Let It Faux!

By now you're probably been bitten by the Christmas decorating bug. Its hard not to, there are beautiful photos popping up all over the internet. I've been collecting bits and pieces for weeks, and plotting and planning little vignettes for around the home.
Last week I was sorting through our older Christmas decorations and I found a small faux tree I'd purchased at an end of year sale. I think it cost me like $3 and I put it away with the intention of giving it a makeover. Yesterday I gathered all my supplies and finally got to work.

What a fun afternoon I had, and how cool is this transformation?  I was so happy with the end result even if decorating a tree is not my forte - I always let the kids do it.
This year my Christmas colours are navy, blush pink, rose gold and gold, and I'm teaming them with crisp white linens and dinnerware. Now my little tree matches perfectly with my theme and it will become part of our table decorations, along with some candles, bon bons and a string of rose gold beads.

After removing the existing ornaments I wanted to give the tree some faux snow to soften the fake greenery. I had to do a little research before I started so I thought I'd share my findings with you in case you're thinking of giving your greenery a little makeover too this year.
Firstly, you can use flock and I found a comprehensive article from Balsam Hill on How To Flock An Artificial Christmas Tree using items from around the house, plus there's tips on storing your flocked tree once the season is over.
Alternatively you can also search Ebay for flocking kits etc. and then refer to this fantastic tutorial on how to apply the flocking.

The second option is to use paint, either in a spray can or by applying some acrylic paint with a brush. Trees and Trends have a You Tube video showing you how to create fake snow using a spray can of white paint and a can of textured ceiling paint. He makes it look so so so easy!
If you're like me and not confident with a spray can, U Create has a great tutorial for brushing on the paint and adding glitter to create some glistening fake snow on any artificial tree or decoration.

Armed with all this information, I stumbled across a tin of this snow spray at the discount store and somehow my brain decided spraying my tree couldn't be that difficult. Right! :)
One of the main things mentioned in all of the articles was to think about how snow falls naturally and spray the tree accordingly. I had to rely on photo's because there's no snow where we live and I've only seen real snow possibly twice...ever.
It worked OK but in some places my tree looked like it was the victim of an avalanche (ha ha ha!) but the snow spray does flake off so I took advantage of that and shook bits off :)

Once the faux snow had dried, I added a few ornaments, and voila...a whole new tree!  The baubles are hung but I did wire in the larger ornaments to keep them secure. I did keep the burlap because I love the natural texture and I have a project I'm going to try which I might share with you later too, so stay tuned for that one :)

After the success of the tree I turned my attention to some mini wreaths I had in the Christmas box. The faux snow softened the leaves and berries but it does look as if someone threw at snowball at one side (ha ha!...keeping it real!). In my defense, the can was almost empty and the last of it came out in one big spurt!
Anyway with the addition of a bow and a few baubles I have some new decorations all ready to hang.  A love a good recycling project or two, don't you?
Now I wonder how many cans of this faux snow I would need to spray our big tree? ;)
Happy Christmas crafting :)