Stink Bugz- The Ideal Birthday Present for the Kid of Someone You Hate.

I'm going to totally contradict my usual 'toys are for both genders' line here and say these Stink Bugz simply MUST be a boys' thing. The line, 'slugs & snails & puppy dog tails' comes to mind. The little jarred, plastic beasties are infused with their own unique, minging scent. They are like the anti-scented-candle-jar.

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They come separately in large jars for £4.99 each, or you can get a pack of parasites for £9.99 Open the jar to release the smell, and squeeze the bum to 'shoot' the stink at someone. Our son has been torturing us all day with them. 

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 It's tricky to communicate just how awful they smell. The pong doesn't fill the room if you leave the jar open or anything, but if you're being chased round by a six year old squeezing to release the stench, you'll smell it alright. The green one smelt like a rotting seagull, the black one had a marmite tinged poop smell. They are truly disgusting. 

Of course the fact they repulse Mum & Dad so much, makes them a tremendously fun and satisfying toy for a child. Michael LOVES them. He loves practical jokes like whoopie cushions or plastic dog poo, so these are right up his street. If you've a little prankster then you know they'd enjoy these, but you really won't!

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With the lids on there is no bad smell, and like I said, if they do accidentally leave the lid off, the smell doesn't fill the room or anything. The only thing I personally liked about the Stink Bugz, apart from being pleased my son enjoyed them so much, was that they do look like comical, fake insect taxidermy in their little jars. Maybe when he's finished chasing Dad puffing clouds of stink at him, he'll allow me to display them with my beasties.

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Secret Yankee Candle UK Scents On Sale Next Week

Shussssssh, you aren't supposed to know about these three scents which will adorn the online shelves of YankeeCandle.co.uk from the third week in August.  

Early Sunrise and Tahitian Tiaré Flower sound beautiful, but for my own home I chose to review the Napa Valley large jar candle, priced at £19.99

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Napa Valley Sun, then. It's akin to walking into someone's house when they've just done a fresh wash of towels and everything smells clean and bright. It's a comforting scent, not overwhelming like an aerosol air freshener spray would be. It's soft and sunny. I really like it. It's great if you want to try scented candles but don't like the idea of your house smelling like a cake, or a mango, or strawberry. 

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I am a massive Yankee Candle junkie. Like, huge. To the point where at one time I would hunt down imported American release tarts and then keep a scrap book of the labels. My favourite all time scents are both retired, so I struggle to find them any more, Green Apple and Silver Bells. If you have either of them yourself, I'll certainly buy them from you.

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The official UK Yankee Store is heaven for me with an entire section devoted to special rare and imported candles. Plus they haven't cheekily inflated the prices just because they are harder to come by. I'm rather tickled by the Camouflage Candle, which I assume is part of the Man Candle range.

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Finally I can't sign off without pointing out Yankee Candle UK's super competition to win a £5000 bespoke holiday. Worth clicking through to.

Big Yankee fan? Let's talk candles on Twitter, @rudedoodle . 

I'm Having a Zelfs Party & You're Invited

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Tomorrow afternoon from 2-4pm I'll be holding a Zelfs Twitter party to celebrate the release of their scented collection. Zelfs are akin to the trolls we collected from the 70s, which made a comeback in the 90s, but far cuter, more colourful and cool.

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Michael is having friends round for Zelf games, snacks and to try out the new range, noses at the ready! I'll be Tweeting from @rudedoodle and you can follow parties all over the uk with the hashtags #zelicious #Zelfs 

Fancy having your own Zelf party? UK Mums has printables and recipes to get you on your way. 

You can also win the new Bee Sweet Treehouse on their site. 

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Realistically, Zelfs are marketed as a girls' toy, but my son has loved them since they first launched last year and already owns a small collection. Tomorrow's party mostly will be girls aged between 3 and 6, but there will be one other boy; I wonder will he prove Zelfs' marketing team wrong too and love his Zelf? I'll let you know.

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Oxfam Team Up with Dawn O'Porter to Launch Vintage Fridays

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VINTAGE FRIDAY FOR OXFAM - FRIDAY 1 AUGUST 2014

Oxfam and Dawn O' Porter want to see you rocking your finest retro chic next Friday to raise money for a great cause. 

It's simple! Just don your fave vintage outfit or accessory with pride for #VINTAGEFRIDAY and donate £3 to Oxfam by texting Vintage to 70066, helping to transform lives around the world. Remember to share your pics! 

*'Messages will be charged at £3, plus one standard rate message. By texting consent is given to future marketing by Oxfam. To unsubscribe from SMS send NOINFO to 70066'

DIY VINTAGE SWAP-SHOP - FROM MONDAY 28 JULY 2014 

We're calling upon the public to hold their own #THISOLDTHING vintage sale. Rally friends or colleagues together to do a closet clear out - be it at work, university or front room! 

There are no set prices, buyers can donate what they think the item is worth. All the profits and any items left over can be donated to Oxfam to help fight poverty around the world.

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For more infowww.oxfam.org.uk/shop/vintage

Join the conversation: #THISOLDTHING and #VINTAGEFRIDAY

Does Looking at these 1980s' School Lunch Boxes Get You as Giddy as it Gets Me?

In the 80s, choosing your lunchbox was one of the more pleasant parts of doing the back-to-school supply shop. American kids seemed to have metal lunch boxes, but in the UK we had plastic ones, which sometimes came with a matching flask. Did you have any of these beauties?

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Now we have our own kids, it's their turn to choose their character lunch box. I find the school supplies from George at Asda are priced well. I've seen some shops' lunch boxes creep up to almost £15 in places, but Asda have all their lunch bags under £10, including the Minion print bag for £6 which my son has his eye on.

This Turtles lunch pot is only £1. Super for sending in sliced fruit and preventing it's squashedness by noon. 

 

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While you're there, remember to take advantage of the well priced school uniform pieces which come with a 100 day guarantee.

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Lots and lots of cheaply priced school bags too.

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Museum Selection Shares The History of Garden Gnomes, plus Win a Hare Garden Ornament

Gnomes are one of the top ten answers that pop up when you ask the general public what a kitsch item is to them. Weirdly though I don't feature them on www.TheWorldofKitsch.com often. Why? I don't know, I just don't like them. I think they are tacky in a bad way. 

I mean I have plastic lawn flamingoes, and they aren't exactly middle class norms, but I just don't like gnomes. The front garden needed a little spruce up and something new, so I've ordered an ornamental fox on Museum Selection, which I will blog about when he arrives. 

Until then how would you like to win your own ornamental hare for your grassy patch? It's a little different from a guard dog.

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Thanks to Museum Selection for this gnome infographic.

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Bricks 4 Kidz- Learning Through Lego

Just a quick blog if your child loves Lego and you're looking for an activity this summer. The Belfast Bricks 4 Kidz Facebook has details of workshop days as well as weekly themed classes in their creative workshop.

We went to a space themed class today which my son totally loved. 

Bricks 4 Kidz is a franchise, so if you aren't from Northern Ireland, have a Google for a local branch near you. 

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