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Winter warmers: 5 fabulous flasks

Wednesday, October 26th, 2011

There’s a distinct chill in the air, so our thoughts are turning to all things warm – things to make our homes feel cosy and things to make us feel warmer.

If you’re going out in the cold, then taking a flask of your favourite hot drink can be a welcome way of warming up. For something a bit more exciting than a plain old flask, here are five stylishly designed flasks that will be great to use and lovely to look at.

1. Bird Tree Flask

Birdy tree design

We love the design of this bird tree flask (other products are available with the same print). It’s £11 from Kiki’s Gifts and Homeware.

2. World Map Vacuum Flask

Map design flask

Plan your travels as you drink your tea, with this world map design vacuum flask. It’s made of stainless steel with a leather effect finish and costs £19.99 from Penelope Tom Limited.

3. Vintage Rose Thermos Flask

Rosy flask

Pretty vintage rose design thermos flask, £15 from Cath Kidston.

4. Folklore Flask

Enamel flask

This enamel coated stainless steel flask has a striking black and white folklore design, with contrasting vibrant pink base and lid. It’s £16 from John Lewis.

5. Celia Birtwell Flask

Floral print flask

Floral patterned flask with a design by Celia Birtwell. £20 from Urban Outfitters.

Tags: Cath Kidston, Celia Birtwell, flask, folklore, John Lewis, Kiki's Gifts and Homewares, map, Penelope Tom Limited, rose, thermos, Urban Outftters, vacuum, Vintage
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White table and chair garden furniture set

Thursday, May 26th, 2011

Small country garden patio furniture set in

Compact patio furniture set

If you’ve only got a small yard, a tiny garden or a balcony, there may still be enough space to pop a seat or two outside, so you can get some fresh air or take in the view.

Amongst some of the more compact bistro garden furniture sets available is this white Fayence furniture set from Garden Trading.

The small table and two chairs are made from beech wood with powder coated steel frames and everything folds flat for easy storage.

The patio furniture set costs £135 from Garden Trading.

Tags: beech, bistro set, chairs, compact, Fayence, garden furniture, Garden Trading, patio furniture, table, white, white chairs, white garden furniture
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Oakham cast iron fire bowl

Wednesday, May 25th, 2011

Outdoor fire bowl

This fantastic fire bowl, which is hand cast from iron, is perfect for use outside at this time of year.

If you love the idea of sitting around an open camp fire, but want something more practical and safe to use at home in your garden, then a fire bowl is a great alternative.

This fire bowl comes in a matt black colour and offers a safe way of having a small, warming fire outside. It will keep you warm on even the chilliest of evenings and you could even toast some marshmallows on it too!

The Oakham cast iron fire bowl costs £125 from Jim Lawrence.

Tags: black, cast iron, fire bowl, iroon, Jim Lawrence, Oakham, outdoor eating, outdoor entertaining, patio heater
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Colourful patterned melamine camping and picnic bowls and plates

Monday, February 21st, 2011

Colourful patterned melamine outdoor bowls Bright and colourful melamine side plates

It’s not quite camping and picnics weather yet, but it’s great to plan for when it is!

If you’re in need of some new bowls or plates for picnic or outdoor eating, then Pedlars have some colourful new options in stock.

These bowls and plates are all made from hard-wearing melamine, so they can withstand accidental drops or knocks. All of the items are sold individually and you can take your pick and mix and match the designs.

They’re so nice that you may not want to save them for picnics, in which case they’d be great for use inside too and have the added benefit of being dishwasher safe.

The bowls and melamine side plates are both £9.75 from Pedlars.

Tags: bowl, camping, melamine, patterned, Pedlars, picnic, plate
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Albertus thermal flask from Berry Red

Monday, December 6th, 2010

Patterned flask

Oooh, we got a bit excited when we spotted these flasks, the patterns on them are lovely!

The Albertus thermal flasks have been very nicely designed and can hold one litre of liquid. Their colours and patterns are reminscent of vintage designs and are a gazillion times nicer than a plain flask.

Available in a choice of yellow (with a purple cup), turquoise (with a fuscia cup) or purple (with a pale blue cup), the Albertus thermal flasks are sold by Berry Red for £23 each.

We’ll be having hot chocolate in ours!

Tags: Albertus thermal flask, Berry Red, flask, hot chocolate, picnic, thermos
Posted in Outdoor | 1 Comment »

Lockable post box from Spotty Button

Monday, October 25th, 2010

Lockable post box

Most of us take it for granted that our post will drop through our letterbox with no problems. But not all houses have standard sized letterboxes, which can make post deliveries awkward.

Older or period homes, for example, may have smaller letterboxes, so post has to be squashed to get into the letter box. Some homes also have letterboxes that are low down or awkwardly positioned, which doesn’t help the situation either.

That’s where this lockable post box could come in handy. In can be positioned in a convienient spot, so it’s easy for a postman to see and deliver post without any hassle. It also locks, so your post will be safe until you empty it (this could prove useful for when you’re on holiday too).

This clay coloured lockable post box is available from Spotty Button, where it’s priced at only £16.75.

Tags: box, letterbox, letters, lockable, post box, postbox, Spotty Button
Posted in Outdoor | 1 Comment »

Cath Kidston tempting sale bargains

Tuesday, July 13th, 2010

Ric rac design carrier bag store

We’ve been oohing and aahing over the sale section at Cath Kidston, where there are some good reductions to be had on homeware, home accessories, craft accessories, bags and other goodies. Here are some of our favourites.

Carrier bag stores are great for keeping used carrier bags, bin bags or paper bags handy, so that you can reuse them again. There are a couple of carrier bag stores in the Cath Kidston sale, each with a loop at the top to make them easy to hang up, including the ric rac stripe design and the prarie flower design. Both designs are reduced to £8.

Bargain bathroom towels from Cath Kidston

Aqua stripe towels

If you’re looking to replace or update bathroom towels, then the sales are always good times to do so. These aqua stripe cotton jacquard towels are available in a variety of different sizes, including a large bath sheet (was £38, now £26), bath towel (was £24, now £16), hand towel (was £13.99, now £10) and a matching face cloth (was £5, now £3.50).

Large cool bag

Cool bags are an essential accessory for the summer months. This large cool bag, in the Prairie flower design, would be great for using to transport all your food and drink for a picnic or day out on the beach. It’s got £10 off the original price and is now £20.

Hurricane lantern

This red handpainted hurricane lantern is suitable for use in the home and garden. It’s half price in the sale and is now only £8.

Circus fabric

There are also lots of lovely fabrics in the sale. We spotted this cute circus elephants fabric – which also has giraffes in it too – which we think would be great for making cushion covers with. It’s available with a blue or stone background and is now £12 per metre.

This is just a tiny selection of the items on offer – why not go and have a browse in the sale now?

Tags: bargain, Cath Kidston, Fabric, homeware, sale
Posted in Bargain buy, Fabric, Home accessories, Outdoor | 1 Comment »

Outdoor eating gear deal from Camel and Yak

Wednesday, June 16th, 2010

Get equipped for camping

If you’re planning on going camping, or simply have a lot of picnics planned for the summer, then take advantage of this great offer from Camel and Yak.

They’ve put together a number of useful, hard-wearing melamine items produced by Rice to form an essential camping kit.

For £20, you get six stylish plastic plates, with a flower design in the middle of them, 12 mini food keepers, which are great for keeping all sorts of nibbles in, plus a set of two food containers, each of which has three levels of storage in it and useful handles that allow them to be carried (a bit like tiffin carriers, but made from melamine). These two are a great size, making them ideal for sandwiches, cakes, fruit or even for taking your cutlery in.

Even if you’re not a fan of the great outdoors, all the items would be useful for your home too – the plates are ideal for eating outside in the garden and the storage containers will get used time and time again.

Tags: Camel and Yak, camp, eat outside, picnic, Storage
Posted in Garden, Outdoor | No Comments »

Colourful melamine bowls

Tuesday, May 25th, 2010

Stylish bowls

At first glance, it would be easy to assume these pretty bowls are made from china, but they’re actually made from melamine.

I love melamine homeware items, as they’re sturdy and hard-wearing and you needn’t worry about accidental breakages (although melamine can eventually break, it’s a lot less of a risk than expensive china). These bowls in particular are extra special as they have fluted, scalloped edges. It’s also great that you can buy them individually, as many others come in sets, and it means you can mix and match colours.

The bowls are available in a choice of pale pink, turquoise, lime green, raspberry and red and are great for using outside in the garden, on picnics, as well as for dining in the comfort of your home.

The melamine bowls are £7.50 each from Graham and Green.

Tags: bowl, graham and green, melamine, picnicware, tableware
Posted in Crockery, Dining, Outdoor | No Comments »

Pale green Moroccan style lantern

Monday, May 17th, 2010

Summer lantern

Lanterns are a lovely form of home accessory that have so many uses all year round. I love having lanterns lit by the fireside on a cold, winter night and enjoy watching the glow of the candle flicker inside. During the summer lanterns are perfect for taking outside in the garden, to provide much needed light as dusk falls. They’re the ideal accompaniment to evening barbecues or drinks in the garden.

This Moroccan-style lantern is in an appropriate summer colour – leaf, or pale green – and would make an ideal summer lantern. It’s got room inside for a tealight and has a useful loop on the top of it, so it can be hung. If you’re going to be using it outside, then it’s worth investing in an inexpensive lantern crook to use with it. You stick it in the ground, then hang the lantern from the hook at the top. It provides light at a good height and avoids it accidentally been knocked over.

The Moroccan lantern is reasonably priced, at only £7.95, and is firmly on my summer essentials list.

Tags: barbecue, John Lewis, lantern, light, Moroccan
Posted in Garden, Lighting, Outdoor | 1 Comment »

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