Cuteness

 Just had to share this adorable photo I took yesterday .

Cuteness overload...

Hope you are all having a happy Sunday

xxx

From Toy Chest to Cupboard

 Hey guys,

If you have been following me from the very first post, you know that I gave this toy chest a new paint job from dirty cream to a beachy stripe.

Well, the chest has not actually been working for me anymore, in fact it was just taking up space in our little house and it was storing junk...I was reluctant to get rid of it as it was my toy chest as a child, handmade by my grandfather.

Time for a change...... I decided that it could be converted to a cupboard as it fitted perfectly next to my bed. Sean built a little base for it and added a shelf and door latch inside. He also sanded the whole thing down for me.

My little helpers jumped at the chance of painting the base coat and in turn were covered in paint! Hmm... anyway they had fun together. 

The top coat is a very bright turquoise.

I bought a seriously cool wooden heart shape from Spotlight a while ago, because my bedroom will have a heart theme when I eventually get around to making it over. 

I painted one side of the heart white, and gently pressed that side down onto the lid. It was really uneven in places but I was actually pleased with the effect.

A few days later - I applied a dark wood stain to the whole cupboard. I wiped the stain on with a soft cloth and wiped it off immediately. After another 24 hours I polished the surface twice and buffed to give it a smooth finish..

I love how cute it is and the extra storage is really great 

  

Now I need a lamp and something special to display on the top...I'm still thinking about that....

Thanks for stopping by everyone, have a safe and happy weekend

xxx

 

Linking Up To:

Bowdabra Blog - Saturday Showcase

Funky Junk Interiors - Saturday Night Special

Its Overflowing - Overflowing with Creativity

Simple Shell Display

Hey Everyone,

Today I am going to show you a very simple yet stylish display.

My dear bloggy friend Danni from Silo Hill Farm got me onto the

 the Great Glitzy Hack-Off/Craft-Off which is a Z Gallerie Knock-Off Showdown hosted by Life in Rehab and three bed semi going on all this week.

Here is the inspiration for my project. The actual item for sale here is the bag of shells - but I liked the whole look...

Image via Z-Gallerie On-line Catalogue

 I literally just grabbed a glass from the cupboard and added some of my many shells....

  

So easy and pretty. I'm liking the blue of my glass with the shells....

So there you have it - my Z-Gallerie Knockoff..... And I think I may just be rocking it...

   

xxx

Linking Up To:

Bowdabra Blog - Saturday Showcase

Funky Junk Interiors - Saturday Night Special

Its Overflowing - Overflowing with Creativity

Special Guest - Bargain-ista

 Hey Everyone,

I have a wonderful "new" blog to love and am so glad to have Karen from Bargain-ista here today.

 Karen loves a good bargain and when a friend gave her a me a ton of hand-me-down clothes she  decided to go a whole year without buying any clothes. And she will be bargain hunting for everything else she needs and blogging about it!

So please join me in welcoming Karen....

Hi All! I am super-excited to be guest posting today here at NorthShore Days! 

My name is Karen, and my blog is Bargain-ista, where style has nothing to do with the price tag. Speaking of style, I just love Natalie's NorthShore style...her cool coastal projects and pretty jewelry really speak to me. Inspired by some of the awesome projects here at NorthShore Days, such as the beachy candles and the beach inspired painted jars, I created a twine-wrapped wine bottle. Let's call it a Twine Bottle! I started with this wine bottle that my sister gave me. 

  

I loved the color, the shape, and the size. I peeled off the label and washed and dried it. Then I figured out where I wanted to start wrapping and glued the end down with some Tacky Glue and let it dry. Hot glue would work too, but I kind of have a phobia about hot glue guns <sigh>, so I used Tacky Glue and it worked just fine. 

 

 

I ran a squiggle of glue up the side of the bottle, and started wrapping... 

 

I tucked the end under and continued wrapping up the bottle as far as I wanted it to go. As I was wrapping, I discovered I liked it better a little looser, with a bit of the cobalt blue glass peeking through. I finished the top off the same as the bottom, with a bead of glue, and tucking the end under. When it was dry, I embellished it with a turquoise capiz shell earring I had that was just waiting for the perfect project, tied on with a gold cord I found in my sewing box. All finished! 

  

It would look really great with some flowers or a white pillar candle in it. 

 Thank you again, Natalie, for letting me share my Twine Bottle with your lovely readers!!! 

 Thank you so much Karen, I just love it, so simple, beachy and stylish. I just need some blue bottles and I'm so doing this project. 

Dont forget to headover to Bargain-ista today and say hi to Karen and check out her fab $$ saving tips and crafts.

xxx

    

Inspiration Cafe - Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Greetings from Alaska! 

Welcome to another edition of 

Inspiration Cafe!

It's me again, Mary, from Sweet Little Bluebird...

 I'm in Anchorage visiting my sister's family. 

She is busy wife and mom to five very active, hungry boys!


My sister's favorite place to be is the kitchen.   

She is easily the best baker and cook I know!
Whenever you visit, you NEVER go hungry.
Her home runs like a Bed & Breakfast! 


While I'm here visiting, I thought I'd take advantage and 
share something she whipped up in the kitchen.

Today I'm featuring her famous 
Strawberry Rhubarb Pie! 

Before I get to the recipe, 
I wanted to share my sister's kitchen remodel done last year...
(They did not DIY)


Before:

After:

This is such a fun kitchen to cook in!
..........................................................................................................................

Okay, back to the Pie...

My sister has rhubarb in her garden she picked to make the pie.  

I don't know much about rhubarb, 

but I have never seen rhubarb this HUGE in my life! 

As you can see from the photos above, things grow BIG in Alaska!
There was so much rhubarb, my sister made two pies with tons to spare!

On with the recipe...for ONE pie.

You'll want to start with the crust first.

9 Inch Pie Crust (two crust pie recipe)

Ingredients (Our grandma's recipe, perfect crust every time!)

2 C Flour

1 tsp Salt

2/3 C Shortening

6 tbsp of Ice water (very important)

Directions

Mix flour, salt and shortening with two knives, cutting into the dough until it resembles small peas/crumbs.  Add the ice water and mix gently until dough is formed.  Divide into two equal balls.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 20 minutes.  Roll out crusts on floured surface. 

(Once your crust is ready, set aside and start to make your pie filling)

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie 
(Adapted recipe from Joy of Cooking - 1997 edition)

2 1/2 C Strawberries, sliced

2 1/2 C Rhubarb, cut into 1-2 inch pieces

1 C Sugar, plus extra tsp. to decorate crust

Zest of one orange

1/4 C Quick-cooking tapioca

Dash of Salt

1 - 2 tbsp Butter (use real butter)

*For Rhubarb Pie, replace the strawberries with 2 1/2 cups of rhubarb.

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. 

Mix the first six ingredients in bowl.  Set aside for 15 minutes. Line the pie plate with the bottom crust and fill with the rhubarb mixture.  Slice the butter and dot the pie mixture (see picture below).  Cover with top crust, fold and pinch seams together.  Brush crust lightly with milk or cream and sprinkle with sugar. Cut at least four slits into top of pie to vent while baking.    

Bake at 425F for 30 minutes, then reduce heat to 350F for an additional 30-35 minutes.  Be sure to place a cookie sheet or foil on the rack beneath the pie, the juices will likely bubble over!

Remove and cool. This pie is best served warm with a scoop or two of vanilla ice cream!

 

This was my youngest's first time ever having rhubarb... 

She loved it so much, she had second slice!

Thanks for much for stopping by Inspiration Cafe!

Be sure to stop by next Monday!

Cheers!

Mary

xxx