Easy DIY Christmas Wreath for Basically Free

My family decided this year for Christmas to go for a REAL tree.  We got a really good deal on an almost perfect tree. As we were standing there waiting for our tree to be netted up, I noticed a big bin of the trimming from the other live cut trees they had sold. We asked what they do with the trimmings. The worker said they just toss them and we were welcome to have as much as we wanted.  I'd been wanting a nice wreath for our front door. So, I grabbed a cart full.

If you have scissors/cutters on hand and some cable ties, this wreath can be made for basically free.  I used black cable ties so they would sort of blend in, but green would work well, too.

I arranged the trimming to resemble a wreath and used the cable ties to hold the trimmings together as I went around in a circle.

Using the scissors/cutters I clipped the extra off of the cable ties.  I also layered the trimmings to give it a fuller look.

 The finished wreath.

 This project only took around 30 minutes to complete and depends on the finished size of the wreath. I did a fairly large wreath as we have a big front door.  I did purchase a big red bow at one of my local big box stores for $3.98. Overall, I spent about $6 for a wreath I would have easily paid close to $30 at a local nursery or Christmas tree stand.

Leftovers-- Turkey Pot Pie

Want to know what is great about having a 19lb turkey for Thanksgiving? Leftovers!! I threw together this quick and easy turkey pot pie that my husband and kids absolutely loved! 

Turkey Pot Pie

 For the crust (makes top and bottom, 9 inch):

     2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
      8 tbsp cold butter
      4 tbsp veg shortening
      1/3 cup cold water (maybe a little more)

Put flour in mixing bowl, cut in cold butter and shortening with fork or pastry cutter until crumbly. Add in cold water and mix until dough forms small ball. Cut ball of dough in half. Roll out first half of dough on floured surface until size desired for pan/pie plate you are using. Place this crust in bottom of pie pan and roll out second half of dough for the top crust. Now work the on filling.

Filling:

   About 2 cups cooked diced turkey meat ( I used a mix of white and dark meats)
   1 (15ounce) can mixed veggies
   1 (15ounce) can cut green beans
   1 (10.5ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
   1/4-1/2 soup can of water to thin the soup
  
 In small bowl, mix chicken soup and water to make a gravy. In med mixing bowl, mix turkey meat and veggies together. Pour chicken soup gravy over meat and veggie and stir until well combined. Pour meat and veggie mixture into bottom pie crust. Top with second crust and trim around about 1 inch from pan/pie plate sides.  Pinch crusts together around edges to seal it up.  Cut a couple of slits in center of crust for steam to escape.

  Bake in preheated oven @ 400 degrees F for about 20 minutes or until crust is golden brown.
 I used a cookie sheet under my pie plate as this did boil over a little bit. 

Introduction

  To put it bluntly, I'm an imperfect perfectionist! I strive to do many different things well. Often times my perfectionism gets in my way. Thankfully, every day is a new day and I get many second chances.
  In the past, I've made lists upon lists of things I'd like to do or get done only to fall short of my goals. I'd like to use this blog to give myself some accountability to get things done while hopefully motivating others to meet their goals.
Please join me on my journey as I strive toward perfection!