Today is ‘Time for a Cuppa Day’ which is an annual fundraising event for Dementia UK.

The special day aims to raise as much money as possible to support the work of the charity and it encourages everyone from across the country to get involved.

The organisation relies completely on voluntary donations so they are asking Britain to help them make a difference to carers’ lives by taking time out for a cuppa to raise funds.

It gives everyone affected by dementia the opportunity to break down barriers and talk about the illness over a piping hot cup of tea.

What do you have to do? Simply invite the family and friends round; put the kettle on and have a good old chinwag over some homemade cakes.

Nothing quite beats a scrumptious cuppa and rest assured that the pot can stay lovely and hot with one of our tea cosies. So even if you do end up gossiping for hours on end, your brews will remain toasty!

If you are thinking about putting on some nibbles for your guests to eat, why not grab one of our aprons and practice your culinary skills by baking some delicious treats?

Everyone loves dunking a biscuit or two in a piping hot brew, so why not carry out your favourite pastime and raise money at the same time, perfect!

Besides, tea parties are becoming all the range as of late and are ideal for friends and family to gather together in one room and do what as a society females do best – natter.

Check out our vast array of delightful bone china mugs which are great to use as your ‘fancy’ tableware and we have some gorgeous cake tins so if there are any leftover cakes, you can store them safely for another day.

Also, carry all the brews at the tea party like a true domestic goddess with a pretty tray and cover the table with our beautiful table runners, napkins and coasters.

Gingham Red Cotton Apron

Today is National Wear Red Day!

In association with the British Heart Foundation, everyone across the UK is being urged to get involved to raise money for the life-saving work the charity does.

There are numerous ways that Brits can help for example by wearing red clothing but if you have already got up, got dressed and gone to work then fret not, there are still tasks that you can carry out to raise vital funds.

Why not put a swear box in the office for the day? Every time someone curses and turns the air blue, they have to put 50p in the box. Or fill a jar with lots of red sweets and ask people to guess the number in the jar for a £1 donation?

The whole family can get involved by painting the children’s face red with face paint, and you can get baking in the kitchen to make up scrumptious delicious red treats!

It may be too late to purchase something in time to wear today but next year, when practising your culinary skills in the home, dress from head to toe in red with Ulster Weavers’ Plain Red Collection. This is great to add a splash of bright colour into the home with vivid homeware accessories of kitchen tea towels etc.

We also have the fabulous Jan Constantine Gingham Red design which comes complete with coordinating apron, double oven glove, tea cosies, tea towel, gauntlet and pot mitt. It has a gorgeous cute heart on it with a pretty rose inside.

And Jan Constantine’s ‘Love’ collection is ideal as it has a heart on it which ties in great with the British Heart Foundation. Plus we’ve got a new Love messenger bag in stock now as part of the range which is just perfect.

So why not get involved by baking red heart cookies or cupcakes and sell them to your family, friends, or kid’s school class to raise money. Any amount that is raised will go a long way but don’t forget to wear one of our aprons to protect your clothing from any stains.

This week is National Chip Week!

It seems that the British just can’t get enough of the tasty potato food and so Chip Week is calling on all chip lovers across the nation to celebrate chips in all formats.

There is everything from crinkly, wedges, chunky and straight chips so whatever is your favourite, there isn’t any excuses to not getting involved.

Here are some fun facts about chips to sink your teeth into;

• Around 200 million chip meals are sold in fish and chip shops each year.
• Nearly 60% of the chips prepared in the home are oven baked; over a third is fried and 3% are microwaved.
• The most popular day of the week Brits eat chips is Friday.
• 87% of Britons love chips
• In just one year Britain eats nearly three billion meals containing chips. 

There are numerous ways to cook chips, so grab your aprons and try some of these recipe ideas!

Chocolate Chip Cookie

A chip shop in Birmingham has reinvented a biscuit favourite by making chocolate chip cookies with actual chips. *Personally here at Ulster Weavers, we just enjoy the traditional chocolate ones!*

Spicy Wedges with Avocado Dip

This is perfect as a starter meal to tantalise the taste buds but not fill your belly up too much!

Egg, Chips and Beans

This is a classic meal which has been cooked for generations but is timeless due to its simplicity and the fact that it is just delicious.

Steak, Chips and Vegetables

Again, this is a definitive British mealtime that will whet the appetite of any man. And girls, the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach! Finish the dish with some peppercorn sauce for the piste de resistance.

Remember that chips can be dangerous though because how hot they can become. You need to be especially careful when you are deep-fat frying or cooking with oil because it can catch fire easily; so use some kitchen tea towels when carrying the plates to avoid hands getting burnt.

Tomorrow is Shrove Tuesday, otherwise called Pancake Day.

Although there are many ways to get the whole family involved, there are some top tips to carry out to avoid any kitchen disasters and flops.

So grab your aprons and get tossing those pancakes!

You can still become immersed in the culinary showdown even if you have any allergies with gluten-free flour and ingredients.

But do you know why we celebrate Shrove Tuesday?

Well first of all, it is the last day before the period of Lent which is a time of abstinence of giving things up.

Therefore, the day is a tradition for Brits to have the last chance of indulging themselves and to use up foods that aren’t allowed in Lent such as eggs and butter.

And it is named Shrove Tuesday because the word derives from the old word ‘shrive’ which means to confess. In the Middle Ages people used to confess their sins so that they were forgiven before Lent began.

There is no single way to make pancakes and you can include everything from sugar, lemon, jam and chocolate, to ham and cheese.

But popular toppings include;

- Ice cream

- Golden syrup

- Strawberry jam

For specific recipes, there are numerous websites available but Ulster Weavers advice is to just go with the flow because practice makes perfect!

If you are making pancakes for the very first time, just remember to mix the flour and salt first into a mixing bowl and make a well in the centre to break the eggs into. Add the small quantities of milk and water gradually and continue whisking until the batter is smooth.

Why not make the flipping of the pancakes a competition with the kids to see who can toss the highest? Just be careful as not to get any stuck to the ceiling!

And another tip is that pancakes are best eaten as soon as possible before they go rubbery.

Retail clothing company H&M has been accused of stealing an original design from an American artist and using it for its own homeware collection.

The Swedish high street store has been blamed for ripping off a graffiti artist’s work and then reproducing it without the artist’s permission.

Tori LaConsay, of East Atlanta, in United States, painted a sign on a disused billboard in Georgia that wrote “You Look Nice Today” to put a smile on the faces of all commuters and residents in the area.

The work was in black lettering, on a white background and it ended with a small red heart.

Recently, H&M published a range of household items, merchandise and apparel in the UK including pillowcases, sheets, towels and doormats all with a similar slogan of the same words, same font and same heart.

When confronted, H&M denied copying the design and stated that it was not a direct copy. However, the international fashion firm sparked an internet fury and was slammed on social networking sites for its customer service response.

A spokesperson said: “We employ an independent team of over 100 designers. We can assure you that this design has not been influenced by your work and that no copyright has been infringed.”

The organisation has since issued an apology on their Facebook page for customer service’s poor handling of the matter, stating: “We apologies if anyone should think we have copied, which has never been our intention and also not allowed. We have merely been inspired, after seeing many different varieties with different text messages, to create something similar in a different font, with the use of big and small brackets and the placement of the shaped heart.

“We are truly sorry if we have led someone to believe that we intentionally should have copied someone else’s creation.”

They have since tried to quash the controversy and control the damage on Facebook by saying that they are in contact with the designer. And since the complaint came to light, the homeware items have been removed from the H&M website.

Check out Ulster Weaver’s vast range of homeware items which includes our own and many other designers.

There is everything you could possibly need to make a house a home from door stops, kitchen tea towels and cake tins; to tableware, bone china mugs and tea cosies.

Image courtesy of ArtLyst. 

Recently the Top Drawer trade show took place in London to reveal the top emerging trends for 2012 and Danish designs dominated the displays.

Top Drawer is a trade show for all the main interior stores such as Selfridges, Lewis and Not On The High Street and it is reported that over a quarter of the exhibitors were either Danish, Finnish, Norwegian or Swedish.

The most prominent feature was retro fashion with fresh colours and geometric patterns but there was also a key children’s feature which focused solely on the trend ‘Grow Your Own’. This accounted for all kid’s products and clothing to encourage parents to become aware of the benefits of home grown produce and nurturing through food. Ulster Weavers can help you inspire the little ones to start baking and making their own food with a delightful range of kid’s aprons and chef hats!

Our canvas bags are perfect for this trend too because they are re-useable and much more eco-friendly than boring plastic carrier bags.

The Top Drawer trade show’s fashion accessories feature displayed four key trends for the upcoming autumn/winter 2012/13 season: Graphic Clash, English Heritage, Beauty Lab and Faded Grandeur.

Exhibitors across all sectors were reportedly well and truly embracing a British trend with traditional references like the London Bus and we have a number of ranges too with our ‘British Cats’ collection as well as ‘ United Jack’ and the various London 2012 ranges.

From ‘Team GB’ to ‘Queen’s Diamond Jubilee’ we have a plethora of British-themed memorabilia for you to get your hands on in 2012 including everything from cotton tea towels, tea cosies and bone china mugs.

Make sure your kitchen and home is on-trend this year with a little assistance from Ulster Weavers.

Valentine’s Day is tomorrow but it can be expected that many partners out there will be running around last minute trying to find the perfect present.

Flowers is a lovely present but leaving it to the eleventh hour will only result in you getting the last pick of a terrible bunch.

What is more, it doesn’t really scream effort when it is obvious you have bought them on your way home from work from the local corner shop.

It isn’t too late to make something for your loved one. Creating your own gift is brilliant because it allows you to personalise the present with his/her name and with their favourite colours. And a homemade gift really shows how much you care because you have put thought and time into making it.

So grab one of our aprons and put a smile on your special someone’s face this Valentine’s Day with some of these top arts and crafts ideas.

Why not make her some jewellery with matching earrings and necklace using odd bits of buttons, beads and Swarovski crystals?

Or make a pretty picture frame/canvas? A heart frame is really easy to make so it is great for beginners and it only takes 30 minutes!

Show your creative side by making a cute button-heart cushion to makeover the living room, or decorate some candles with garland trim and gems?

And as well as the present, why not make a homemade card for her too with bows, ribbons and feathers?

Make a collage by printing out some pictures of the two of you and cover the card to remind yourselves of all the good times that you have had over the years.

Get the kids involved too by encouraging them to make their mum or dad a card. It will entertain them for a couple of hours and they can use their imagination with colourful felt tip pens and crayons.

Check out Ulsterweavers.co.uk today to have a look at all our gorgeous homeware and matching kid’s chef hats and aprons. Have a romantic Valentine’s Day everyone!

Valentine’s Day is only just around the corner, so what plans do you have to make the day special and romantic for your loved one?

It can be fairly pricey to go out for a meal to a posh nosh restaurant and many Brit’s purse strings are heavily tied at the moment during such difficult economic times.

But you can still show your partner how much you love them and spend quality time together from the comfort of your own home by making a home cooked meal.

Bake with love this Valentine’s Day and don LOVE inspired aprons by the fantastic Jan Constantine design.

A top tip to have a lovely evening is to hire a babysitter, or drop the kids off with a family relative, and enjoy the house just to yourselves. Some much needed peace and quiet away from the little ones will reignite the flames of your relationship.

A great idea is to dim the lights and put a single red rose in the middle of the table and you can go the extra mile for the ‘wow’ factor by putting tea lights on top of all the surfaces and dry rose petals all over the room.

The LOVE range also comes complete with matching pot mitt, tea cosies and oven glove, and you can use the glove to protect your hands when taking the scrumptious food out of the oven.

There are foods out there that boost energy and speed up metabolism and there are also nourishments that are considered aphrodisiacs that improve your lust life,

Here are some perfect recipe ingredients to cook to tantalise the taste buds this Valentine’s Day… (Please note that they all shouldn’t be used in conjunction with each other!)

Starter; Avocado, Nutmeg, Prawns, Almond, Goats Cheese, Salad,

Main Course; Oysters, Asparagus, Carrots, Figs, Mustard, Chicken, Salmon,

Dessert; – Strawberries and cream, Chocolate truffles, Bananas, Vanilla, Rhubarb,

Drinks; Champagne, Wine, Sex on the beach cocktail, Pineapple, Strawberry Daiquiri

Pretend you are in a real restaurant and don’t forget to pull your partner’s chair out for them before they sit down and pour them a drink. Why not place kitchen tea towels on their lap like a serviette? Check out our LOVE range by clicking here…

This Sunday is National Aunties’ Day in the UK!

Launched in conjunction with the release of Judy Moody on DVD, it is a day purely dedicated to celebrating aunties and their unique relationship with nieces and nephews.

Why not show your sister how much you care about them and how much they mean to your little one by encouraging your child to make them a gift?

Homemade gifts are extra special because they require a lot of time and effort and it is a fantastic way to entertain the kids for a couple of hours in the evening. It doesn’t have to cost the earth make a present- grab some coloured paper, pens and glitter and make a personalised card.

Rest assured it will definitely put a smile on her face when she sees that her niece or nephew has made her something. Inspire their creativity and make a flower pot out of half a cut up bottle and decorate it in pretty feathers, paints and bits and bobs. Or you can be a little adventurous and help them make some delightful jewellery sets that include a bracelet and necklace in her favourite colours.

Another gift idea is to don some matching aprons and get baking some delicious cupcakes; or how about a paper weight that she can use at her office?

If you prefer to buy a gift for National Aunties’ Day, then why not check out the fabulous homeware ideas that we have to offer! From pretty tea towels and bags, to tea cosies and pot mitts, Ulster Weavers has everything you could possibly need to show that special someone how much you care.

And we have plenty of gift ideas that won’t break the bank for under £10 including bone china mugs, gauntlets, egg cosies and cafetiere cosies.

This week is Woolly Hat Week in the UK!

The campaign has been launched by the Sailors’ Society, a charity that helps merchant seafarers on board ship and when they step ashore in port.

The society claims to be among the largest and most comprehensive international seafarers’ support charity and they are calling on the British public to wear a woolly hat this week to raise awareness for the world’s 1.5 million sailors who brave the high seas.

As part of the week, the interdenominational maritime charity is asking for small donations as well as woolly hats. Each year the Southampton-based organisation gives out 15,000 woolly hats knitted by volunteers.

The fundraising director, Jan Webber, said that seafarers battle with the elements regularly and that a hat is appreciated, especially by people who come from warm climates and are unprepared for the less than tropical climates of the UK.

Now here at Ulster Weavers, we don’t necessarily have any woolly hats for people to wear but we do have a vast array of children’s chef hats. From Robot and Farmyard-themes, to London 2012 and Treasure Island, there is a plethora of choices available to let the kids practice baking in the kitchen.

Dress the little ones up in cute aprons and matching hat and encourage them to have fun and play the part of being a professional chef! Why not make some delicious cupcakes that have anchors decorated on with icing?

The common colour associated with seafarers is blue and our Pride The Lion Child’s Chef Hat is just perfect to display British pride. So get involved in Woolly Hat Week by donning some gorgeous homeware and cooking up a storm in the kitchen. And you can carry on the trend outside the home to keep your ears warm in such blustery cold weather.