cheap – A Wandaful Thing

Thrifted Easter Decorations

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!

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DIY High-End Christmas Pillows

I really wanted some pillows to display for Christmas. I really didn’t want to pay upwards of $40 each. I decided to see if I could find some pillow covers at Dollar Tree or Dollarama and give them some pizazz to make them look like high-end pillows.

To achieve this I found two of the same pillow cover (18″x18″) at Dollarama for $4.00 each. I love this snowflake pattern with the red background.

I uploaded two different images I liked from my Cricut Access to Cricut Design Space. (1000s of free images in you have a monthly design space membership). I decided on the words Merry (and) Bright. I sized them to 10.5 wide x 5.5 tall and cut them from white iron on vinyl . An important tip to remember before cutting is to mirror your image so that when you go to heat transfer the vinyl is it facing the correct way.

Next I weeded the excess vinyl from the design and used my Cricut Easy Press to heat transfer the vinyl to the pillow cover. My press was set at 315 F and I pressed for 30 seconds.

This vinyl is what they call a cold peel, so I waited until the design was cool to the touch before peeling off the clear backing. **( you can use a regular clothes iron for this, set it at the highest setting and make sure the steam setting is turned off).

Once both designs were heat transfered to the pillow covers, I inserted a 20″x20″ IKEA “Inner” pillow form into each one. I don’t find these are very full so I would suggest buying a very cheap standard size pillow from Walmart and use the stuffing that is inside that pillow. It will more than stuff two 18″x18″ pillow covers.

I quite like how they turned out.

Here is a break down of the cost to make two DIY High-End looking Christmas Pillows:

2 x Dollarama Pillow Covers $8.00

1 sheet of 12″x12″ Cricut everyday iron on vinyl $5.00

2 x IKEA “Inner” pillow forms $10.00

It cost me a total of $23.00 to make two high end Christmas Pillows. That is only $11.50, much cheaper than the $30 or $40 you can pay at a big box store. I could have reduced the cost to just $17.00 if I had used the cheap Walmart pillow for stuffing the pillows.

YES, you can DIY on the cheap and it will look like a high-end item from a big box store but without the big box store price.

To me that’s A Wandaful Thing!!!

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A WandafulThing 12 Days of Christmas 2020

A WandafulThing 12 Days of Christmas 2020

Well 2020 sure wasn’t what any of us expected. It’s been an interesting, strange, challenging, reflective and creative year for me.

During my reflective period I was thinking about what I wanted to do for my 12 Days of Christmas 2020 from A WandafulThing. I decided to go back to the roots of why I started this blog to begin with, to share my love of making, baking, creating and decorating. Over the next four weeks I will share some simple, easy and budget friendly ideas just in time for the holidays.

Be sure to subscribe to the blog so you don’t miss a single day or idea. Day One is scheduled for Monday, November 09, 2020.

Here is a recap with links to all the WandafulThings that were ‘Pinterest’ inspired I created last year (2019).

2019 recap – 12 Days of Christmas Pinterest Inspired

Day 1 – 12 Days of Christmas 2019

Day 2 – 12 Days of Christmas 2019

Day 3 – 12 Days of Christmas 2019

Day 4 – 12 Days of Christmas 2019

Day 5 – 12 Days of Christmas 2019

Day 6 – 12 Days of Christmas 2019

Day 7 – 12 Days of Christmas 2019

Day 8 – 12 Days of Christmas 2019

Day 9 – 12 Days of Christmas 2019

Day 10 – 12 Day of Christmas 2019

Day 11 – 12 Days of Christmas 2019

Day 12 – 12 Days of Christmas 2019

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Thanks for stopping by….until next time.

Michaels’ Boxing Day Sale Haul

As most people know I am not only a vintage hunter but a thrifty bargain hunter as well. Since I am also an avid crafter, what better way to save, save, save then to hit Michaels’ during their boxing day sales.

I live in Canada so these prices are canadian prices. I spent $114.60 today but am only showing you $100.00 of it as the other couple of items are for an upcoming birthday party and I’d hate to ruin the surprise…

Here is the break down on prices: Plaid throws were $18.00 each after discount. The wide ribbon was $6.00 after discount and the two smaller plaid ribbons were $4.20 each after the 70% discount. Great prices for those gorgeous plaid throws. I had a really hard time deciding which one I really wanted so I bought them both.

The Woodland Pine scented candles remind me of the smell of pine trees in the forest so at a whopping $2.10 after discount, they had to come home with me. The cute treat sacs come 18 per package and were also $2.10 per package. These I will put away to use in a 2020 craft show. The Plaid gift bags were originally priced at $8.00 per package and the largest ones come 5 per package while the two smaller sizes have 6 per package. After the 70% discount they totaled $2.40 per package. That equals less than 50 cents per gift bag. I may need to go back for more. Continue reading Michaels’ Boxing Day Sale Haul

Day 12 – 12 Days of Christmas Pinterest Inspired

A Wandaful Thing 12 Days of Christmas – Day 12

Today brings me to the conclusion of my 12 Days of Christmas Pinterest Inspired posts. I hope you have been following along to see all the interesting things I’ve created based on what has been inspiring me on Pinterest this holiday season.

Today I bring to you an easy to make Christmas garland made entirely of items purchased from the Dollar Tree. I enjoy making things that look great but are still relatively inexpensive to make.

I purchased a flashing Christmas bulb necklace, some burlap that was layered with white lace, some plaid ribbon, and white acrylic paint, all from the Dollar Tree. I was fortunate the day I was making this to have a dear friend visiting and she soon found herself helping out in the craft room. We painted the bulbs with the white acrylic paint (three coats) and while that was drying we removed the lace from the burlap. The burlap, the ribbon and the lace were all cut into 7 inch strips (approximately). When the bulbs were dry and put back on the necklace we started to layer the burlap, the ribbon and the lace. It still seemed to be missing something so I added a few randomly placed pieces of jute twine.

It started off being hung on my craft room peg board, then it went on the tree (if I make about 5 more they would cover the tree), then it made it’s way above the Christmas tree and is now hanging off the blinds (first picture at the top of the post).