This July Marie Curie Cancer Care is encouraging all tea lovers across the UK to pop the kettle on and host a blooming great tea party to raise money for charity.

Thousands of people up and down the country will be trying to generate as much money as possible for terminally ill people with cancer and other illnesses in their local areas.

And what do you have to do? Simply don some aprons; get your tea cosies at the ready and gather the girls round to have a natter over a brew- it couldn’t be easier!

No matter what size the tea party is whether it is just a few women or the whole street round, have a good old chin wag  and gossip whilst drinking tea and raising cash for a good cause.

Last year the hosted tea parties raised enough money to fund over 30,000 hours of care and every £20 raised will pay for one hour of nursing care for ill people who spend their final days at home. So let’s beat the record and raise much more in 2011 by putting out cosies and getting immersed in the cancer mission by drinking tea.

You can even go the whole mile by making cheese and crackers and biscuits to eat, becoming ladies that lunch. With Ulster Weavers fantastic homeware ranges that include coasters, placemats and trays you can present all the delicious delights beautifully! But don’t worry if there is any food left over as our cake tins are perfect to store all sorts of buns, biscuits and cakes. And you can drink out of our delightful bone china mugs!

Make it the social event of the season; for more information on how to get involved and get a free fundraising pack simply go to mariecurie.org.uk. 

Cassandra Rose Small Tray

Flower Pot Shaped Cafetiere Cosy

Victoria Bone China Mug

Every little child has their own favourite toy that they love playing with. Many teddy bears and blankets are stuck to the hip of young boys and girls as a security concept to keep them company whilst they sleep.

What is more, all kids love to attend parties; to have fun with their friends, run around and eat lots of food. So what better way to combine the two than to throw a teddy bears picnic this summer with the help of Ulster Weavers!

A teddy bears picnic is simply a party intended for young children which involves a picnic to which teddy bears are brought. They make a great idea for birthday parties as they get the little monsters outside in the sunshine and allow for their creativity.

As well as using our fantastic picnic homeware, you can play the song “Teddy Bears’ Picnic” whilst the festivities take place. It is a song consisting of a melody written by American composer John Walter Bratton in which the lyrics were later added in 1932 by Irish songwriter Jimmy Kennedy. It remains a super popular child’s song decades later!

Ulster Weavers homeware range includes everything from trays, coasters and placemats, bone china mugs and cake tins- all that are essential when hosting a fun picnic. The colourful trays are perfect to put little cucumber sandwiches on and the cake tins are ideal to store all the biscuits, buns and cakes.

And to make the kids feel all grown up and special, let them drink their juice out of our quality bone china mugs- we even have the specific range Tea Party.

Don’t worry about transporting all the homeware though as our canvas shopping bags are great to carry all the food to and from the picnic hotspot!

Tea Party Bone China Mug

My Garden PVC Packable Bag

Cassandra Rose Cotton Packable Bag

Celebrate the British holiday of Loving Day on 12^th June this year with Ulster Weaver’s cute love ranges.

The commemoration stems back to a Supreme Court Ruling in 1967 which disbanded all laws that made mixed race marriages illegal.

Use the special day to show your loved ones how much you care by cooking a romantic meal for two. And go the whole extra mile by using homeware covered in love hearts such as Aprons, pot mitt and Tea Cosies.

Celebrate each other’s love for one another by taking the kids to the grandparents for the evening leaving the house quiet and free to light candles and enjoy the alone time together.

And as well as relationships, embrace the day by loving others outside of the family in the mission to fight prejudice through awareness, education and building multi-ethnicity communities.

The actual definition of love is a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person; and a feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection, as for a parent, child, or friend.

So check out Ulster Weavers adorable love ranges and spend the day without hatred or dislike.

Domestic Goddess Shaped Cotton Apron

Domestic Goddess Tea Cosy

Domestic Goddess Bone China Mug

Today is Care for a Cuppa day!

Organised by the national charity Diabetes UK, the recognised day calls for the British public to gather the friends around, make brews and hold a tea party.

It aims to be a great way of supporting the charity’s work whilst enjoying time with loved ones and mates.

There is a Care for a Cuppa prize draw this year which offers the lucky tea winners a Grosvenor Hamper from Fortnum and Mason; and all you have to do is request your very own party pack.

Diabetes UK are also asking for all domestic goddesses to send in the pictures from the tea parties as they are in full swing so everyone can join in the fun and laughter!

So help raise monies towards the charity and its research by holding a tea party for Care For A Cuppa Day this May, in support of Diabetes Week in June.

You can invite some of your close girl friends and family members round in the afternoon, bake some cakes and treats and sit drinking and gossiping over a lovely hot cuppa. And with our fantastic Cosies your brew will stay lovely and hot for hours.

Even celebs are signing up and hosting their own tea parties, such as Melanie C- otherwise known as Sporty Spice- from the pop girl group, Spice Girls. She said: “I am pleased to be supporting Diabetes UK’s Care for a Cuppa campaign and would urge everyone to have a tea party to help support the charity’s research and its other diabetes-related projects.

“My brother has Type 1 diabetes and I know first-hand how serious diabetes is and what a huge impact it can have on people with diabetes and their family.”

The singer added: “Throwing a Care for a Cuppa party is a great way to entertain friends, family and colleagues with the knowledge it can make a real difference to the lives of people with diabetes.”

So get involved by throwing a tea bash; Ulster Weavers Tea Cosies will ensure your tea pot stays nice and warm even if sat outside in the sunshine. And with our extra special Tea party range, you will definitely take the theme to a whole new level!

Tea Party Bone China Mug

Tea Party Tea Cosy

Tea Party Cotton Apron

With less than 48 hours to go until the royal wedding of the year, now is no better time than ever to embrace your nationality and be proud of being British with the help from Ulster Weavers!

On Friday millions upon millions of people across the globe will be watching Prince William and Kate Middleton get wed in Westminster Abbey in London.

Whether you are going down to the pub to watch it, sitting in your living room, or travelling down to the capital in person; celebrate the big day with everything that is British and throwing a traditional street party.

But you don’t have to leave the home to show how much you care about Her Majesty The Queen. Ulster Weavers has some fantastic British ranges including Linen Tea Towel, PVC Aprons and China Mugs, so you can dress as a royal for the day when cooking and even clean up the pots patriotically.

And as part of the British range there are cute PVC Bags that are themed in funny cats dressed as guards to take out and about on the big day.

So whether you are staying in this Friday 29^th April or going out and about, get involved with the Royal wedding and let everyone know how honoured you are to be British.

British Cats Linen Tea Towel

British Cats PVC Apron

British Cats Medium PVC Bag

Winter has definitely arrived with Christmas closely around the corner. You can always tell  when people have to start de-iceing their windows on their cars to clear the frost first thing in the morning and when ‘ Frosty the Snowman’  bellows out of the radio.

So this means one thing, Christmas shopping. But what do you get that office employee who you annoyingly picked as your secret Santa but who you really do not know anything about?

A great gift idea for everyone this winter time would be a nice Bone China Mug for their hot chocolate, that they can curl up on the sofa with next to the fire or to kick start their winter mornings with a nice strong coffee.

Here at Ulster Weavers we have these fine bone china mugs that will elegantly finish off crockery collections or homeware ranges and are of high quality with attention to detail. New exciting designs in these mugs for 2011.

And they come in matching kitchen tiles to seal the deal on that extra special present to possibly gain browny points.

Victoria Bone China Mug

A more classical option with matching Apron, Gauntlett and Muff Tea Cosy.

Domestic Goddess Bone China Mug

An Ann Edwards Design with matching Tea Cosy, PVC Apron and Linen Tea Towel.

All Bone China mugs at £8.99 each.

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.