Cracking On With It!!!

Yay...........I have reached the halfway point with the curtains....3 down and 3 to go. They look gorgeous so far although we have had trouble with the curtain poles. We bought three the same from Arg*s which expand up to 300cm so you can imagine the size of the curtains at full width...........and you get 15 rings to hang each curtain with no spares available to buy for these particular poles. We have scoured every shop that sells curtain rings and can't find any to match so we have had to replace them all at quite some cost so not very happy with Argos at all.
While in The Range this morning I fell in love with some table covering they had and ended up persuading hubby to get some to protect the new table. I'll show that when I do pics of the finished room.
Gorgeous day today albeit a tad warm for me but it has given DD a chance to go out and tidy up the borders in the back garden and that looks fairly smart now thank goodness.
Salad for tea and then back to the sewing machine for me tonight.
Thanks for dropping by.
Sheila-x-

Up To My Ears In.............!!!

........blue gingham. I am now making the curtains for the new dining room and beginning to wish I had chosen something else for them but they will look so pretty when they are done.
Tuesday evening I took a trip to Ikea with my daughter in law to buy dining room things and spent a little bit more than I intended to.......ooooops!!! I made a list of what I wanted but came back with more besides.......as you do....lol!!! Only one thing out of stock so that means another trip there which is no hardship. I could live in Ikea.
Missing my little Doodle Bird this week. She is on holiday staying with London grandma and grandad until Sunday but I shall see her on Wednesday next week when she comes for tea and a sleepover.
Well I had best get back to these curtains. I am onto the linings now so hopefully it won't be too long until they are finished.
Thanks for dropping by.
Sheila -x-

It's All Coming Together!!!

No pictures yet but the new dining room is coming together nicely.
The new windows are in and I can't believe the difference in that room and the kitchen. So much brighter.
The ceiling has been patched and painted and a new light fitting added. All the woodwork is painted and I have papered and painted the walls. Tomorrow or Saturday hubby and I will be going to pick up some new curtain tracks and order the carpet......which I hope they can fit quickly as the new dining table and chairs will be here next Thursday. All that will be left to do then is to make the curtains and add some finishing touches. I will be sad to see the old table and chairs go as they bear marks of Ruby growing up......her first book of stickers is plastered all over one of the chairs along with a few pencil marks etc but after being tidied up they are going to my son and daughter in law as they have just moved and now have room for a table in their kitchen.
The next job on the list is to smarten up the kitchen. My curtains in there are nearly twenty years old and there is nothing wrong with them apart from being a little dated and the fact that I am sick of looking at pictures of vegetables. They will be exchanged for red gingham ones. I love gingham.
Well I was hoping to dry some washing outside today. There is definitely the wind for it but unfortunately it also thrashing it down with rain so into the tumble drier with that and then a snuggle up in the kitchen to do a bit of baking.
Tara for now
Sheila -x-

Cooking Up A Storm!!!

On Monday I pulled a bag of chicken breast fillets out of the freezer which I had bought for £5 from Iceland. What a bargain. There were 10 fillets in the bag so four made a Mediterranean Chicken Casserole (courtesy of a Colmans Cook In The Bag pack) and the rest I poached in some chicken stock. Two were diced and mixed with mayo and mango chutney to make roll fillings for pack ups and the final four were made into a pie with leeks in white sauce which we had for tea last night. It was gorgeous.
I had found the leeks in the bottom of the veg drawer and the use before date was January 27th (blush) but they were absolutely fine. Two went into the leek sauce and two were added to a huge pot of vegetable soup. That yielded nine and a half portions one of which went to work with my daughter this morning with some homemade oven baked croutons, 8 went in the freezer and the half portion I am just about to have for my lunch. So a good week for frugal cooking.

I am just about to start a new decorating project. The extension on the back of the kitchen has long been a computer room/dumping ground. It was dark, dingy and very cold due to the draughts getting in through rotting wooden window frames but on Monday that all changed when Safe Style came and replaced all of the windows and the door........wow.......I just can't believe the difference. Now I aim to turn it into a dining room so there is a little decorating to do before we get a new carpet down and I have 21 metres each of fabric and lining on it's way to be turned into curtains. I won't get much done this weekend as my little Doodle will be arriving after school today and staying until Sunday morning but luckily hubby is on 2-10 shift next week so I shall get plenty done. It's a pity I didn't take a pic of the room 'before' but never mind I will show a pic when it's all done.

Right.....I shall go and have my lunch and then get all this mornings ironing put away before I go and make Doodles bed up for tonight.
Thanks for dropping by.
Sheila-x-

I'm Back!!!

Well looooong time no Blog.
Life has been pretty hectic with one thing and another. I am now a stay at home wife and no longer making cards or doing much at all in the way of papercrafting except for home decor etc.
With all the changes that have gone on I decided that Manicstamper no longer applies to my blogging persona so hence the change of Blog name to Life's Too Short To Iron Tea Towels (and it definitely is....lol).
I'll be sharing bits of everyday life (cooking, baking, sewing and home decorating) and stuff I hope you will find interesting.
Thanks for dropping by
Sheila -x-