Flock Your Christmas Christmas Tree Yourself
Yes, you'll thank us after we tell you how to go flock yourself! Flocking
means adding a mixture to the tree that makes it look like snow has just fallen
on the tree. Here it is
in simple steps!
Materials
- Homemade mix: The homemade flocking is typically made from a
foam of either soap or shaving cream.
See this page for how to make the soap
shaving type. The shaving cream type is a mixture of shaving cream and
glue... which is messy, so we'll skip that.
- Purchased mix: There are two types of commercial home
flocking materiasl: an aerosol spray or a powder. Some of the pwders require a
professional spray machine, but the one show at right from AMazon does
not. It is hand applied, as we describe below. It gets very good
reviews on Amazon, so if you don't want to make your oiwn flocking
material, this one is the way to go. Commercial flocking is usually made from cellulous
(a paper pulp), an
adhesive (like cornstarch), color (like Borax), and added water (You
can see a video that shows how they flock a Christmas tree commercially
here) This video shows how Pike Nurseries flocks a tree.
- Step ladder
- Drop cloth or tarp
- Latex (or nitrile or similar) gloves
Directions
1. Choose a work site - Typically best outside or in a
garage (empty of any cars!). If you are working outside, you want it to be
on a still day, without gusts of wind!
2. Work fromk the top down. On a ladder, start at the
top of the tree to flock the top down. The flocking that falls through will
help cover the branches below. You can use a scoop, spatula or paint brush
to apply the flocking to the needles, but you want to drop the mixture on
the needles, don't smear it on; that will flatten it out and make it look
fake. You want to primarily drop the flocking in small clusters, just like a
heavy, wet snow falls.
3. Check your work. Stand back every few minutes and
check your work!
4. Dry completely. Once completed, the tree will take up
to 24 hours to dry completely.