Winner: Katze (#3)

I am thinking of a category of décor, and the first letter of each background below will spell it out for you.



Within this category, count the number of décor or background (*Applicators are NOT included) that match each of these clues.
A = Bzz Bzz!
B = Man’s best friend
C = Phew, I was thirsty!
D = Birds fly with them
E = Alas, poor Yorick!
F = Nice and shady cave material
G = Hisss……

Hint: Double check that your numbers are correct here:
((D – 6) – A) = ((G – F) * B) + (C * (E – 1))

Now that you’ve found those numbers, time to find the item that is the answer!
P = A * (D * (F + B))
W = A – B
R = (E + E + C) * (A + F)
T = (G – E) – B

Y = (R * T) + (W * P)

Once you have Y, find the item in the Item Directory with the ID that matches, and PM me your answer. (Eg, if the answer was 307, the item would be Dry Palm Leaf).

Answer: A bit of a tricky one this month! First step was the work out that the backgrounds shown spelled out "CRAFTING", which gave you the category for the rest of the puzzle. Next, the clues and the numbers were:
A: Bees - 4
B: Dogs - 1
C: Water Roots - 3
D: Feathers - 52
E: Skulls - 11
F: Large Leaves - 4
G: Snake Decor/Skin - 16

Now time for the maths!
To double check our numbers are right, let's plug them into the hint equation ((D – 6) – A) = ((G – F) * B) + (C * (E – 1)):
((52 – 6) – 4) = ((16 – 4) * 1) + (3 * (11 – 1))
42 = 42

Now we have our numbers right, let's keep going.
P = A * (D * (F + B)) = 4 * (52 * (4 + 1)) = 1040
W = A – B = 4 – 1 = 3
R = (E + E + C) * (A + F) = (11 + 11 + 3) * (4 + 4) = 200
T = (G – E) – B = (16 – 11) – 1 = 4

And the last equation, Y = (R * T) + (W * P):
Y = (200 * 4) + (3 * 1040) = 3920.

Phew, lots of maths. One last step! As per the instructions, we use that number to find the item with that ID, which is...
Tigon Blanket - Sunset

Congrats to Katze who managed to work it out successfully and won January's puzzle Squish!