Deck the Halls....DIY lighted topiary Christmas Tree

I TOTALLY Fa La La LA LOVE Christmas.  I love the decorations...the family togetherness....the songs....ALL OF IT.  On Friday I was SOOOOO super excited to have Thanksgiving over so that I could start decorating for Christmas.  Tree up....CHECK.  Look on Pinterest for new decorating ideas....CHECK.  I found a few inspirations HERE, HERE,HERE and HERE. 

Sadly I did not have a set of old school ice-skates hanging out in my garage.  BUT I did have this cute little sled chillin out there.  My dad picked it up for us last year at a yard sale.  YAY DADDY!!!  When I saw the pictures on Pinterest I almost killed myself digging through the crap pile in the corner of my garage.....WELL worth it for sure.  I have never decorated my porch (until this year) and I am loving changing it out for the different holidays...SO MUCH FUN!!!
Anyway...I had the sled.  I wrapped up some cardboard boxes filled with cinderblocks for the gifts.  I left out my Halloween straw bales for something to lean on.  AND I JUST NEEDED A LITTLE TREE.  I had two choices....go out into the BLACK FRIDAY insanity and try to find a mini tree for my milk can...OR head out to the crap pile for something to build one out of.  TO THE CRAP PILE!!!!

I grabbed some chicken wire(also in the scary corner of my garage) and formed it into a tree shape.  I pretty much just rolled it, flipped a few of the cut edges under the other ends and folded the wires over (to keep the ends together), and then pressed the top together until it made a tree shap instead of a tube.  It doesn't have to be perfect because the greenery will cover any small UGLYS:)  My model here helping me smush the top.  Christmas crafting is always WAY more fun with a happy helper elf...

 

I just made my tube a little bit bigger than my milk can opening.  Then I shoved the wire down in as far as it would go.  I put it down until the bottle started widening out.  It was super sturdy and I TRIED to pull it out or knock it over and it would not budge....LUCKY!!!

NEXT, I took my lighted greenery.  MINE was just a long strand of lighted garland.  Not the nice kind that looks real, but the cheap 5 dollar Walmart kind that is just one strand with no branches.  The branches kind would probably work well, but I already had the cheap stuff from another long lost christmas project that didn't happen.   I poked it up through the wire at the top of the tree and left the strand sticking up to make the point.  Then I wound the garland around the wire.  I overlapped here and there and tried to go under and around a few times to keep the garland from slipping down.  It stayed on pretty tightly. 
When I started I had NO idea if this would work.  But when I got this far I was almost dancing.  BUT then I decided that it was a little naked. 

So I grabbed some pre-made bows that I had (also from Walmart, also from years ago).  They had long ties on the back, so I strung them around the strands of greenery, through the wire and back out. Then twisted them.  I thought that would help keep the greenery from slipping around. 

AND DONE....Mini Tree Topiary Goodness:)

SOOOO the "decorate with what you have" saga continues at our house.  I am not gonna lie....I cannot wait to see what I find in the Crap Pile next:)