How to Refresh Outdated Christmas Decor with Flocking Powder

Hey guys! Today I’m sharing how I refreshed some of my outdated Christmas decor using flocking powder. It’s my contribution to this month’s Thrifty Style Team blog hop! 

Once a month I get together with the talented ladies below to share thrifty decor projects that won’t break the bank!

Redhead Can Decorate | 2 Bees in a Pod | At the Picket Fence | Bliss Ranch | Chatfield Court | Cottage at the Crossroads | The How-To Home | DIY Beautify | Duke Manor Farm | I Should be Mopping the Floor | Salvage Sister and Mister | Smart Fun DIY | The Painted Hinge | What Meegan Makes

I have these trees and wreath I bought from Hobby Lobby and Amazon a while back. There’s nothing wrong with them as they are – I just wanted to change their look.

Flocked everything is so popular this season, so I decided to jump in with the trend. I’ve heard great things from other bloggers about SnoFlock flocking powder and I wanted to give it a try.

I bought a 2-pound bag of it from Amazon. It came with an instruction pamphlet. I’ve never flocked anything before so I needed all the instructions I could get.

I’m going to copy the step-by-step instructions from the SnoFlock website in italics and then add my experience below each step.

Step 1:

Begin by gathering all the necessary materials. We recommend the use of a simple face mask, gloves and safety goggles. You will need a spray bottle with water and a coarse mesh kitchen sifter. If desired, lay down a protective tarp or drop cloth on your work area and fill up your spray bottle with water.  Even though SnoFlock is all natural, we want to keep dust and clean up to a minimum. Lay down a protective tarp or drop cloth to prevent unnecessary cleanup. If your applying SnoFlock in an area where you can hose down the surface, you can get simply wash off the excess material. 

I got everything together per the instructions including the safety equipment. When sprinkling the SnoFlock, it floats around in the air quite a bit so it can get into your eyes, nose, and mouth, so safety goggles and a face mask are definitely a good idea. I didn’t have a metal sifter so I used a plastic one and it worked fine.

It was a nice sunny December day here in Nor Cal so I was able to do this project outside, which I highly recommend because this does get somewhat messy. Doing it outside made cleanup a snap because I just hosed the deck down when I was done.

STEP 2:

Let’s prepare your desired item to be flocked. SnoFlock can be used on any kind of decor, fresh-cut, live, or artificial. If you will be flocking an artificial tree, make sure you fluff the branches first. To begin, generously spray your selected item with water, this will help set SnoFlock into place.

Easy enough. 🙂

STEP 3:

With your sifter full of SnoFlock in one hand, and your spray bottle in the other, shake the sifter. Whilst your SnoFlock is airborne, spray the falling powder. Repeat until the desired effect is achieved.

I’m guessing these directions are for people who are coordinated, which I’m not. Thankfully the SnoFlock stuck to the trees just fine without sifting and spraying at the same time.

The SnoFlock directions are more geared for doing a 6 foot Christmas tree. Since I was doing a bunch of smaller trees, I picked up each tree and held it sideways with one hand while sprinkling the SnoFlock with the other hand while I turned the tree. I couldn’t get a picture of this process because I was using both hands. 

STEP 4:

Whilst applying SnoFlock, the shimmering Ice Flakes will remain in your sifter as they are larger than the openings. You may choose to apply these Ice Flakes whilst flocking, or reserve them until the end for maximum sparkle. Sprinkle or toss the Ice Flakes left in your sifter onto the wet Sno-Flock. 

Once I got a tree pretty well covered with the SnoFlock, I would take some in my hand and sprinkle it on the tree to form a heavier layer on the ends of the tree branches. I didn’t worry about the Ice Flakes too much – they showed up just fine sprinkling them on with the rest of the SnoFlock powder while I was doing it by hand.

STEP 5:

After you have SnoFlocked your entire tree to the desired effect, it’s time to seal the flock into place. Simply use your spray bottle with water and spray all of the flock until it is saturated, but not dripping wet.Applying too much water can ruin SnoFlock’s fluffy texture, but you do need a fair amount to set Sno-Flock into place. The flocking and sealing steps will use roughly 32 oz. — 1 Quart — of water per pound of SnoFlock material, that’s generally one standard sized spray bottle full.

I did this, but I didn’t use a lot of water in fear of causing the SnoFlock to run off the trees. The flock seemed to have set well enough without using a lot of water.

STEP 6:

It’s important that you allow your amazing, newly SnoFlocked creation to dry. Afterwards, care during storage and decorating will help ensure that your SnoFlock will last! If you experience a lot of SnoFlock loss, you may simply touch it up, if you feel your SnoFlock dried prematurely, you may spray an additional small amount of water. Allow 24-48 hours of drying before decorating.

I didn’t plan on decorating these trees (at least not right away) so I wasn’t worried about getting them completely dry before I brought them inside. I let them dry for around 4 hours in the sun and they were dry to the touch, so that was good enough for me.

​Final thoughts:

I was very impressed with how easy (although messy) this was to apply and how realistic the SnoFlock looks on the trees and wreath. Flocking these budget trees definitely made them look a lot higher grade for much less money than what you’d spend on a pre-flocked tree. I used around 2/3 of the 2 pound bag, but I did apply it generously. 

I hope you enjoyed my flocking tutorial using SnoFlock and it inspires you to flock some of your outdated or budget Christmas decor!

Here’s all the Thrifty Style Team projects for this month!

Thanks for checking this month’s project for the Thrifty Style Team!

Happy Thrifting!