Monday, November 29, 2010

Craft Lab: the flocked tree









I've always wanted a flocked tree, like the ones we had when I was a kid. The kind they spray on at the tree lot. I researched and decided to go with the homemade version this year. All you need to make snowy flocking is ivory soap bars, liquid starch and hot water and vanilla.

I made 4 batches total.

2/3 c liquid starch
2 cups of Ivory Soap bars grated
1/4 cup hot water
1 tablespoon vanilla

I had the kiddies grate the bars of ivory soap. In an electric mixer, combine, starch and soap flakes. After the soap is dissolved, it will become light and fluffy. Then, I added the water and vanilla. The vanilla was for the smell.

I wanted the tree to be thick with snow. We basically just rubbed big handfuls of the soapy whip cream like mixture all over the branches. The kids did most of the work and made a nice mess too. But the mess was easy to clean up. They had a blast! I'm going to let the tree sit for a few days, and let the flocking dry. I can't wait to put the decorations up.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I realize this is an older post, but how did it work out? Did it hold up well? I was thinking about doing this and was wondering if maybe I should put the lights on first?

Unknown said...

It's a wet process, so I'd say no on putting lights on first I just wouldn't want anyone to hurt themselves. The tree was great, I it lasted a long time too. The only thing was the smell, add lots of vanilla.

Anonymous said...

I've been looking at many different people using Ivory brand soap. Do you think using Dove brand soap will make a difference?

Unknown said...

I'd just make up a test batch and see if they are similar. My kids want to do this again this year.

Risa West said...

Thanks for the tutorial we just did up our tree for the year!