So it’s 36 days to Christmas!                    

This year has flown by, so start getting your thinking heads on about present ideas and Christmas plans, if you haven’t done so already.                    

It is traditional and lucky to put your decorations up 12 days before Christmas Day and to pull them down 12 days after.                    

Most people get so caught up with putting up the tree, lights in the windows and wrapping tinsel around the stair banisters that they forget to decorate the kitchen.                    

Why shouldn’t the green and red touches and Christmas feel be spread all over the house, including the main room in which you may possibly be eating your Christmas Day grub in?                    

Ulster Weavers have put together some Christmas ideas of how to spruce your kitchen up this holiday with that ‘ho, ho, ho’ spirit.                    

DECORATIONS                    

Similar to the picture above, you can use the cabinets to add some greenery and garland. Add some big red bows, ribbons and beads to hang down from the cabinets but make sure you are still able to open the cupboards for your food.                    

You don’t have to spend loads of money to creative the festive cheer; why not add a centre-piece in the middle of the dining table or some candles on the window ledge; or hang some mistletoe from your kitchen lights?                     

A really fun way to get the children involved is to frost the windows with that ‘snow in a can’ you can buy from various stores. The kids will love drawing snowmen on the windows with snowflakes and more, and it’s easy enough to be washed off afterwards.                    

Complete the look with a Christmas themed table set of placemat, cutlery, table cloth, and glasses. It will really ‘Christmasify’ your kitchen and make it that little bit more special when your tucking into your Christmas turkey.                    

Really go to town with Pot Mitts, Gauntlets and linen tea towels, it only happens once a year!                    

Here are some fantastic Ulster Weaver products that would really bring your home to life this holiday time.                    

Furry Christmas Cotton Drill Apron

Get into the festive spirit when cooking the Christmas dinner by wearing this Christmas Apron.                    

Christmas Pudding Tea Cosy

This tea cosy would look fantastic on your kitchen work top, perhaps good enough to eat!             

RHS Poinsettia Double Oven Glove

Pair your apron with some oven gloves; you don’t want to be burning your hands on that Christmas stuffing!       

Decorating your kitchen can be a wonderful experience.                        

No matter what style you are going for, a colour co-ordinated home is fundamental in creating a stylish home that goes pop! Whether it be a cozy warm decor that is colourfully happy and cheerful, or a classic countryside cottage, or an elegant modern chic, it is important for kitchen appliances and materials to complement each other to bring warmth and personality to the heart of the home.                         

Many things need to be taken into consideration beforehand though to set the mood and bring a decor theme to life. The flooring should be taken into account with regards to dark/light wood or vinyl influencing the rest of the materials; as well the counter work tops and where you live.                         

Whatever colour you have chosen to paint your kitchen should match your personality, the way you use it and what you actually do in there. If your family spends all their time in there and food is a passion and is constantly being cooked, perhaps a rich warm red would be complimentary?                         

A beach front apartment might be best suited in a cool blue, whereas a forest getaway lodge would suit dark browns to bring the forest and its’ wilderness inside.                         

Another key concept is to ensure the colour scheme unites the rest of the house, to ensure a colour flow and theme throughout the rooms. It would seem senseless modernising all of the rooms in contemporary colours and furniture and then to decorate your kitchen in a traditional-barn style.                          

So you have finally decided upon your colour scheme; now for your appliances. Having matching utensils and cutlery etc. will ensure unpleasant chores that you spend hours completing daily such as washing up, a rewardable task that is less daunting.                          

Here at Ulster Weavers we have selected some colour scheme ideas and appliances you may consider for your home.                          

Country                           

Coffee Potts Double Oven Glove

Why not create the cozy cottage feel kitchen by teaming the Coffee Potts Double Oven Glove, with matching Gauntlett, Coasters and Apron.                          

 Retro  

Lola Tea Cosy

Make a bold brass statement in fun and funky colours! Try oranges, yellows and greens to really stand out and bring a groovy disco decadence to your home.           

Sorrento Pot Mitt

Straight off the catwalk and into your home, floral patterns are sprouting up in interiors, with oversized blooms being a key trend. Similar to this Sorrento Pot Mitt, decor your kitchen in on-trend matching items such as Apron, Gauntlet and Tea Towel.                 

 Animals                        

It’s happened to the best of us at some point. You’ve chilled out all day, done pretty much nothing until mother comes home after a hard day at work to find you haven’t lifted a finger and the potatoes aren’t on the boil for dinner.

Or maybe you’re the one who has come home after a busy day to find the whole household wondering where you have been and why their dinner isn’t on the table.

Now while you may turn it on its head and ask them what they have been doing all day, you know that your lot are a little crafty and having practiced for years and knowing which buttons to press, they will have a list of little excuses to why your dinner wasn’t on the table and why they didn’t even get round to lifting the meat out the freezer.

To give you a heads up on what excuses you could potentially face (or potentially use) here are the most common excuses USED for not cooking the dinner!

1. “I don’t know how to cook; I am not good at all. You are so much better.”
2. “I just don’t feel like cooking or eating tonight.”
3. “I am on a diet and can’t be in the kitchen.”
4. “I got home from work and felt far too tired to cook.”
5. “I got home too late to start cooking.”
6. “I didn’t know where everyone was so I just thought I would wait until everyone got in.”
7. “We all ate a big snack earlier and aren’t really that hungry anymore.”
8. “I asked what people wanted and everyone said they didn’t know so I thought I would wait to get a second opinion.”
9. “Everyone wanted something different and I only have one pair of hands.”
10. “The kitchen isn’t really big enough for the meal I had planned.”
11. “I had an idea for a really extravagant meal but you didn’t have the ingredients in so I couldn’t make it.”
12. “There is nothing in the cupboards for me to cook.”
13. “I fancy a takeaway.”
14. “I am not cooking for us anymore, I am worried about global warming.”
15. “I have had so so much homework to do when I have come in from school I just didn’t have the time and I really don’t want to fail.”
16. “I didn’t want to start cooking and then waste all the food if no one was eating. I was thinking of you really and all the money you spend on food.”

It’s coming towards the end of the summer holidays and you are probably finding that your kids are getting super bored with all this free time they are having off school. So much so that their day to day games and playing with friends has become somewhat of a bore to them, that they are getting much more pleasure annoying you instead. Sound familiar?

A great way to get your children involved and kept thoroughly entertained is through creative arts and crafts. Getting them involved in creating their own gifts and crafts allows their imagination to explore and for them to be proud of something they have achieved on their own. Nowadays there are many arts and crafts shops across the UK which invite children – as well as children’s parties – to come along to design and make their own crafts. From ceramic mugs and egg cups to ornaments and jugs kids can create their own crafts that they can take away to give to their family and friends.

If you know that your children will love the idea of crafts then we at Ulster Weavers have put together a fabulous ‘make your own mug’ plan that you can do in your own home with your children.

Things you will need

• Pre-glazed ceramic blank white mug.
• Light blue grease pencil.
• Ceramic mug paints or markers.

TOP TIP: YOU CAN PURCHASE YOUR PRE GLAZED MUG FROM A VARIETY OF ARTS AND CRAFTS STORES AS WELL AS ONLINE STORES. THEY AREN’T EXPENSIVE AND MANY COME IN A PACK CONTAINING PAINTS AND MARKERS FOR YOU TO DECORATE YOUR MUG.

1. Firstly lay out an area where you and your children can work. Make sure that you cover the area so that no mess is made on the carpets or furniture. Get your child to wear a PVC apron to make sure they don’t get their clothes messy.

2. Sit down with your child and talk about the design and pattern they want to create. This will get their brain thinking about things they like and things they like to draw and paint. Allowing them to jump in feet first with their paints and markers may mean they design something they don’t like and they won’t be able to start again. Maybe get them to draw the design on paper first so they can work against something when drawing onto the mug.

 TOP TIP: GET THEM TO THINK ABOUT THEIR HOBBIES, INTERESTS, FAVOURITE TELEVISION SHOWS, FRIENDS, FAMILY AS WELL AS PLACES THEY HAVE BEEN, FAVOURITE ANIMALS, THE LIST IS ENDLESS. THE MORE YOU GET THEM THINKING, THE MORE CREATIVE THEY WILL BE WHEN DESIGNING THEIR MUG.

3. With the grease pencil get your child to sketch their design onto the mug. Wipe away any mistakes and revise designs with a damp cloth. Let your child know that they don’t need to rush and that they should draw lightly with the grease pencil as pressing too hard will make the grease harder to get off.

4. Paint and draw over the design with ceramic mug paints or markers. Work from left to right around your mug ifright-handed and from right to left if left-handed. This will prevent the design from smearing.

5. Once they are happy with the design bake the mug(s) in the oven at about 300 degrees Fahrenheit on a baking tray for about 15 minutes so that the paint and ink will set. Make sure you use an oven glove and explain to your children the importance of keeping safe when near kitchen appliances such as the oven.

6. The mug is now ready and dishwasher safe to use.

 Sit down with your children and have a little tea party full of treats as well as their newly designed ceramic mug that they can drink out of.

And it’s not just paints and markers that can get your child creative. Many online sites allow you to upload digital photos online, arrange them on to a ceramic mug to be printed and sent direct to your home. These make ideal gifts for friends and loved ones and don’t cost too much either.

Ulster Weavers Charlotte Bone China Mug

If you are getting in on a slice of the creative action and want to create your own mugs, take a little inspiration from the collection of Bone China Mugs at UlsterWeavers.com.

You are sure to find a wide range of inspiration from their fantastic collection including the Charlotte Bone China Mug a beautiful vintage rose design that is back in fashion in a big way. The collection comes complete with a Charlotte coasters, double oven glove, placemats, small and large tray, pot mitt, tea cosy, small, medium and shoulder PVC bag, PVC and cotton apron, linen tea towel, gauntlet, 2011 calendar tea towel, tea cosy and PVC packable bag. The beautiful collection is the complete collection you need to make your house a home.

When it comes to decorating your kitchen you can take a whole load of inspiration from all over the world.

From the Italian bistro to the French country kitchen the world is full of culture, history, climate and a myriad of factors which can truly make your house a home.

It is always interesting to walk into a room and immediately become part of another world and what better room to decorate than the kitchen which is the most commonly used room in the house.

You can even decorate your whole house around one country or each room could individually carry its own style. And it really doesn’t have to be expensive either. A simple stroke of paint and a few added accessories can really make a whole load of difference.

To get you started into created a well-travelled home; here are a few inspirational ideas to create a new world in your home.

Victoria Mug by UlsterWeavers.com

English - When it comes to an English style kitchen think no further than a traditional country theme. Comfortable and homey stripes are ideal in creating an English country style kitchen. Use warm colours such as honey, caramel, vanilla, cinnamon or paprika to set the background for a country style. Paint your cupboards and furniture to a lighter shade.

Decorate with floral home textiles such as tea towels, place mats, aprons and oven gloves which match the English country trends. A home textiles trend that truly fits the English country bill is the Victoria collection by Ulster Weavers.com. A traditional floral design with a fresh, modern twist. With bright blues and floral colours the collection is ideal if you are looking to incorporate a English country theme into your home. The collection comes complete with a Bone China Mug, cotton apron, muff tea cosy, double oven glove, gauntlett, cotton tea towel and pot mitt.

Italian – Inspired by nature. Rustic Italian countryside and farmhouses play a major part in Italian interior furnishings. Tiled floors and wall murals as well as stencils are very prominent within Italian decor. Pear, olives, ivory and gold are prominent colours around an Italian home providing a warm, lived-in feeling to your house. Dependent on the size of your kitchen you may opt for darker wooden furniture, however if your kitchen is small you may opt for rustic wire racks to hang pots and pans. And like every Italian home, you need a wine rack as the perfect finishing touch to your Italian kitchen.

Mexican – Mexicans are all about bright colours. Sunny yellows, cobalt blue, antique white, verdigris, terracotta and mango orange are all cheerful and warm colours for your Mexican kitchen interior designs. Wrought iron candlesticks, bold coloured tiles, bird and fish motifs are very popular for a Mexican kitchen. Maybe throw up a fabric wall hanging if you have a bit of room featuring bright primary colours to add a bit of colour. Vinyl table cloths with fruits and flowers are fantastic for a Mexican style kitchen. Furnishings tend to take on a feeling of a crumbling old Spanish hacienda which can abode well with the bright bold colours of your interior textiles and furnishings.

Egyptian – The striking beauty of Egyptian furnishings can look stunning in your kitchen. Simple furnishings, accompanied with marble and gold inspire an Egyptian style kitchen. Hieroglyphic and parchment types of art can bring the ancient world into your kitchen. You could even incorporate home textiles featuring cats which were a major part of Egyptian culture. Oranges, blues and whites are also perfect colours for an Egyptian themed home.

African – You don’t have to spend a lot of money to recreate an African style theme in your kitchen. Plants, animal prints, tapestries, exotic fabrics are all a great way to incorporate African culture into your home. And if you are going the whole way terracotta tiled floors, ceiling fan, African masks on the wall are great additional accessories to add to the overall design. Deep colours like reds, oranges and yellows are great for an African kitchen. Fabric is very important so make sure you incorporate a variety of home textiles which take on the African theme.

Greek – When we think of Greece the most common images that spring to mind is the cloudless blue skies, sun-baked earth and sparkling sea. Greek decoration combines white stucco walls, stone floors, woven wall hangings, bare windows and rustic style furniture. Everything is clean cut and minimalist with natural clay pottery, tile accents and wrought iron furnishings. 

For more information visit UlsterWeavers.com for all your home textiles collections which can truly make your house a home.

Drinking a cup of tea is only good if you make it. Whether you like it milky with three sugars or strong with no milk, if someone makes you a cup of tea you are more than likely to receive a cup of tea the exact opposite to how you like it.

And if you leave it you run the risk of offending the tea maker which is possibly the last thing you want to do, so you sit there drinking almost a pint of sweetened milk when you prefer your tea super strong with no added sugar.

If only everyone had their tea the same way and there was no other way to make it. How easy would that be?

The famous George Orwell in his time had a set of tea rules that he lived by that no one should dare depart from.

George Orwell’s tea rules

• Use tea from India or Ceylon (Sri Lanka), not China
• Use a teapot, preferably ceramic
• Warm the pot over direct heat
• Tea should be strong – six spoons of leaves per 1 litre
  

  George Orwell and his famous tea rules

• Let the leaves move around the pot – no bags or strainers
• Take the pot to the boiling kettle
• Stir or shake the pot
• Drink out of a tall, mug-shaped tea cup
• Don’t add creamy milk
• Add the milk to the tea, not vice versa
• No sugar!

Orwell said that tea was one of the “mainstays of civilisation” and completely ruined by sweetening. He said that anyone flouting his diktat on shunning the sugar bowl could not be called “a true tealover.”

That’s us told!

Not only did he have a weak spot for a good cuppa, he also had distaste for scientists, so in 2003, to mark the 100^th anniversary of Orwell’s birth, the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) broke down his 11-point formula to rubbish a good many of his ‘golden rules.’

And Dr Andrew Stapley – a chemical engineer at Loughborough University – found a number of Orwell’s points were wrong.

Orwell’s six-spoons of tea per pot were found to be just far too strong to drink. The RSC research found that just a single spoon of leaves was sufficient.

Pouring milk after the tea was made was seen as a no go because according to their research;

“At high temperatures, milk proteins – which are normally all curled up foetus-like – begin to unfold and link together in clumps. This is what happens in UHT (ultra heat-treated) milk, and is why it doesn’t taste as good a fresh milk,” says Dr Stapley.

 “It is better to have the chilled milk massed at the bottom of the cup, awaiting the stream of hot tea. This allows the milk to cool the tea, rather than the tea ruinously raise the temperature of the milk.”

 And this whole malarkey about no sugar isn’t backed up by the team as sugar “acts to moderate the natural astringency of tea.” In other words it just makes tea less bitter.

This would clearly anger Orwell who said that “Tea is meant to be bitter, just as beer is meant to be bitter.”

 Well whatever your tea style we at UlsterWeavers.com follow these fabulous tips to ensure that all of our staff get a decent brew every day of the week.

1. Make sure the kettle is clean and well maintained. Water contains minerals and limescale that can build up at the bottom of your kettle overtime. De-scale and rinse your kettle regularly especially if you live in a hard water area.
2. If your water tastes good then half the battle is complete. Tap water is usually fine but filtered water can be a better option as it has a high amount of oxygen circulation throughout. Try to avoid using distilled or previously boiled water as the kettle prefers pure water.
3. Whether you are using a teapot or a single cup, give the tea at least 2 minutes to brew. A good tip is to ensure that the water stays hot and this can be done with either tea cosies or simply placing a small plate on top of the cup. This keeps the heat in giving you a steaming hot cup of tea every time. Be careful not to burn yourself on the boiling water.
4. If herbal and speciality teas are your thing then let the water in the kettle cool a little as finer teas taste better at lower temperatures.

Whether you put the milk in before or after or whether sugar is your thing is a personal thing, but one thing we can all agree on is that tea needs to be piping hot.

Twitter Tea Cosy from UlsterWeavers.com

A great way to do this is through a tea cosy from UlsterWeavers.com. The home textiles company has a range of tea cosies available from their online store which would look perfect in your home and a great solution to keeping your tea super hot.

Their latest collections include the adorable Twitter tea cosy, an adorable owl themed collection. Cotton with polyester wadding and a wooden based insert, this tea cosy is complete with appliqué detail making it the perfect accessory for your home.

The collection comes complete with a double oven glove, pot mitt, cotton tea towel, gauntlet and a cotton apron, the ideal way to make your house a home.

For more information visit UlsterWeavers.com today.

The tea cosy. A common every day object that doesn’t seem very interesting to anyone other than your grandmother and her knitting club.

In fact, many people see tea cosies as an unfashionable accessory for the home which should be shoved in the loft with all the other bits and pieces we never use; when in fact the history of the tea cosy is a rather interesting one.

Now we at UlsterWeavers.com are proud supporters of the tea cosy and are not afraid to say it. And to help sway your ideas of the tea cosy world, we have the history here in our hands and a few funky knitted tea cosies designs along the way!

Dating back to Nobel origins, the tea cosy was not only brought about to keep the teapot and its contents hot, but to extend social activities!

The tea cosy time line begins when tea was first introduced to Britain in the 1660s, when King Charles II married Catherine of Braganza. Catherine brought to court the pleasure of tea taking. However, the importing of this then luxury item was very costly and a pleasure only the aristocracy could afford until 1750 when tea became Britain’s national drink. Colonialism and the ever-increasing empire meant that more exotic goods were being brought to Britain more often and more cheaply.

However, it is probably the Duchess of Bedford who brought about the popularity of the tea cosy.

In 1840, the Duchess of Bedford established the activity of ‘Afternoon Tea,’ an event that became so British that we still refer to 4pm as ‘Tea Time.’ During this era ‘well to do’ ladies didn’t work, so the introduction of afternoon tea was a welcomed occupation. Unlike today, afternoon tea was a rather posh affair; the best china (usually fine China tea services imported from China) would be used along with fancy cakes and pastries to accompany the tea.

The tea party would be served at the table, often in the garden during the summer months. Afternoon tea was a time for networking and keeping up to date with the latest gossip and topical news, and of course with all the chatter at the table, the teapot would get cold. Usually this would cut short tea parties giving reluctant guests an excuse to leave instead of sending for a fresh pot of tea. And so that is where the tea cosy came about; a little warm jacket to keep the tea pot piping and the chatter continuing.

The tea cosy started to be used in North America in the same period. Newspapers at that time where saying that tea cosies enjoyed a “sudden and unexpected rise in public favour” among women who hosted tea parties. Newspapers of the time even included advice columns on how to make one.

The tea cosy craze died for a while, but since the boom of arts and crafts around the globe, many people have taken to knitting their own tea cosies to accompany their tea pot in the home.

And have we found some cute little designs out there that you have made. Here are our favourites.

This adorable strawberry knitted tea cosy would definitely brighten up any kitchen.

Sweet little knitted flower basket perfect for the gardener in you.

We love this quaint tea cosy, ideal for a sophisticated tea break between you and your friends.

Themed tea cosies also go down a treat. We found Christmas Puddings, Santa Clauses and Easter Bunny knitted tea cosies too.

We aren’t really sure what this is meant to be but it’s a funky design that will definitely keep your tea toasty hot!

If we tempted you into tea cosy land but knitting truly isn’t your forte, then why not visit UlsterWeavers.com to view

Thomas Joseph Knitted Tea Cosy

 a range of modern and professionally designed tea cosy collections.

The home furnishings store has many different styles and designs to choose from including an adorable Thomas Joseph Red Knitted Tea Cosy. The red and white striped design finished with a while bobble on top is the perfect accessory for your kitchen.

For more information visit UlsterWeavers.com today.

The kitchen is the place where everyone congregates after a long day at school or work to chat about the day’s events.  With this in mind why not make it into a homely and relaxing environment, transforming it into a practical room with colours and life.

And if you are on a tight budget and can’t afford to redecorate the whole kitchen then here are a few helpful tips from UlsterWeavers.com to help you make your house a home.

Bring in more colours

We don’t mean splash the kitchen with blocks of colour and throw in random fluorescent accessories; instead we are talking about adding a touch of colour here and there to add some colour into your kitchen. Things like flowers, vases and candles are the perfect finishing touches, or you could even purchase coffee makers and blenders which come in a range of colourful designs.

Add fresh fruit bowls

Add fresh fruits on a nice basket or tray. Fresh fruits are always colourful and look perfect on a table in the kitchen. It adds colour and vitality to any kitchen.

Small kitchen appliances

Kitchen appliances should be small to avoid occupying more space. You could purchase multi-purpose appliances which are perfect for the kitchen and can be used for mixing, blending, chopping or grinding; all the functions in one.

Textile furnishings

When you think of a homely kitchen you imagine cakes baking in the oven, tea stewing in the tea pot and mum cooking with her apron and oven mitts on. Now this idyllic scenario may not always be the case in your hectic lifestyle but you can always pretend it is by decorating your home with tea cosies, aprons, ovens mitts and decorative tea towels to spruce up the kitchen environment.

And we are not talking plane Jane designs here. We mean decorative and creative home furnishings by UlsterWeavers.co.uk. The website has some beautiful collections to choose from including British Cats by English artist Ann Walker, to Vintage style aprons and tea towels. There are a wide range of designs all at affordable prices to help spruce up your kitchen from drab to fab.

For more information visit Ulster Weavers today.

Mad Hatter's Tea Party in Disney film, 'Alice In Wonderland.'

When the Mad Hatter throws a tea party in ‘Alice in Wonderland’ it is not a relaxed and dignified affair that is most often seen at a tea party.

It is a care free, hopping mad party that has everyone having a crazy and fun time.

If you are thinking of planning a Mad Hatter party, then here are a few helpful hints from UlsterWeavers.com to get you started.

Firstly, you will need;

• Invitations
• Tables
• Chairs
• Croquet set or horse shoes game
• Decorations
• Playing cards
• China
• Refreshments.

Delightful Treats to serve at your Tea Party

A Mad Hatter party is best set outside that has plenty of green lawn and places for tables.

Plan a menu

A tea party isn’t a party without finger food and light treats. Maybe a small selection of desserts and several types of teas will add the perfect touch for your menu.

Entertainment and games

Since it is a Mad Hatter party, hats would be the correct attire. Get your guests to decorate their own crazy hats to wear at the party. Include a game of croquet, just like the film as well as a few card games set at individual tables for those who don’t want to participate in a physical game something to occupy their time.

Decorative ideas to brighten up the party

Decorate your chairs and tables with covers and large ribbon bows. Maybe consider a Cheshire cat in a tree as well as a few plastic flamingos to set the scene for your Mad Hatter tea party.

Setting the table

Use nice white tablecloths on the table along with good silver and mis-matched china. Reserve each guest a seat with a little playing card with their name on it. The finishing touches always look the best.

And where would a tea party be without a tea pot? Have a few tea pots on the table so people have plenty of tea throughout the party. And don’t forget the tea cosies. Keeping your tea hot is essential and what better way to do it with a bunny tea cosy at UlsterWeavers.com. The cute little tea cosy will complete the decor on the table and the perfect accessory for your hopping mad tea party!

Send out invitations

Use handmade cards to invite your guests at least two weeks in advance. Ask them to R.S.V.P within a week.

If you are looking for more bunny rabbit accessories for your kitchen, then visit UlsterWeavers.com. The online furnishings store has an adorable rabbit linen tea towel as well as bunny shaped egg cosies to complete your collection.