Holiday Snow Wreaths created with a bit of MAGIC spray foam from your favorite hardware store.

All my ideal Christmas dreams include landscapes frosted in the fluffy white stuff outside my windows. I’m of the opinion that Christmas’s should be white, white with snow that is.

Some years my dreams come true, some years. . . not so much. It’s still too early to tell what kinda snow year this one’s going to shape up to be. 

However, if I can’t have the real thing, I’ll try to make due with a little faux snow sprinkled here and there in my holiday decor. This will help get me into a proper Christmas mood! 

This year I have a NEW DIY faux snow trick up my sleeve, and I’m pretty darn excited about it! Such a versatile idea, there’s literally zero limit on alllllllll the ideas that can be achieved with this new creative weapon! 

Foam Spray For the Win!

I’ve discovered the wonder that is foam insulation spray. Actually. . . . this stuff isn’t new to me, I’ve used it before for filling gaps and cracks that let cold (or hot) air into my house. Which is what this stuff is officially intended for. 

However using the foam crack filler to make great holiday Snow Wreaths and decor IS all new to me. It’s so darn cleaver I wish I could take the credit for thinking of it, but I can’t. I got the idea from the always inspiring @thenavagepatch  

But I am defiantly putting my own finger prints all over this idea; while also drawing from my own experience with several of my own tricks for making this process easier to do! 

So let’s just be real here, there’s been A LOT of error going on over here.  . . . After experimenting with it, I found there’s a pretty steep learning curve to working with this stuff. There was a whole trial and error process to get through. 

The upside, I’ve already made all the mistakes so you won’t have to! Just learn from my mistakes and it’ll be all smooth sailing for you – your welcome! 

Video Tutorial

Bonus Watch: Studio-5 Snow Wreath Episode

Step-By-Step Instructions –
Here’s my list of “What To Do & Not To Do” when making Holiday Decor with hardware store crack filler foam:

Do’s & Don’ts of Foam Wreath Making

1. I highly recommend practicing with the foam a bit before actually applying it to your styrofoam wreath and lights. Get a feel for how much it grows, how to move the can around to achieve an effect you like, etc, etc.
   
2. Only use LocTight brand of spray foam or crack filler!  LocTight Tight Spray Crack Filler is the only brand that I’ve found that is white as snow. I tried all the other brands to compare them. All brands I  tested except LocTight are yellowish in color. . . and I’m pretty sure no one wants yellow snow! 
   
   I ordered some from Amazon HERE, but then later discovered it was much less expensive at my local Home Depot. So you decide, convenience vs. cost?
   
3. Use a white Styrofoam Wreath Base (or a natural grapevine wreath works too) rather than a wire base. Using a Styrofoam base allows me to use U-Shaped Floral Pins to quickly hold light strands as well as decorative items in place while the foam dries.
   
   As a bonus, the Styrofoam base also blends into the spray foam, it’s lightweight and it’s inexpensive. All good things.
   
   I got my foam wreaths from Hobby Lobby.
   
4. Lights are a fun touch! If you choose to light your wreath; I found that warm white, LED battery operated lights work best. I personally don’t like the look of cool white LED lights, I think they appear harsh and florescent looking. But I do realize this is a matter of personal preference. . .
   
   A strand of 20 lights works fine for a small wreath, 50 lights works well on a medium size wreath. I used 100 lights on large frames. Select the kind of lights that have lights protruding on a pronged base, rather than the kind where the lights are integrated into the wire strand.
   
   I found it easiest to place the lights first, before spraying the foam. I found it super easy to secure the lights in place with U-Shaped Floral Pins HERE (as explained above).
   
   I looked and looked for just the right battery operated lights, they were not easy to find. The best ones I found are from JoAnn’s HERE – After a lot of searching I also found some on Amazon HERE, however they weren’t exactly what I was looking for and they were more expensive. Again, weighing out convenience vs. cost? I’d get them from JoAnn’s if you have one near you.
   
5. Wear disposable gloves and cloths you don’t care about. This stuff is super-uber sticky. Anything it gets onto, it’s going to stay on it. I go though several sets of gloves with each wreath. Have a whole box of them handy and at the ready!
   
6. Cover your working surface with a disposable plastic drop cloth.
   
7. Use Pam Spray. Spray everything with Pam Kitchen Spay! Pam spray helps to prevent the foam from sticking to any surfaces that you don’t want it stuck to.
   Side Tangent: I came up with the idea for using Pam spray because this foam reminded me so much of the canned marshmallow cream I use every Christmas to make fudge. I use Pam spray on the bowls, spatulas and my hands because the marshmallow makes a sticky mess of everything it touches! I thought I’d give it a try with the spray foam. . . and guess what, it works like a dream! 
   Dont skip this step!!!
   Spray the area where you will make your wreath and also your gloved hands with Pam kitchen spray.
   Also spray the foam can’s nozzle and inside the tube/straw of the applicator’s nozzle with Pam spray. This helps to keep the foam from sticking inside the nozzle and straw, making it possible to use the spray can more than once.
   
   Note: Foam will build up inside the nozzle and the straw of the applicator, making it so it can only be used once, and so that any product that’s still left in the can after only a few minutes is wasted and unusable.  Pre-spraying the can and nozzle with Pam spray helps with this problem and gave me more time to work with the spray and to use up all of the product in the spray cans.
   
   To save the extra foam in the spray can for later use, be sure to discount the nozzle and clean it out really well before storing.
   
8. Just go for it, start spraying that foam. Be aware that this stuff grows big, bigger and even bigger! That’s the beauty of it!
   
9. Spray around the lights, lifting and positioning them as needed. Be aware of where your battery box is and move it as necessary to keep it from being covered in snow.
   
10. You can add more foam to areas you’ve already sprayed. You can even add more to already dried foam.
    
11. Let it set-up for at least an hour (or more) so that the outside layer of foam is firmed up before beginning to place your ornaments or decorations into the “snow.”
    
    There is a “sweet spot” for when to place your decorations. It’s the time when the top is firm and will hold the weight of the decorations, but below the surface is still pliable so you can press, cut and peel into the top layer. This makes it so you can snuggle your decorations into the snow rather than perching them on top.
    
12. Use floral U-Picks, wood sticks andd/or kitchen skewers to help support or to keep ornaments and decorations in place while the foam dries. Floral U-Picks HERE. These can be easily pushed into the Styrofoam wreath base that’s buried under the “snow” to give supper to your ornaments as the foam sets-up.
    
13. Add more foam, if needed, around the decorations after they’ve been placed. You can add more foam at any time, whether it’s still wet or already completely dry.
    
14. Allow the wreath to dry for several hours. How long depends on the climate you’re working in and how much spray foam has been used. 
    
15. Peel away the plastic cloth when it’s completely dry. Carefully peel away the plastic cloth that you built the wreath on, if it’s not totally dry underneath, let it sit an hour or two longer.
    
16. Secure the battery pack for the lights to the back of the frame. I like to cut away some of the dried foam on the back side to snug the battery pack into. I use more of the floral U-Picks to hold it in place.
    
17. Add a wire hook to the back for hanging.