K TWO is famous!

Do you get GoodHomes magazine?  If not – you should because our super cute Fox Family Calendar is featured in it!

If you’ve noticed our fox (or anything else of ours) popping up anywhere, we’d love to know!  We’re only a team of nine at the moment (the lovely Kerri who owns K TWO is on maternity leave) so keeping track of PR is tricky.

But it’s not just magazines you can find K TWO in.  If you’ve got beady eyes you might have spotted us in John Lewis, Hobbycraft or Calendar Club as well as lots of other places.

If you do see us anywhere, let us know what you think by commenting below or speaking to us on Facebook or Twitter.

In the meantime, happy Christmas shopping - 38 days to go!  If you’re stuck for inspiration, check out our Christmas Gift Guide and make sure you're signed up to our e-newsletters to keep track of our special offers, new products and more!

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Bake up a Treat and Win!

This week (15 – 21 October) is National Baking Week and K TWO has the perfect organisers to help you bake up a treat.

Firstly, have a flick through your Fliptop Recipe File or My Recipes to decide what you want to bake.  If space is limited or your recipes tend to be small ones cut out from magazines or hand written, the Fliptop will probably suit you best.  If you print most of your recipes from websites, My Recipes (which is A4 size) will probably be most convenient.  However, both have built-in stands and protect recipes from splashes and spills.

Fliptop Recipe File (above) and My Recipes (A4 Recipe File) (below):

Next, have a look in your cupboards and write a list of anything you need to buy.  Our Kitchen To Do Notes are great for lists and will fit easily in your handbag.  However, some people prefer to keep their list on the fridge and use our Magnetic Pads.  You choose!

Then... get baking!

Once you’ve made your creations, don’t forget to label it up – use our cute Kitchen Labels to create a beautiful gift or even just mark it “hands-off” if you don’t want to share.

Your chance to win!

Just send us a picture of one of your K TWO products in the kitchen for your chance to win Kitchen To Do Notes!  Whether it be your Recipe File, Magnetic Pad or even Family Calendar, email us a snap for your chance to win. 

 

Terms and Conditions:

Competition runs 15 – 30 October 2012 (at midnight).  One entry per person.  Over 18s only.  To enter the competition a photograph showing a K TWO product in your kitchen must be emailed to heather@ktwoproducts.com.  Correct entries will be placed into a draw and a winner will be selected at random after the closing date.  Winners will be notified via email within 5 working days of the competition ending.  Prize cannot be exchanged and there is no cash alternative.  The prize can only be posted to a UK mainland address.  By sending in your picture, you allow us to use it on our Facebook page; no names will be associated with any pictures used.

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The Diary you can't live without....

Our best selling Busy Life Diary is back by popular demand and we already receiving orders from customers who "just can't live without it". 

We were overwhelmed by it's popularity last year and we ran out of stock in November!   Although we have ordered alot more stock this year I would suggest buying early to avoid disappoinment.

 

We have listened to our customer feedback and have added in a pen loop to this 2013 design. 

In addition to this we also have an adorable add on of mini sticky notes - there is a slot in the back of the diary for them to slot in. 

Great ideas for Christmas Gifts!

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Your Chance To Win

Hello,

Sorry we haven’t been writing much on our blog lately; we’ve been ever so busy (lots of exciting products coming soon!)

Anyway, it’s time for another competition -

All you have to do is write a review on our website between now and 25 May 2012 about a product you have bought or been given and you’ll be entered into a draw to win one of our Recipe Files!  For every review you write, you gain one entry into the competition so the more products you review, the better your chances of winning are.

To write a review, go to our website and find the product you wish to review and then click on the “write a review" button underneath the product description.  You may need to log into your account if you haven't done so already.

Choose how many stars out of five you want to give it (five being the best, one being the worst), leave your name and email address and write a comment. 

And that’s it - you’ve entered the competition! You can also let us know on Facebook or Twitter when you've entered.

Good luck!

T&Cs: You must have bought or been given the product you are reviewing.  Reviews must be honest.  The same product cannot be reviewed more than once by the same entrant.  Reviews must be left before midnight on 25 May 2012.  Over 18s only.  Entries will be placed into a draw and a winner will be selected at random after the closing date.  The winner will be notified by email within seven days.  The prize is a Union Jack Recipe File worth £14.99; there is no cash alternative. The prize can only be posted to a UK mainland address.

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How To Keep Your Children's Things Tidy

Hello again,

I don’t know if you listen to Simon Mayo on Radio two but he has a great feature on messy teenagers – the Facebook photos are unbelievable!

Anyway, I have two children and although they haven’t yet reached the teenage stage, I find myself constantly either tidying up after them or reminding them to tidy their belongings up.

Apart from making sure the important stuff like school letters, party invites etc go into the relevant pocket on our calendar instead of being dumped on the floor or down the back of the sofa, I have come up with one other strategy – a secret drawer!  Each of my children have one of these – it’s a drawer that no one else is allowed to tidy but it is crammed with all the little bits of toys and small things like hair clips, little Barbie clothes, jewellery, toy cars and dinosaurs, single jigsaw pieces etc etc.  Great if you need to find that single lost bit of a jigsaw and really great that you can close it and the mess disappears for a while!!

My daughter's secret drawer.

 

 

 

 

Eventually, a time will come when you can’t get it shut anymore and you have to face the inevitable clear out.  Even though it just starts filling up again, it’s much more efficient to do a big clearout than lots of little ones so I leave it as long as I can. I think the kids like it because they can rummage around in it and find bits and bobs they thought they’d lost, a bit like a treasure chest to them!

I’ve also been asking people on Facebook to see what they do and this is my favourite which I will try to implement because I like the “team spirit” approach:

 “We have 'tidy up time' every night. The whole family (2 adults, 4 kids) go from room to room & clear it completely”

However, some things just can’t be tidied because there is nowhere to put them.  Like the drawings and paintings my little boy brings home from preschool or the certificates my daughter gets from school.  That’s why we’ve developed Childhood Memories: a keepsake storage file.  Designed to store eight years of memories, each section has prompts to fill in birthday memories, friends, favourite activities and more but also has an A4 pocket to store artwork and certificates without folding them.   It’s on sale soon so keep checking our website, Facebook and Twitter for more details.

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Spring Clean Your Handbags

Hi, it’s Kerri here.  I am the MD of K TWO Products and this year, we’ve decided to make a few changes to our blog, and one of them is that I’m going to be writing it!  Blogging isn’t something I’m use to doing but I hope that what you read is interesting and helpful. 

I always wish I was more organised and look on with envy at friends who’s kitchen drawers and piles of paperwork are all neatly sorted out!   Juggling work, home and kids means I might get 1 hour a day to myself often in the evening when the kids are in bed and I am often tempted away from organising by a glass of wine in front of the TV!  However when I do get a chance to get things around the house organised I feel 100 times better and I always like a simple, quick solution to getting things easy to access and neat and tidy!

When it comes to March, its time for spring cleaning, and even a little goes a long way.  If you have to prioritise then I’d recommend sorting out something you see and use every day as it will give you a real benefit.  So today I’m going to chat about organising handbags –

That means emptying out your handbags, getting rid of those sweet papers, old bus tickets and old raisins which hide away in the nooks and crannies of your bag.  When I cleaned out my handbag last night, I found 2 cinema stubs, 7 bus old bus tickets and 2 pen lids (the pens were nowhere to be found – how does that always happen??).

My nice tidy handbag!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, once your handbags are tidy, it’s time to organise them.  No more dumping in them in the bottom of your wardrobe or cramming them into a drawer; I found this ingenious way of hanging them up – it saves room and displays them all so you don’t forget about that old favourite.

What you need:

• A length of sturdy material (I used an old belt)
• 2 types of old ribbon (some thin and one thick)
• Needle and thread

Instructions:

1.  Cut your thin ribbon into lengths approximately 30 cm long

2.  Carefully sew the middle of the ribbon onto your material/belt at regular intervals (the amount of ties you want will depend on how many bags you have!)

3.  Sew the large piece of ribbon (which should be about 40cm) to the top of your material/belt

4.  And that’s it!  Hand your handbag tidy onto a hanger or on a hook, tie up your handbags and keep the bottom of your wardrobe tidy!  Give yourself a big pat on the back because they cost about £30 to buy.

Let me know how you got on by commenting below or on Facebook or Twitter.

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Vicki's 12 in 12 Challenge

This February was the month of love – not just because of valentines but also the extra day in which women can propose!

My challenge wasn’t to find love though, mine was to set my wedding date.  I have been engaged  for almost 3  years and set a date 3 times (we’ve had to cancel for a number of reasons) but this time, we WILL set a date and we WILL keep to it!!

I had to keep reminding myself not to put off finding a date  -

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

However, we’ve done it!  We’re actually having two weddings – a private ceremony up in Edinburgh and a blessing and reception down south with friends and family.  We are so excited!!

A little note I left on my fiance's phone the other night:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But then we realised that setting the date was the easy part.  Now we’ve got to get our heads round all the planning: booking the registry office, getting outfits and flowers to mention just a few.  To get inspiration, I’m going to a wedding fair this weekend, something I never thought I would do.

All in all, I have achieved my 12 in 12 challenge!!  Kerri, our boss, is taking on March – she’s trying to get some sleep...

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Competition Time

Your chance to win! 

So you never run out of anywhere to write your lists, we’re offering you the chance to win a Magnetic Pad and Pen Set and To Do Notes!

All you need to do is take a photo of where you currently keep (or would keep) your magnetic pad. 

Then email your name, address and picture to info@ktwoproducts.com with “competition” in the subject line and a lucky winner will be chosen at random after midnight on 29 February. Photos (no names) will be added to our Facebook page.

Here are some examples of where we do (or would) keep our pads:

Good luck!

 

P.S.  If you join our Facebook group, you’ll get exclusive offers and discounts like our FB25 code which gives you 25% off everything online during February.

 

T&Cs: Competition closes at midnight on 29 February 2012.  Correct entries will be placed into a draw and a winner will be selected at random after the closing date.  Open to UK customers only.  By sending in your picture, you allow us to use it on our Facebook page; no names will be associated with any pictures used.

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Make your own Chocolate Bouquet

Hello,

Here at K TWO we like to help you get organised so this week we’ve found a quick and simple Valentine’s Day present so you can tick that off your to-do list!

 

 

 

A chocolate bouquet!

And it’s really simple to make, all you need is:

• Round foil wrapped chocolates
• Wooden skewers
• Cling film
• Tissue paper
• Wrap or paper for wrapping your bouquet (optional)
• Tape and scissors

Instructions:

Insert a skewer into a chocolate and wrap with cling film to keep the chocolate fresh.

 

 

Cut a piece of tissue paper approx. 15cm square and fold so the edges DON’T  line up.  Place your skewered chocolate on top.

 

Wrap the tissue paper around the chocolate and secure with tape. That's a chocolate flower made!

 

 

Repeat to make as many flowers as you like and wrap up to make a bouquet if you so desire.

 

 

Let us know how you get on, pictures can be uploaded onto our Facebook page.

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12 in 12: 12 challenges in 2012

What is "12 in 12"?

12 in 12 is a concept around new year’s resolutions.  Instead of having one year long resolution, you have one (that you have to keep every day) per month; but a new month means a new resolution (search for #12in12 on Twitter to see what people around the world are doing).  There are eleven of us here at K TWO so we thought we’d take it in turns to do one each (and in December we’ll do one together). 

January:

Hello folks,

I’m the Marketing Assistant here at K TWO and being the newbie, I was given the first challenge.  My task was to save money (and look after my waistline) by bringing in (healthy) lunches instead of buying them for the whole of January. 

It was really tough!  On top of having to be organised enough to have yummy things in the cupboard, you have to remember to take it (a mistake I made on day two).

My top tip though is to prepare fruit yourself – don’t buy the precut stuff - it's a rip-off!

 

 

 

 

 

This cost me 25p (a whole pineapple cost £1 and I got 4 portions from it)

 

 

 

 

 

To buy it precut in the same supermarket was £1.25 per portion (so £5 for 4 portions)

Anyway, I’d love to hear if any of you have any nice lunch suggestions as I’m trying to keep it up for the rest of the year.

Heather xox

P.S.  Vicki is taking on February's challenge so check back to see how she did.

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Comments and Competitions

It’s a new year and it’s time for some changes!  We are going to be changing our blog over the next few weeks so it's more interesting and useful  - if you have any suggestions on what you’d like to read, please comment below.

 

Competition! 

If you have seen any of our products in any magazines, newspapers or on TV, let us know by emailing info@ktwoproducts.com with the subject line “competition”.  Please put where you saw us in the body of the email.  So get looking through all your old and current magazines and look out for us on the TV to be in the chance to win a fabulous K TWO product!

 

Don't forget ... our sale is still on so grab yourself some bargains!

 

T&Cs: Competition closes at midnight on 31 January 2012.  Correct entries will be placed into a draw and a winner will be selected at random after the closing date.

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K TWO Christmas Do!

It’s that time of year again, when the K TWO team enjoy a fantastic night out to celebrate the festive season!

To start the night off, we drank some fizz in the K TWO office and did a "Guess the Baby" competition. We had great fun trying to guess who was who and there were a few suprises! Some of us used to be soooo cute! If only we had a K TWO Baby Journal for our our baby memories all those years ago...

We also exchanged our Secret Santa gifts that we have been looking forward to for weeks! Everybody was very happy with what they got, especially our Marketing guru Heather who got some retro Lucky Charms cereal – can you believe they aren’t made anymore?

However, most of us got our gifts from the beautiful shop Anthropologie – scented candles, gorgeous crockery and pretty household decorations. The packaging alone is just lovely!

After swapping presents, we went out for our Christmas meal on George Street in Edinburgh (see some pics of the K TWO team above)! Whilst eating, we enjoyed listening to some live music (accompanied by some of the K TWO team singing along) and drinking a little more fizz, before heading home with a bellyful of turkey and a bit of a fuzzy head! Do you have any funny stories from your work nights out? If so, let us know!

Not long now until Christmas...we hope you’ve all finished your gift buying!

The K TWO Team x

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Advent Calendar Time!

We all love a cup of tea with some chocolate in the K TWO office, so we love it when it comes around to advent calendar time, as we all get a daily dose of chocolate!

However, with the chocolate we also get a “joke” every day. We say “joke” because, well, they aren’t always funny! We’re posting the jokes every day on our Facebook page, so “like” us and you will also get the pleasure of hearing them! You can see the K TWO Facebook page here.

Whilst we’ve all been eating far too much chocolate, we have also being buying lots of Christmas gifts and have found lots of bargains!

Don’t forget you can grab yourselves a bargain by buying a K TWO Christmas gift set and also getting FREE DELIVERY! One of the most popular sets has been the Family Calendar and Diary which gives you a saving of £5...that’s one of the products at half price!

Have a great weekend!

The K TWO Team x

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The Countdown Has Begun!

We all know when the contestant numbers start to dwindle in the X Factor and Strictly that Christmas is just around the corner! That means we have to start deciding where we’re spending Christmas, what food do we need, but most of all, our gift buying now has to start!

Our biggest problem in the K TWO office is what gift to get for Dad? Having worked at K TWO for many years, we have already given him our fantastic (and very helpful) Vehicle Document File, so what else can we get them? I think socks and toiletries are the order of the day!

We have also just drawn our “Secret Santa” in the office, although some of us don’t like the “Secret” part! It’s always a challenge to find a lovely gift under £10, but we will be trying our utmost to get something fabulous! Unfortunately buying a K TWO gift is out of the question, but we will definitely be using our cute Christmas Labels when wrapping our gifts up! Do you do Secret Santa in your workplace? Have you ever had a really good or funny gift from a colleague?

We should also remember to say “Happy Thanksgiving” to all of our American customers. We hope you have a lovely weekend eating lots of lovely food and spending time with family! I think us Brits are truly missing out!

Happy Shopping everyone!

The K TWO Team x

PS. Remember we still have FREE DELIVERY to the UK on our website until the 30^th November 2011!

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How Organised is Your Family?

Being in the “organising” business, we all like to think that we are very organised in the K TWO office! We have different ways of staying organised: some of us like to write lists; some of us rely on our Birthday Card Book and some just have a sparkling memory...not many of us have the latter though unfortunately!

However, the one product that we probably couldn’t quite live without is our Family Calendar. Yes, even the staff at K TWO use the K TWO Family Calendar!

We stuff the handy storage pockets with our appointment cards and our party invites and write in all the dates that we never want to forget – nobody likes to miss their recycling uplifts do they? Or a children’s birthday party that your daughter has been looking forward to for weeks? The list is endless to the things we need reminded of!

Everyone uses their Family Calendar slightly differently, as you can see above! Vicki in our Marketing team has reminders for her monthly magazine subcriptions in there and Kerri our MD has noted one million and one plans for her two children!

What is your favourite element of the K TWO Family Calendar? Does it help you to stay super-organised? Let us know your thoughts and even send us a picture of your Family Calendar in action for our next blog entry! Just email info@ktwoproducts.com with subject line “My Family Calendar”.

Remember you can still buy your K TWO 2012 Family Calendar now with free delivery to UK Mainland until the end of November!

                                                               
                    
                      The K TWO Team x

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K TWO Bake Off!

It seems the whole country has got “Baking Fever” after watching the final of the Great British Bake Off last night. Our bellies have been rumbling just looking at the fantastic baking that was on show!

The eventual winner, Jo Wheatley, baked mini Victoria sponge sandwiches, white chocolate and raspberry pistachio meringues and mini banoffee pies. Delicious! We really need to get our hands on those recipes to store in our Baking File! In fact, perhaps we should send Jo one our fantastic Baking Files. She’ll need a safe place to keep all of her fantastic baking recipes!

The girls in the K TWO office are just waiting for Jo to bake a cake that is fat-free and calorie-free, but still tasty! Fingers crossed she finds it soon!

If you are getting into the baking spirit, remember we have lots of fab Baking/Cookery Products on the K TWO website! Our fab Baking File, Recipe File and Cooks Shopping Notes will keep you and your baking right on track!

Happy Baking!

The K TWO Team x

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Indian Summer!

Just when we had packed all of our Summer clothes away up into the attic, the weatherman comes on to say that we are going to have an Indian Summer! It was only last week that we were talking about Christmas gifts, but in this weather Christmas gift buying seems a long way away (it’s actually only 88 days until the big day!).

We’re not complaining though! I think most of us in the K TWO office will be nipping out on our lunch break to catch the rays and maybe even organising a BBQ when we get home. If only it was this nice all year round!

Don’t let the weather distract you from Christmas gift buying though! We have lots of lovely stocking filler special offers until Monday 3^rd October, so why not get your shopping done online? Then you can put your feet up in the back garden safe in the knowledge that your friends and family have some lovely K TWO gifts coming their way!

Enjoy the sunshine!

The K TWO Team x

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