Less than $3 wreath

I was wandering through a big chain-store the other day looking for a wreath for the front door. I was appalled at the crummy fake "wreathes" they wanted $20 for. No thank you.
So instead I wandered over to the hardware department and picked up some very small gauge wire. I would have preferred green instead of silver, but oh well. For less than $3, I will take it!

Everything else for the wreath I already had at home. A wire hanger, some pliers, and plant clippers. My clippers were all the way out in the shed... so far away... so I cheated and used a pair of utility scissors which made things a little more difficult. The picture shows a hammer too but I didn't end up needing that. Instead I should have had gloves since the wires and branches are very pokey.

Gather your greens! We have a few boxwood bushes in the front of our house that donated the greenery for our wreath. You could also use pine trees if you have one of those in your yard. If you are really desperate I'm sure a neighbor would be willing to oblige a trim off of their bush. Make sure to ask first of course, and maybe make them a small wreath as a thank you! Trim a little bit here and there all around the bush, as you don't want to leave a big bare spot. You really only need pieces that are 3-4 inches long.
I only used a third of the greens shown because I didn't know how much I would need, but it was nice to have a variety of shapes and sizes to pick from. It also depends on how bushy you want your wreath to be.

Let's start with the base. Using your pliers, wrangle the hanger into the shape you want your wreath to be. I cannot stress enough: it doesn't have to be perfect... it will never be perfect! The fluffy greenery will hide all the wobbles. (I tried to make a "B" if you can't tell.)

Once you have your form, start laying a piece or two of your greenery on top. Once you are starting to like the look, wrap the wire around the hanger and branch. Try to nestle the wire down into the greenery so it doesn't show as much.
At first the branch will want to swivel around the hanger (now wreath form), but just try to keep it on top as you add more greenery.  Here is what the back starts to look like. (See right)

I found it easiest to work with sections of wire about a foot and a half long. You can always add more greenery to a section, if part of your wreath is looking a little sparse. I have about 2 or 3 pieces of greenery layered and tucked under each other to give it the fullness I wanted. Keep adding and wrapping until you make it all the way around your wreath form. Ta-Da!

I scrounged around the house and found a couple bits of ribbon to hang the wreath with but you can simply hang it as-is or add anything else you have around. If you have a bush with red berries those could be cute... or even some fresh cranberries strung with the wire!
Here it is, up on the front door. It will only last one season, but the green should stay for a couple months.