Pretzel Flipz

These appeared for a brief time in the very early 90s and I was completely obsessed with them. Standard salted hard pretzels covered in milk chocolate. It was one of those 'Marmite' type products that you either loved or hated.

I'm guessing that the British population just wasn't quite ready for something that exotic as after a couple of years building up a bit of a cult following, Pretzel Flipz disappeared from our shelves for good. After a little while of desperately searching the supermarket shelves, followed by a brief period of mourning, I moved onto other snacks. After all, you can't let candy rule your life and there's always another tasty snack down the line somewhere.

However, those more open minded Amercians, much more comfortable with the ideas of a sweet and salt snack than us stick-in-the-mud Brits, took Pretzel Flipz to their hearts and the Flipz have continued to flourish in the US. This means they can now be hauled back across the pond for us faithful Flipz lovers to enjoy.

Big Bag of Pretzel Flipz - £6.99 from ShinyShack.com

Smencils

These remind me of a craze that went on when I was a kid for scented stationery. There were scented erasers, scented felt tips and of course, scented pencils.

The whole scented stationery idea has been brought bang up to date with the creation of Smencils. These pencils come in original graphite and in a variety of colours and are a pretty impressive scent sensation.

Cleverly, the outer pencil bit that would normally be made out of wood has been replaced with recycled newspaper. The paper is soaked in the gourmet scent then rolled around the pencil core until you get a standard size pencil completely impregnated with an amazing scent.

As you'd expect, many of the scents are fruit based, like Orange, Grape, Black Cherry and Watermelon, but there some innovative surprises in there too, like Cotton Candy, Root Beer, Chocolate and Cinnamon. Perfect for picking your favourite scent, or get a selection for some smelly variety.

Each Smencil comes packed into its own individual scent-sealing tube for freshness and is guaranteed to brighten up that boring old paperwork!

Smencils from £1.49 from ShinyShack.com

Classic Comicbook - War of the Worlds

When a dramatisation of H G Wells' War of the Worlds was broadcast on the radio back in 1938, some of the listeners really believed that alien invasion was nigh.

The classic story of alien invaders and their battle for control of planet Earth has been reprinted in retro comic book style. It's a great addition to comic collections and a great way to get familiar with a fantastic sci-fi tale. I love the depiction of the aliens too - grey and creepy with evil yellow eyes.

Classic Comicbook - War of the Worlds - £2.99 from ShinyShack.com

Travel Slanket

The Slanket has been an incredibly popular winter item. Guys bought them for their girlfriends, wives got them for their husbands and couch potatoes bought them for themselves.

Most of us appreciated the snuggle factor of a cosy fleece blanket with sleeves, perfect chilly nights in front of the TV.

Well now the Slanket comes in the perfect size for camping trips and flights. The handy Travel Slanket is slightly smaller than its bigger brother, but still big enough to keep you warm and cosy. The slimmer fleece fabric allows it to fold up nice and small inside its matching travel bag, ready to be whipped out for nights around the campfire or long haul plane flights.

Oh, and it comes in purple. What's not to like?

Travel Slanket - £24.99 from ShinyShack.com

Henry Desktop Vacuum

The familiar face of vacuuming, in a handy desktop size! Everyone know Henry - the classic cylinder vacuum cleaner with the smiling face and cleaning power that's hard to beat!

Now you can use Henry to keep your desk clean as well as your floor. The Henry Desktop Vacuum is battery powered and small enough to sit on your desk. He'll easily suck up dust and crumbs.

For those who prefer pink, then Henry's girlfriend, Hetty is also available in desktop form, complete with eyelashes and pink colourscheme.

What better way to drive the dust bunnies from behind your monitor?

Henry Desktop Vacuum - £12.99 from ShinyShack.com

Vinyl Style Recordable CDs

Refer to 'records' these days and there's a whole generation that won't have a clue what you're talking about, but for the rest of us, vinyl still holds some very happy memories of the first single you bought or a favourite album. There are even a few luddites around who firmly belief that nothing sounds quite as nice as good old vinyl.

If you're after a bit of nostalgia value, why not try burning your latest set of tracks onto these recordable CDs. They work just like normal CDs but are disguised to look like little vinyl records. Each comes with its own record-style sleeve, so you can enter the digital age, but still fool yourself your back in analog times.

Vinyl Style Recordable CDs - £8.99 from ShinyShack.com

Nunzilla

Guaranteed to put the fear of nuns into pretty much anyone, Nunzilla is a spark-breathing clockwork nun that just won't quit!

Not content with windup nuns generally, someone has now gone one better and made one that shoots sparks out of her mouth while she walks.

The perfect gift for Catholic School survivors, Nunzilla may be small, but she is mighty. Wind her up and watch her go.

Nunzilla - £4.99 from ShinyShack.com

Pants Purses

Keep your pennie in your pants! These bright, colourful purses will really make you smile next time you're digging out some loose change.

Made from hard wearing ripstop material and printed with a range of bright, happy designs these pants purses are roomy enough to carry a big pile of change and different enough to always get a second glances. How many people do you see fishing change of out a large pair of pants?

They're the perfect antidote to shopping stress.

Pants Purse - £6.99 from ShinyShack.com

Marshmallow Fluff

Fluff is currently occupying the podium for my most favourite novelty food ever. Yes, I'm a fickle type and am apt to switch favourites from time to time, but I can see Fluff having a special place in my heart forever.

If you like Marshmallows, you'll love Fluff. Fluff is essentially melted marshmallow in a jar. Somehow, and let's not ruin the mystery by speculating how, some utter food genius has managed to create a substance just like the melted bit in the middle of a marshmallow when you've toasted it to perfection. And it just comes in a jar - no campfire, toasting fork or burnt fingers required.

You can eat it in a variety of ways. I've created my own easy version of S'mores with digestive biscuits, chocolate spread and Fluff, which is pretty popular. I have to confess though, that my absolute favourite way is straight out of the jar on a spoon and not sharing it with anyone! Health food it ain't but for a delicious sweet treat, you can't beat it.

Fluff also gains extra novelty food bonus points by being suitable for Vegetarians, which is a real bonus as trying to find anything marshmallow-related that veggies can eat is a real struggle.

Marshmallow Fluff - £2.99 from ShinyShack.com

Slanket

You can just tell that the designer of this clever invention has sat in a chilly room trying to read a book and sip a mug of tea while failing to keep warm. I know I've been there. Even with a duvet over my knees, there's not way of keeping arms and upper body toasty warm and still have a spare arm available to turn the pages.

Until now. The Slanket addresses the knotty problem that occurs when someone wants the warmth of a blanket without the restriction of having their arms tucked away. The solution is simple if only you can visualise it. Put sleeves on your blanket! (SLeeves, blANKET - did you see what they did there? Clever eh?)

The Slanket is made from wonderfully cosy fleece, comes in a range of colours to match your bedroom or sofa and lets you wrap up nice and warm while still zapping away with the TV remote or supping your soup. Ingenious, practical and of course, machine washable!

The Slanket - £34.99 from ShinyShack.com

DIY Straws

I love this idea! Did you have those curly straws when you were a kid? You know, the one where the straw is tied up in a knot and you can watch your drink whizz round the bends as you suck?

Well the DIY Straws take drinking straws to another level! I think of it as kind of a fusion of the novelty drinking straw idea with the fun of building something like a marble run. You can create your own design, make it as long and short as you like and have as many 'ins' and 'outs' too.

A cute idea is to plug together straws so you can drink out of more than one glass at a time, and create your very own dynamic cocktail! At another split and you can share your tipple with friends.

Lots of fun and the ability to pull it all to bits and create a new design keeps it interesting.

DIY Straws - £9.99 from ShinyShack.com

American Candy

Just so you can mark it in your calendar, Peanut Butter Lover's Day is fast approaching. 1st March is the day when peanut butter lovers everywhere can really dedicate some time to worshipping the hallowed nutty paste. (incidentally, there's also National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day on 2nd April and National Peanut Day on 13th of September)

If you decide to mark Peanut Butter Lover's Day with some sort of Peanut-related celebration, may I recommend Reese's Peanut Butter Cups as a tasty way to revel in Peanut Butter swathed delight?

American Candy manages to put things together in a different way that ends up being much more enjoyable. Smear peanut butter on things? No! Make a cup out of chocolate and fill it with peanut butter! Cover a biscuit in chocolate? Too mundane! Let's smash up that cookie and put the bits inside a chocolate bar.

American Candy from 69p from ShinyShack.com

Hottie Bear

A teddy bear with an added warm glow! Not only does this teddy look very cute and cuddly, but he really can give you a nice warm feeling too. On the outside he's an ordinary bear, but inside he has a hidden wheat bag that can be neatly removed via the velcro sealed pocket in his back.

Just take out the bag and zap it in the microwave for a little while, then put the bag back inside Mr Ted for the warmest teddy cuddle you can imagine. So much nicer that a slippery old hot water bottle!

Hottie Bear - £8.99 from ShinyShack.com

Wham Baam Wallet

This wallet's got cool comic book chic plastered all over it. The retro romantic comic book design on the outside is complimented by a bright spotty design on the inside. It looks great and of course has all the things you need in a wallet, like card pockets, paper money compartments, and ID holder, keyring and change pocket.

It's a practical wallet with super-cool design!

Wham Baam Wallet - £14.99 from ShinyShack.com

Racing Royals

The latest and without doubt the most kitsch wind up toys in the ShinyShack clockwork selection! Four regal wind-ups that you can set racing against each other. Each is a recognisable caricature of our renowned and slightly notorious Royal Family.

First past the line gets to rule the country!

Racing Royals - £9.99 from ShinyShack.com

Mini Magic Sketch Keychain

Did you have an Etch-A-Sketch as a child? I did, and although I played with it quite a lot, I never managed to create anything more than a random collection of lines that might look like something if you squinted and turned your head on one side.

Despite my lack of artistic ability I remember that unusual toy/art tool with a lot of affection, and it's nice to find there's a keyring toy that works on the same principles.

You have 2 little knobs, one which moves the line on the screen vertically, the other, horizontally. Cleverly turning the two at the same time can create diagonal lines and curves. Or it can if you're a more able sketcher than I am! Once the design is finished, you've admired it and shown it to all your friends, simply shake the Magic Sketch to set the screen to blank again, ready for the next masterpiece.

Mini Magic Sketch Keychain - £3.99 from ShinyShack.com

Ice Invaders

We do love our novelty ice cube trays! One little silicone tray provides many happy hours of drinking entertainment.

Alien shaped are the perfect choice for ice cubes. They're complicated enough to be interesting but simple enough to hold together as little chunks of ice.

This is our fav ice tray at the moment - Ice Invaders. One ice tray spits out 24 little aliens just like you used to shoot down at the arcade. Gives any drink a lovely retro feel, it doesn't have to be Cinzano or Babycham!

Ice Invaders - £6.99 from ShinyShack.com

Chocolate Cards

Cards for birthdays and special occasions are always nice to receive, but if I'm being honest and had to choose, I've rather have chocolate. I may be a chocoholic but I'm not the only one!

Fortunately now you no longer have to choose. Slices of delicious high quality Belgian chocolate have been printed with a range of designs and messages and packaged in a card sleeve with space for a personal message to be written on the back.

The chocolate slice is delicious enough to enjoy but slim enough to avoid causing chocolate-remorse after eating. It leaves a sweet taste in the mouth and a happy thought in the mind.

So now you can give the card and the chocolate all in one!

Chocolate Greeting Card - £2.99 from ShinyShack.com

Charm It! Charm Bracelets and Charms

Charm bracelets and charms a gogo with our new range of Charm It! charms.

The Charm It! range makes collecting charms easy. There's a whole range of charm bracelets and necklaces and a fantastic selection of shiny and colourful charms that clip easily onto the bracelets.

The charm bracelets and necklaces are all fully adjustable and charms come in all sorts of shapes and colours including animals, flowers, lockets and hearts. You can theme your charm bracelet or go for mix and match of your favourite charms.

Charm It! Charm bracelets and Charms from £3.99 from ShinyShack.com

Classic Books for People in a Hurry

Lists of classic novels and 'books to read before you die' regularly appear on websites and floating around on Facebook. Do you ever read the list and wish you could tick off more than a couple? If the long hard slog of reading a book isn't for you, or you just can't spare the time, why not take a shortcut and amaze your friends with how widely read you are?

This clever cartoon book contains 90 abbreviated versions of classic books. From Watership Down to Ulysses, you'll get the gist of every novel by just reading through the 4 illustrated panels. Ok, so you may miss out of some of the more complex nuances, but you're a busy person, and sticking to the executive summary is so much more efficient!

90 Classic Books for People in a Hurry - £6.99 from ShinyShack.com

Fun Fly Stick

It's been a quiet time on the Shiny Stuff blog - bad. But this is only because the new year so far has been dedicated to amassing a huge stack of the new, weird and wonderful - Great!

Take the Fun Fly Stick for example. Finally a magic wand you can point at stuff and make it fly! Ok, so you won't be able to make your little sister fly round the room but still, flying objects with no string attached = pretty cool!

So how does it work? Well inside the 'wand' is a little Van de Graaff generator. For those not familiar with this little bundle of joy from the Physics Lab, a Van de Graaff generator creates an electrostatic charge. So when you point your wand at the shiny metallic flying toys included in the pack, they become charged and are then repelled by the end of the wand. Point the wand and the object floats gently away.

Not only can you have weird metal shapes flying overhead, but you can do other cool stuff too. Point the end of the wand at a stream of water running from a tap and watch the flow be pulled sideways by the wand, (careful not to get the wand wet though - that'll mean an end to all the fun). We also found poking the wand into a bowl of Rice Crispies causes a rather fun explosion of flying puffed rice.

There's lots of cool electrostatic fun to be had with the Fun Fly Stick and it's all done by the power of Science - ooooh!

Fun Fly Stick - £24.99 from ShinyShack.com

One Million Pound Note

We all know our actual chance of winning the lottery is about as likely as being abducted by Elvis riding the Loch Ness Monster while being struck by lightening... or something like that anyway. I may be slightly confused by statisticians dumbing stuff down for me, but suffice it to say, the chance is small, very very small.

So while you're waiting to become a millionaire and start living in the style you'd like to become accustomed to, why not practice flashing your cash with a million pound note?

The Million Pound Note really does look like the real thing at first glance. The incredibly detailed design is printed with amazing detail. Ok, the paper isn't textured like a real note, but still, it's enough to cause a second or third glance.

So now you can raise your Million Pound Note, crook your little finger to you mouth and in your best villain voise say, 'One Million Pounds! Mwhahahaha!'. Enjoy!

One Million Pound Note - £1.99 from ShinyShack.com