Welcome to the place where I thrive on making, baking, DIY and decorating. Most of my decorating involves using vintage trinkets, treasure and other quirky things.
As the years go by, I seem to be pairing down on my holiday and seasonal decorating. However, that doesn’t stop me from picking up a few new thrifted items when the next occasion comes along.
I recently found a “new to me” thrift store and I purchased the following items which I incorporated into my Easter decorating scheme.
This was in the scarf section but I liked the size and the colors and thought it would be the perfect table runner. It cost $1.00
I found this large pink doily and thought it would look great with the scarf – only $1.00
Of course I needed an Easter basket and some eggs and as a bonus I found a cute little bunny to top off the whole thing. Another $1.50
The napkins were the last thing I bought for the kitchen and they cost $3.00 for four napkins. My total cost for my Easter Tablescape was $7.00 – definitely won’t break the bank.
I put a few other items around the house….the only other new item was the felted sheep.
That little adorable felted sheep was a whopping $0.50
The other items shown are things purchased from past years. I think it’s enough Easter decorating for me for this year.
Have you decorated for Easter this year or in the past? How much do you do? One room, two rooms etc and which rooms? Leave a comment and let me know – would love to hear from you.
Thrifted Easter decorations – it’s A Wandafulthing!
         A WandafulThing 12 Days of Christmas 2020 – Day 12
Thank you for joining me for my 12 Days of Christmas 2020.
Well here we are at the end of the series. If you want to see what you missed, be sure to see all the links at the end of this post.
This year I went back to basics of why I started my blog and that was to inspire you to make, bake, create and decorate, all on a budget of course. You still have time to try some of these simple, easy and budget friendly ideas just in time for the holidays.
Day 12: Holiday Coconut Lemon Loaf
For the last day of the 12 Days of Christmas series, I am sharing a brand new to me recipe. I love coconut and lemon so why not combine the two into one delicious dessert. This coconut lemon loaf will be a hit at any holiday gathering.
This cake gets its amazing lemon flavor from a combination of lemon zest and lemon juice.  It gets a triple dose of coconut from coconut yogurt, shredded coconut and coconut oil.
To begin:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×5 loaf pan and set aside.
Ingredients you will need:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1 cup coconut yogurt I used full-fat coconut Greek yogurt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3Â large eggs
Finely grated zest of 1 medium-large lemon
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/3 cup melted coconut oil
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
For the cream cheese frosting you will need:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
2 ounces of cream cheese softened
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/8 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1–2 tablespoons milk or half and half
Shredded coconut and lemon zest optional garnish
Instructions for the loaf:
In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and shredded coconut.
In a large bowl, whisk yogurt, sugar, eggs, lemon zest, lemon juice, coconut oil and almond extract until well combined. Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until well combined, the batter will be thick.
Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and smooth the top. Bake for 45-55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Place the pan on a rack to cool.
To make the frosting:
Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat cream cheese and butter until combined. Add powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Add 1 tablespoon milk, almond extract and lemon zest and beat until combined. If the frosting is too thick add additional milk to thin it out. Spread the frosting on the cooled cake and top with shredded coconut and lemon zest.
Storing:
Store it in an airtight container in refrigerator to keep it fresh longer.
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If you decide to make this loaf or try a new recipe this holiday season, what will it be?
A WandafulThing 12 Days of Christmas 2020 – Day 11
Thank you for joining me for my 12 Days of Christmas 2020.
Well here we are almost at the end of the series. If you want to see what you missed, be sure to see the links at the end of this post.
This year I am going back to basics of why I started my blog and that was to inspire you to make, bake, create and decorate, all on a budget of course. From now until the end of November, I will share some simple, easy and budget friendly ideas just in time for the holidays.
Day 11: DIY Vertical JOY Sign
Today, I’m showing you how to make this cute vertical Christmas JOY sign. This sign is so simple but turned out so pretty. I love how the color of letters match the berries on the wreath. Read on for the full tutorial.
Here’s what you need:
Wood for Sign (14″x 7″ I used pine)
Mini Wreath (I made mine with an extra piece of garland)
Acrylic Paint & Brush
Hot Glue Gun & Glue
Scraper
Vinyl
Transfer Tape
Weeding Tool
Electronic cutter (cricut explore, silhouette or other cutter)(If you don’t have a Cricut, Silhouette etc., you can use premade letters from a craft store)
What to do:
Paint your wood with whatever color you want your letters to be (I used white acrylic paint), I applied three coats with a sponge brush, allowing each one to dry inbetween coats.
Open the design software program for whatever vinyl cutter machine you have (I have a Cricut Maker).
Open a text box and type the letters J Y – size letters to 3″wide x 3″high.
When everything is sized correctly, you can cut the design with your Cricut or Silhouette. I used Oracle 651 in a peach color as I had it leftover from another project.
Once it has finished cutting, weed away the excess vinyl.
Cut a piece of transfer tape a little bigger than the design and place it sticky side up on your work surface. Then, place the vinyl on top of the transfer tape. Rub over the design with your scraper and trim off the excess transfer tape. Then, cut apart the letters.
Grab your vinyl letters and the mini wreath and place them on the sign.
Space everything out so it looks even. Remove the vinyl backing from one of the letters. Position it on the wood sign. Match the straight edges of the stencil with the straight edges of the sign. Repeat with the other letter.
Next paint two or three coats of red paint over the entire sign to cover the letters and all of the white paint.
Once the red paint is dry, carefully peel off the vinyl letters.
I used a semi-gloss spray varnish to seal the sign before adding the mini wreath with hot glue.
Your JOY vertical sign is now ready to display.
Simply, easy JOY Vertical Sign – It’s AWandafulThing!
         A WandafulThing 12 Days of Christmas 2020 – Day 10
Thank you for joining me for my 12 Days of Christmas 2020.
A link to the previous days will be at the end of this post.
This year I am going back to basics of why I started my blog and that was to inspire you to make, bake, create and decorate, all on a budget of course. From now until the end of November, I will share some simple, easy and budget friendly ideas just in time for the holidays.
Day 10: DIY Twig & Washi Tape Card
Very little material and a lot of effect for this DIY special holiday card, with a Christmas tree stylized by a small twig covered with strips of washi tape.
This couldn’t be simpler and no special tools required.Â
What you will need:
Cardstock – one piece of 8.5 x 11 will yield two cards, cut the card stock in two and fold each piece in half. You should have two 4.25″ x 5.5″ cards ready for embellishment.
Twig(s) – smaller ones work better (1/4 inch or less in diameter). I literally walked out my front door and grabbed one off my Caragana tree.
Washi tape – you can use different colors for each piece or, as I did, just the one color for all the strips.
Steps:
Center the twig on the front of your card.
Cut four strips of washi tape, start with the largest and gradually make the next three smaller
Put the largest piece of tape at the bottom of the tree, leaving enough sticking out for the trunk, evenly space the next three strips and work your way up the tree from the largest stirp of washi tape to the smallest.
Voila! you are done and your card is reading for giving!
You can draw in a star at the top or leave it blank, like I did.
         A WandafulThing 12 Days of Christmas 2020 – Day 9
Thank you for joining me for my 12 Days of Christmas 2020.
A link to the previous days will be at the end of this post.
This year I am going back to basics of why I started my blog and that was to inspire you to make, bake, create and decorate, all on a budget of course. From now until the end of November, I will share some simple, easy and budget friendly ideas just in time for the holidays.
Day 9: Sweet & Salty Holiday Candy
Sweet and Salty Holiday candy turns a regular old saltine cracker into a delicious holiday candy. It’s the easiest holiday dessert to throw together and an easy, no-bake treat.
Ingredients:
35 saltine crackers
1 c. (2 sticks)Â butter
1 c. packed brown sugar
1 3/4 c. semisweet chocolate chips
1 bag red and green holiday M&Ms
1 jar baking sprinkles
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Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°. Line a baking sheet or jelly-roll pan with tin foil and coat with cooking spray.
Line the baking sheet with Saltine crackers. Set aside.
In a medium-sized saucepan, melt butter and brown sugar. Bring to a boil, stirring continuously, and let cook until bubbling, about 2 minutes. Pour mixture over crackers in an even layer and bake 12 to 15 minutes.Â
Top immediately with chocolate chips and let melt. Smooth chocolate out into an even layer, then top with red and green M&Ms and holiday
sprinkles. Cut into squares, then cool until the chocolate has hardened.
Saltine crackers coated with caramel, chocolate and candy. A salty, crunchy holiday treat. What’s not to love? It’s AWandafulThing!
