Due to the severe weather conditions that have occurred in recent weeks, our courier has today informed us that it is unable to guarantee delivery of goods before Christmas to Scotland and Newcastle.  Interlink Express have been unable to deliver goods to these areas which has led to an accumulation of goods in their Scottish and Newcastle depots. The backlog has led them to release the statement that they are unable to guarantee delivery for Christmas to these areas.

This has clearly affected the service we can provide you with at Qtag.com. We regret to inform you that orders placed now to these areas will not arrive in time for Christmas and orders that have already been dispatched to these areas are likely to have longer delivery times than expected.

Qtag would like to apologise that we are unable to uphold are normal delivery promises and we want to assure you that Interlink are making every effort to ensure parcels are delivered as soon as possible. If you are in the affected area and have any queries, please contact our customer services via info@qtag.com

The full Interlink Express statement can be read via: http://www.interlinkexpress.com/products-services/uk/uk_update-suspended_services_2.htm

If you’re a new parent, or one who’s feeling older by the minute, there are blogs out there to make you laugh, cry and re-evaluate your parenting practices – but finding the best of the best can take more time than the average parent has to spare, so we’ve rounded up five of the most insightful to share with you:

1 – Bringing up Charlie is a blog written by a Dad – and while the blogosphere seems totally dominated by the superlative yummy mummys of mumsnet etc, there are Dad world’s out there too, and Tim, father of Charlie, shows how the world looks from the father-zone.

2 – Bullying UK is a website that helps both those being bullied and those who bully. It offers resources to parents and to children, so it’s a great place to bookmark and leave for your child to explore on their own, as well as browsing yourself to discover more about the modern forms of cyber-bullying that may be a mystery to you.

image courtesy of firepile at flickr

3 – Build a Better Bento looks like a specialist forum for those using the Japanese lunchbox called a bento, but parents of picky kids will find this a constant source of inspiration and advice (as well as of healthy eating tips) when trying to put together a lunch that will be eaten without tears or threats.  And it may even lead you to buy a bento box or two just to try out the octodog!

4 – Not the easiest site to navigate but still one of the oldest and best for the single parent – Gingerbread has been campaigning for, advising and supporting single parent families since 1918 and still has some of the best links and ideas for those bringing up a child alone.

5 – Holiday with baby does exactly what it says on the tin – it’s a guide to baby friendly holiday resorts and destinations. While there are plenty of places that claim to be child-friendly, many are not baby friendly and some of those that say they like children turn out to be less than well-organised or well-disposed to little people and this site helps parents to choose the right destination and to benefit from a vast range of tips and ideas that help the parents of babies and toddlers to travel serenely and holiday happily.

Keeping kids entertained can be a nightmare, especially at this time of year with the never ending rain. The temptation is to sit them down in front of the T.V; but why not be inspired to do something fun, active and creative from time to time?

One great activity is T-Shirt art. It’s cheap, great fun and might just bring out a little artist or future fashion designer.

It’s such a simple activity, all you need are some fabric crayons and a plain children’s T Shirt and off you go.

We recently had a tremendous review from top parenting blog allthatcomeswithit.com and were delighted to see how much they enjoyed it. It’s also great for us to see this finished article,  so we were really pleased to see such a work of art produced:

We’d love to see any of your little tykes artwork as well, so please send in your pictures to info[at]Qtag.com.

Last minute Halloween costume ideas:

Digging around desperately for some last minute Halloween costume ideas? Local party costume shop run out of everything apart from a box of ratty old Santa beards? Never fear, here are our top ideas for costumes you can make at the last minute from junk you’ve been meaning to throw out for years:

1) The Gangster

Gangster Costumes

Do you own a suit? Well congratulations – you can be a Gangster for the night! Create a scar on your face using some mascara and you’re nearly ready to go. If you have kids then hopefully you can dig out a toy gun, and if you can rustle one up, a Fedora will complete the look.

2) The Mummy

Mummy

In most medicine cabinets you should be able to find some bandages. This one really couldn’t be any more straight forward. Cover yourself from head to toe, but remember to leave a hole for your mouth. We’d also advise making sure you wear a plain white t shirt underneath, as most homemade mummy suits are 99% certain to unravel!

3) Where’s Wally

Where's Wally Costume

All you need is a white t shirt and a red pen (Ideally Fabric Marker Pens) any you’re on your way. Draw Red horizontal stripes around the t shirt and wear a red hat and scarf if you can get holed of them. As a finishing touch see if you can borrow a walking stick.

4) A shower cubicle

This one’s a bit more inventive and will certainly make you stand out! All you need are some wire coat hangers, a shower curtain and a cheap baseball cap.

Untwist the metal coat hangers so you have some wire strips. Make a circle out of one and wrap it round the baseball cap so that it fits as securely as possible. Secure it on with some masking tape if necessary. Attach two pieces of wire to each side of the cap sticking upwards at a 40 degree angle. This should leave you with four points around which you can attach the remaining hangers to make a square shape which will be about a foot above your head once you put the cap on. Next you need to hang the shower curtain around the metal frame. Put this on your head and your now a walking shower cubicle. It’s up to you if you want to go as ‘person in a shower’ but I would recommend you at least wear some swimming shorts!

5) A Mime

Mime Costume

Wear all black clothing and see if you can get hold of some white face paint. White gloves also help make it more convincing.

If you like to be a bit more tongue in cheek here are some really quick fancy dress ideas:

-    Wear all black and stick a postage stamp to yourself – You’re Black Mail!
-    Put a pot on your head – You’re pot head
-    Dress in pink and carry a feather – You’re tickled pink
-    Draw the letter ‘P’ around your eyes (be sure to use washable ink!) – You’re the Black Eyed Peas!

Please add your own inspired ideas by leaving a comment on this post.

Happy Halloween!

Having been in the wholesale clothing business for some time we’ve encountered a few unbelievable facts and pieces of trivia relating to apparel that we thought we’d share with you.

Questions you never even knew needed answering….

1) Why do women’s polo shirts have their buttons on the opposite side to the men’s polo shirt?

Traditionally women did not dress themselves but rather they had handmaidens to help them out. Because of this, garment manufacturers placed the buttons on the left side where a right-handed maid would best be able to do them up. This Medieval practice has since influenced fashion to the point it is now customary for all ladies polo shirts to have their buttons on the left-hand side!

2) Has ‘Pre-shrunk’ clothing ever been washed?

No! Despite the name pre-shrunk clothing has actually never been washed before. This is because pre-shrunk describes the process whereby the uncut material is grooved to condense it, leaving a puckered texture that allows for real shrinking when first washed by you. It is the actual fabric, not the shirt itself, which is ’pre-shrunk’. This is why you are always advised that your t-shirt might shrink a size after its first wash.

3) Why is there a ‘Pouch Pocket’ in my Fleece?

Queen Victoria is responsible I’m afraid! The origin of the ‘pouch’ pocket found in fleeces stems from a tradition stretching back as far as Victorian times. Queen Victoria herself started the fad, and as was the case with most fashionable courtly airs it was swiftly imitated by the nation. The Queen and Prince Albert used muffs to keep their hands warm (and even hide money and jewellery) and this pouch was created for a place to store them. The fashion has been continued ever since.

4) Where does the ‘Henley’ style T-Shirt get its name from?

The ‘henley’ style t-shirt, characterised by its lack of collar and an elongated placket (essentially making it a collarless polo shirt), derives its name from the canals of England! The style of shirt was originally a rower’s shirt and was the traditional uniform of rowers in the small Oxfordshire town of Henley-upon-Thames.

5) Is it true that the t-shirt was meant to be worn as underwear?

Yes, the t-shirt was originally designed as a form of underwear! The t-shirt design as we know it was inspired by the light cotton undershirts of the European troops in World War I. American soldiers took these garments home with them as they were vastly superior to the heavy woollen uniforms they were issued with and by World War II the US Army gave each soldier a t-shirt as part of their standard issue field packs. These were originally intended to be used as underwear, and were formally described as such, but the troops were often pictured wearing their tees without a shirt covering them while completing heavy labour or when stationed in hot tropical climates. After the war the t-shirt became a popular garment in its own right, and no longer is it covered behind a buttoned shirt.

6) What common household tool is used to make certain fabrics?

The fabric ‘sanded gabardine’ is made using an actual sander! A belt sander is run over the material so that it is extra soft before being cut and sewn into a t-shirt.

7) When was the t-shirt first used as a promotional tool?

The first ever printed promotional t-shirt was made using a blank tee as early as 1939, to promote the film ‘The Wizard of Oz‘. But it took 9 more years for the t-shirt to be used as a propaganda tool, when Thomas E. Dewey, the Republican US Presidential candidate in 1948, printed t-shirts with ‘Dew-It with Dewey‘ emblazoned on the front. The oldest promotional t-shirt on record is an example of one of these t-shirts and is stored at The Smithsonian Institute.

Some T-Shirt stats to impress/bore your mates with….

Approximately 2 billion T-shirts are sold worldwide each year.

6 miles of yarn are used to make one T-shirt.

T-shirts made from recycled cotton prevent over 5 billion tons of textile waste from entering landfills each year.

The most t-shirts worn at any one time is 160 by Aaron Waltke, who entered the Guinness Book of World Records when he eclipsed the previous record of 155.

91% of Americans profess to owning a “favourite” t-shirt.

34% say white is the colour of their favourite T-shirt, nearly double the votes received for blue which lies in second place.

62% claim to own more than 10 T-shirts (that’s 1.5 billion t-shirts)

Americans alone own enough t-shirts to circle the globe more than 35 times.

The number 1 reason for most people as to why they love the t-shirt – comfort.