Highly Recommended : October 2011

Welcome to my occasional series of recommendations.  Here are my star items for October 2011 from the gifts and samples I have been sent this month.  I will be either recommending the product or the service.  This month I have some special offer codes for you and TWO giveaways for you to enter.


Photobox recently asked me if I would like to their canvas print service.  I've got a few scenery pictures that I really wanted to see blown up and put on canvas and was not disappointed by the quality of the finished product.

Their website is really easy to use and there are a number of sizes you can choose (I opted for the rectangular 40.6cm x 30.5cm size) and using a special offer they had on the website at the time, managed to get two prints for the price of one.

I chose not to "wrap" my picture around the edges of the canvas because it would have taken away a feature in each of the photographs but next time I order from Photobox, I think I will opt for the wrap.

Overall, I am extremely impressed by the quality of the services and delivery took just two days.  Photobox also do a number of other personalised gifts which are great for Christmas and birthday presents.


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VUPbaby sent us some beautiful Lanke Book Ends in the style of a fairytale prince and princess.  VUPbaby pride themselves on the fact that all their items are free from PBA, PVC and Phthalates and these gorgeous bookends are just the job to store my grandchildren's ever-growing book collection and they fit in perfectly with the decor in their bedroom.  Other styles available are "Space" and "Pirate and they retail at £16.99 per set.

If you enter TYPECAST15 at checkout you will get a 15% discount off your first order.




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The Handpicked Collection asked me to have a look at their recommended gift ideas on their website and I loved this photo tray which retails at £29.95.  It's available in black or walnut and you can remove the glass on the tray and insert your own photographs or create a collage.  This is one of their best sellers and a great photo gift with a difference.







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The Red Rover Game was a massive hit this month with both the grandchildren.  I love games that are educational and fun and Amie and Megan had stacks of fun with this.  You are supplied with a number of plastic bones with letters, numbers, shapes and colours on and the electronic dog (three AA batteries needed, not included - when will manufacturers start including batteries?) calls out the type of bone he would like to be fed.  There are two levels of play (1. colours, 2. letters, numbers and shapes) and all the bones fit neatly into the dog's backpack when you have finished playing.

Amie grasped the idea very quickly which is understandable as the game is targeted at ages 3 and up but I was slightly disappointed to hear an American accent coming from the talking dog.  If this game is to be marketed in the UK then the voice should have been recorded again.

The game is available from Argos and Amazon and retails at around 19.99.


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Trunki have a great product available - the SnooziHedz travel pack.  The character bag contains a fleecy blanket and an inflatable insert which turns the bag into a pillow with a soft cover.  This would be fabulous for travelling in the car on or a plane.  The traditional Trunk grip is also incorporated so that the blanket can be attached to the pillow to prevent it from slipping off.  The SnooziHedz retails at £19.96 and is available in blue or pink.







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Tippex and Bic have sent me the most amazing goodie bag - and we all know how much I love anything to do with stationery!  You can win the same goodie bag by entering my competition.  I would like you to write me a 'headline' about your half term week - the funnier the better.  See below for more details.

BIC® is providing competition prizes for this competition but is not directly linked to any material submitted for the competition.  The competition is not sponsored, endorsed or administered by BIC®.  Entrants are sending their entries directly to the Typecast blog.



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Trollied - the comedy from Sky 1 - has recently been released on DVD.  It is a bit of a slow burner with not very many laugh-out-loud moments but has captured the whole supermarket stereotypes really well.  There are 'big' acting names in this show - Jane Horrocks and Mark Addy to name just two of them - but the cast does gel well together and you will see a few more Northern stars in there too.  If you've ever worked in a supermarket (my first Saturday job was as a check-out girl) you'll more than appreciate some of the humour in here.

The DVD has some great extras on it, including how they created the supermarket in a studio in Bristol and plenty of out-takes - always the best bit.

I have got three copies of Trollied to give away so complete the form below to enter and send the suggested tweet for an extra entry.

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