Garden Trees, Shrubs & Vines
Ryan Hayward
With the holiday season right around the corner, you may be looking to add the final touches to your seasonal décor. Stringing garlands around your home, hanging a big beautiful wreath on your front door, or a few jingle bells situated in just the right spots are sure to spread some holiday cheer in your abode. However, if you live in an area that has a warmer season around Christmas and doesn’t see its fair share of snow, you might be scrambling to find ways to create that wintery look.
This is where you might make use of a trick called flocking. Although it may seem more like an activity best suited for bird watchers, flocking around the holiday season means adding a manufactured powder, otherwise known as artificial snow, to your décor to achieve that frosty look indoors, according to Southern Living. Flock can be purchased either online or at your local craft store and typically comes contained in an aerosol can. This can be sprayed onto garlands, wreaths, or your tree to complete that radiance of freshly fallen snow. But how exactly can you get the perfect look before the season ends? Let’s take a peek at how you can DIY flock your tree just in time for Christmas.
How to create your own flock mixture
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The first step to flocking your tree is to get the right ingredients. Although, you can just purchase a can of flocking spray or artificial snow and work from there. If you love a DIY project and want to get your family or friends in on the fun, then you can make a flock mixture. All you need is some bars of unscented white soap and a sturdy cheese grater. Take your soap bars and begin to grate them into a large bowl. For a 5-foot tree, you may need up to 10 bars of soap, according to A Piece of Rainbow. Once your soap has been finely grated, you can pour one cup of water for every cup of soap flakes. Whisk together until it has the consistency of whipping cream. For added appeal, you can pop in a few drops of pine or fir oil to give it a real tree smell. In the end, you will have a frosty eco-friendly mixture that will look like thick fallen snow.
This is another tree-flocking recipe for a more delicate snowy look. If you have some baking powder at home, you can use it to gently dust your tree to give the appearance of a fresh snowfall. If you want to add a little shimmer, you can mix in a few sprinkles of silver glitter to give it a nice holiday sheen.
Flocking your own Christmas tree
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Now that you have your own DIY flock mixture in hand, it’s time to start decorating your tree. First, grab a plastic or cloth drop sheet and place it on the floor around the base of your tree. This will ensure that mess from the flock won’t wind up on your flooring or mash into your carpets. If you’re using the DIY mixture laid out previously, then you may want it to only cover the branches of your real or artificial tree. This will save your sentimental tree ornaments from the sticky mixture. To apply the wet sticky flock onto your tree, you could either use a paintbrush to delicately place the mixture on your branches or, with a pair of rubber gloves, you can use your hands to spread the creation exactly where you would like it, according to eHow. Because the mixture is a bit thicker, it will give the icy effect of a collection of snow.
To place the powdered artificial snow on your Christmas tree, first, spritz your tree with water. This will ensure the tree has a moist surface so that the powdery substance can stick. Place your powdered flock into a strainer with a plate under the bottom so that you don’t make a mess. When ready, hold up the strainer and lightly sprinkle your tree. Once you’re done, to further help it adhere, give it one more spritz with water and allow it to dry.
