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.
Something special is about to happen on October 15th. The Winter Edition of The Happy Artisan Gift Box will be available to order (shipping end of November). Click here for more info and to place your order.
***You can order on the website or to hold a box you can contact me directly via email awandafulthing@gmail.com, DM me either on FB or on instagram @awandafulthing or @happyartisangift box . Payments must be received by November 15.
The Winter Happy Artisan Gift Box is our biggest one yet – there will be 10 handcrafted items for you to enjoy. You are in for a big treat as the value in this box won’t be beat by any other winter subscription box – just two of the items exceed over $45.00 MRSP and shipping is only $10.00 in Canada (some exceptions do apply). With the holiday season around the corner, why not order a box, keep what you want and gift the rest.
Not to spoil the surprise but there are a few items that would make great stocking stuffers. Limited quantity – Don’t delay order before they are gone! If you want to purchase the box as a gift, I can send directly to the recipient on your behalf.
This is the third and final Happy Artisan Gift Box offered this year. Each box contains locally handmade items from small businesses. Nothing is massed produced so there are limited boxes for sale.
Supporting local and small business creates a win/win for everyone. These items are made individually and thoughtfully. When you purchase from a small business you are part of a community. You are supporting Artisans whose work can continue with your support.
Insert front
Insert back
Full box- inspirational pictures, hello beautiful bag, cards, soap, lip balm, stain remover stick, swedish cloth, brown sugar saver
Swedish Cloth
Brown Sugar Saver
Above is a glimpse into what was offered in The Fall Happy Artisan Gift Box.
The Winter box will have totally different items, handmade and homespun. The box is meant to be a surprise so pictures won’t be shared until after boxes have shipped.
Mark your calendar for OCTOBER 15 – place your order so you won’t be disappointed. Supporting Canadian small business is so important and The Happy Artisans are very grateful for your support.
The Happy Artisan Gift Box- it’s A Wandaful Thing!
I’m kinda super stoked to tell you about this trash to treasure post.
I was contacted by the REDFIN blog – to collaborate on a trash to treasure post. If you go check out the post you will see my tip is the first one featured. It is so easy to update your outdoor lighting without costing a fortune.
I wanted to update my outdoor lighting to better suit the esthetic of my house without spending upwards of $300.0 (I priced out the ones I liked online). I decided to try and find used fixtures that I could upcycle into something I would want to use. I was lucky and thrifted two identical fixtures at a local thrift store. It was meant to be as how often would you find two of the same thing?
A can of spray paint and an hour or so later and I had brand new looking outdoor light fixtures. I really love them.
Total cost for two new to me outdoor light fixtures was $25.00.
back area before
front entrance before picture
Nice as is but I wanted them black
Before spray painting
spray painted
Ha ha ha – sorry about the skewed front door wreath – I was concentrating on taking pics of the light fixgure and didn’t even notice – oops!!
Be sure to go check out the other collaborators as they have great projects as well.
My dear friend and fellow blogger Amelia over at You Can Always Start Now just published a post on twirling and pivoting and doing and enjoying crafts even if they are for kids. She loves to explore all the possibilities. Go over and read her post (linked above) to fully understand why I am sharing this with you. She always has the greatest ideas and today I found myself in the store that starts with $$ and ends with what rhymes with drama…and found the cutest little craft kit tucked in among the kids crafts. For a buck 25 how could I resist Continue reading Age Appropriate?? Crafts that is…
My friend and fellow blogger Amelia P made a request in the Facebook group Sharing, Inspiring, Promoting Bloggers to collaborate with other bloggers to do a “Christmas Challenge” post.
How it works is we come up with 12 Things about Christmas, write a post on our own blog and insert links to our fellow bloggers. The second I read about it, I knew I was going to participate. Afterall, the name of the group is Sharing, Inspiring, Promoting Bloggers.
I’m thrilled to be collaborating with the following bloggers:
For the last 7 years (since the very beginning of my blog) I have been doing a 12 Days of Christmas Series. It is something I truly enjoy doing as it challenges me to dig deep and find easy, budget friendly, gift worthy things people might like to make, bake, decorate or create. I just wrapped up these posts on November 30, 2020 – I will put links to all of them at the end of the post.
I will admit I have an infinity for Santa Claus and for Nutcrackers. I add to my collection every year and proudly display from November 12 to January 06. I also, rarely, if ever, purchase new items for my collection. If at all possible, I search and buy vintage. Here is a picture of the additions I made this year.
3. I like to make (and sometimes sell) Christmas tree decorations. This year I decided to make tree ornaments using wood slices. This one, I thought, was particularly fitting;
and this one went to my daughter in Texas.
4. I make my own Christmas Cards and try to ensure they are mailed out by December 10th. This one was one of my favorite cards I made this year.
5. I LOVE buying local and especially from local artisans (usually at Christmas Craft Fairs). I did not get to any in person craft shows this year but because there are so many creative beings out there, who were still making and creating their wares, I did purchase items through “on-line” stores so win/win!
6. I am from the East Coast of Canada and even though I now live on the West Coast of Canada, some traditions just never change. On Christmas Eve the evening meal is a feast of some form or seafood. For me this year it is going to be pan fried Digby Scallops. I’m already looking forward to that.
7. Watching Hallmark Christmas movies. I just love watching a good cheesy predictable Christmas movie :O) – I am not sure what the draw to watch these movies is; maybe it’s the music maybe it’s the happy ending, maybe it’s just the magic of Christmas.
8. Speaking of movies – without fail on Christmas Day I watch the movie “A Christmas Carol” – the black & white version starring Alastar Simms, right after the turkey feast, the dishes can wait!
9. On Boxing Day, it’s go to the Movie Theatre for an afternoon matinee, again, not sure what that will look like this year. We will have to wait and see.
10. Traditional Christmas baking for me includes whipped shortbread, sugar cookies, ginger sparkle cookies, gingerbread men, cherry balls, coconut balls and pork pies(not what you think – these are shortbread bottom tarts with date filling and almond icing).
11. We like to drive around and look at the Christmas lights (we walk around our own neighbourhood though). This year we are going to go to something called the Magic of Lights at the Castrol Raceway -it is sponsored by Canadian Tire and provides you and your guests an opportunity to celebrate the holidays #togetherapart; comfortably maintaining social distancing from the comfort of your own vehicle. We are really looking forward to this and who knows, this could become our “new” yearly tradition. All money raised from the entrance fee goes to the Edmonton Food Bank – a very worthy cause.
12. Making anonymous donations to local charities that are near and dear to my heart. The Salvation Army, the local food bank, and the angel tree being my top three.
Wow, I was worried I didn’t have 12 Christmas Traditions but I bet if you really think about it, you do too. Hope you enjoyed these and don’t forget to visit my few bloggers and see what they came up with for their 12 Things of Christmas Challenge.
As mentioned earlier in this post here are links to my 12 Days of Christmas Series 2020.
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 1/2cupsall purpose flour
1 1/2teaspoonsbaking powder
1/4teaspoonsalt
1/2cupsweetened shredded coconut
1cupcoconut yogurtI used full-fat coconut Greek yogurt
3/4cupgranulated sugar
3large eggs
Finely grated zest of 1 medium-large lemon
2tablespoonslemon juice
1/3cupmelted coconut oil
1/2teaspoonalmond extract
For the cream cheese frosting you will need:
4tablespoonsunsalted buttersoftened
2 ounces of cream cheese softened
1 1/2cupspowdered sugar
1/8teaspoonalmond extract
1/2teaspoonfinely grated lemon zest
1–2tablespoonsmilk or half and half
Shredded coconut and lemon zestoptional 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.
If you decide to make this loaf or try a new recipe this holiday season, what will it be?
A Wandaful Thing 