjoy...and create and make great memories while they're young!

How to make a sunflower from Friendly Plastic - New How-to video

It's hard to believe it's time to think about FALL!! But I welcome it! With record temperatures here in Missouri, I'm looking forward to cooler weather!!  In this episode, I show you how to create a sunflower using Friendly Plastic in plenty of time for fall.  Enjoy!

French Toast Cupcakes for breakfast - Recipe

While watching a recent episode of "CUPCAKE GIRLS", I heard that "french toast cupcakes" were totally to die for. So, I went out on a quest for the recipe. While I didn't find the exact one that they used on the show, I did find a similar one on The Cupcakery Blog

You probably read about the major CUPCAKE FAIL when I tried this recipe for the first time. If you haven't it's worth the read..hopefully you'll get a laugh.  It's my saga of learning to bake at 44!. I have no clue what I did wrong but I wasn't ready to give up I really wanted to learn how to make french toast cupcakes!!!!!

Grandma said try and try again...so that's what I did! The second batch (and the 3rd batch ) turned out beautifully...gorgeous and a work of art.These are truely delicious for breakfast or anytime your sweet tooth needs a little attention.  Oh, and might I add, these especially win you brownie points when you bake them early in the morning when you fill your house with the smell of maple syrup and cinnamon and you're husband wakes up to the delightful smell.  (He just may take you shopping - on the internet!! :)  )

MAPLE FLAVOR FRENCH TOAST CUPCAKES

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp. ground cinammon
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 eggs, room temperature
1 tsp. maple extract
1/2 cup milk

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line your muffin tin with baking liners
2. Combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a mixing bowl
3. Whisk together butter, sugar and eggs until nice and creamy.
4. Mix in 1/3 of the flour mixture
5. Mix in 1/2 of milk mixture (1/4 cup)
6. Mix in another 1/3 of flour mixture followed by remaining milk and finish with the rest of the flour.
7. Add batter to baking cups. Make sure they are all uniform.
8. Bake 20-25 minutes until they spring back when lightly touched.
9. Cool for 10 minutes. Then remove from pan. 

You can place them into the freezer for about 10 minutes to speed up the cooling process.  Cool completely before icing.

Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 cup unsalted butter
Pinch of salt
1 tsp maple syrup
1 tsp maple extract
4 1/2 cups of confectioners sugar, sifted
cinnamon sugar for dusting

1.  Beat together the cream cheese, butter and salt until nice and dreamy creamy.  Add the maple syrup and maple extract.   (The maple extract gives it a luscious tan color)
2. Set mixer on low setting and add sugar 1/2 cup at a time until light and fluffy
3. Increase the mixer speed as the sugar blends - otherwise you'll get a puff of sugar in your face...

Once it's creamy you can frost away!  Use a butter or pastry knife to spread, or transfer your icing into a pastry bag with a large star tip attached.

Sprinkle the top with a little bit of cinnamon and then the cinnamon sugar.

Get ready to say OH MY GOODNESS!!! and fall back into your seat thinking you've died and gone to heaven!