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It’s a Faux Garland Flock Off!

Flock your own greenery from a can! We’re comparing 5 strands of faux garland and 3 types of flocking spray to find the best combination of both. In other words, we’re doing the dirty work for you!

A living and dining room decked out in holiday decor, faux garland and faux tree | Which flocking spray is best? | How to flock your own holiday garland, tree and decor, via Yellow Brick Home
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garland | stockings | vase | Christmas tree | dining table | chairs

What’s a Flock Off?

It began innocently enough: Find flocked garland to string from our (massive!) dining room mirror. But what started as a simple internet search turned into an unwanted rabbit hole of sparkly, flaky flocked strands, and I said, enough! Within my searches, I also stumbled across flocking spray, which got me thinking.

Why not choose the faux garland that suits our taste the best and flock it ourselves?

Yes. Yes, that’s what we would do.

The Faux Garland Contenders

5 strands of garland | Which flocking spray is best? | How to flock your own holiday garland, tree and decor, via Yellow Brick Home

I was initially torn between thick, traditional garland or wispy and whimsical, and in the end, 5 different strands and variations came home with me along with 3 types of flocking – and thus, the Flock Off was born! We’re going to do the dirty work for you to find the perfect combination of faux greenery and flocking to deck your halls this season. Here are my thoughts on the 5 contenders:

  1. Cypress, $89 | This was the most realistic of the bunch, with realistic branches and foliage that leaned ever-so-slightly blue. It was thick and beautiful, but it was also the most expensive in the group.
  2. Mixed greens, $35 | I love this for the wispy look, but I would have removed the eucalyptus leaves to simplify it a little.
  3. Pine (no longer available), $30 | This looked good from afar, but up close, it was the most plastic looking – a bit too shiny to trick anyone.
  4. Norfolk, $48 | This was a close second to #1 in terms of how real it looked! Scott and I agreed that although it wasn’t as full as the cypress, it had a cuter, more whimsical vibe. The coloring leans more yellow-green.
  5. Pinecone, $23 | This was okay, but it was our least favorite of the bunch. When I saw the photos online, I thought it might look sweet in a sparse-hipster-like-way (you know?), but in person the needles were too wiry.

Note: Flocking your greenery is all preference, but we love obviously the look! Flocking spray works just as well on live trees and garland, but we wanted to invest in something that we could purchase once and use year after year.

Choosing the Best Garland

We narrowed our choices down to cypress (1), mixed greens (2) and norfolk (4) almost immediately:

Top 3 garland contenders | Which flocking spray is best? | How to flock your own holiday garland, tree and decor, via Yellow Brick Home

We ultimately nixed the mixed greens, and we threw it up to an Instagram vote! I strung the cypress and norfolk from our mirror, snapped a photo of each, and after thousands of votes, we were at a 50/50 standstill (that always happens!). Finally, we determined that while the cypress was beautiful, it was almost too pretty to flock; we liked it just the way it was. That left us with our garland winner for the Flock Off – norfolk!

Choosing the Best Faux ‘Sno’

Here’s the first rule of building your flocking empire: You must use ‘Sno’ in your name! Based on reviews, we picked up 1 can of Sno Blast ($8), 1 can of Sno Blower ($5) and a bag of SnoFlock ($24):

Top 3 flocking contenders | Which flocking spray is best? | How to flock your own holiday garland, tree and decor, via Yellow Brick Home

Right away, we realized that SnoFlock is a whole thing. It required a garden hose and a tarp and… well, it would have been a more viable option if we were flocking an entire tree! On the other hand, Sno Blast and Sno Blower are meant for a ‘dusting,’ and they’re safe enough to use indoors. The latter two are semi-permanent, don’t have any noticeable smell (although Scott likens the scent to silly string?) and were easy to use. Speaking of which, let’s get to the Flock Off already!

Let the Flock Off Commence!

side by side comparison of Sno Blast and Sno Blower | Which flocking spray is best? | How to flock your own holiday garland, tree and decor, via Yellow Brick Home

We used small cuttings from a spruce tree in our yard, gave each can a good shake, and we misted the branches just as we would spray paint. In fact, it’s a lot like using spray paint, although it comes out a little thicker! Initially, we stayed about 18″ away from the branches for a dusting, but we learned that quick concentrated pulses allowed the product to build up on itself – you know, like real snow!

Detail shot of Sno Blast in use | Which flocking spray is best? | How to flock your own holiday garland, tree and decor, via Yellow Brick Home

Right away, we saw a clear winner in Sno Blast! It had more dimension than Sno Blower, and we needed less to achieve our desired result; it was an extra $3 well spent! Here’s a close-up of each:

Detail shot of Sno Blast on a juniper clipping | Which flocking spray is best? | How to flock your own holiday garland, tree and decor, via Yellow Brick Home
Detail shot of Sno Blower on a juniper clipping | Which flocking spray is best? | How to flock your own holiday garland, tree and decor, via Yellow Brick Home

Let’s Get Flocking

It was finally time for the fun part! We purchased two 6′ strands of the norfolk garland, with the idea that we would layer them atop our mirror, allowing the ends to spill over. We used an old cardboard box to protect our floors, and we laid out each piece, fanning out the individual branches for more even coverage.

Detail shot of spraying Sno Blast on two strands of faux garland | Which flocking spray is best? | How to flock your own holiday garland, tree and decor, via Yellow Brick Home

We learned a few things along the way, like:

  • Start with a gentle dusting on the back of the garland…
  • …and then flip it over for a dusting on the front.
  • Allow at least an hour between the dustings, until you like what you see.
  • Add small ‘pulses’ of spray at the tips of the needles, where snow would naturally build up.
  • If possible, hang your garland to dry overnight!

Norfolk + Sno Blast = the Winning Combination

Why in the world haven’t we given our mirror a furry little mop top all these years? It’s a simple, cheery addition to our holiday decor!

Detail shot of Sno Blast on our faux garland, hung above our mirror | Which flocking spray is best? | How to flock your own holiday garland, tree and decor, via Yellow Brick Home
Living and dining room view with faux greenery | Which flocking spray is best? | How to flock your own holiday garland, tree and decor, via Yellow Brick Home

We chose to double it up along the top for a fuller look, and we allowed the ends to trail over the edges of the mirror. I used command hooks on the wall to keep everything in place, which worked beautifully.

Living and dining room view with faux greenery | Which flocking spray is best? | How to flock your own holiday garland, tree and decor, via Yellow Brick Home
garland | stockings | vase | faux stems | dining table

Thank you for following along with our Flock Off! We shared the process in our Stories as well, so if you missed it, I’ve saved them under our holiday highlight for you!

We are so bummed that the norfolk garland seems to have sold out (everywhere?!) since we shared. Thanks to reader, Kim, who found the identical garland in stock right here!

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  • Kim11.18.19 - 7:48 AM

    Hi Kim, I found a garland at Anthropology that looks very similar to the Norfolk garland. ReplyCancel

  • lak11.18.19 - 8:13 AM

    ooooh…I really like the flocked lookReplyCancel

  • kim11.18.19 - 10:05 AM

    This looks flocking amazing!!   Seriously.   ReplyCancel

  • Amy11.18.19 - 12:29 PM

    You guys may have sold me on the flocking train! Have you found that the flock comes off at all? Is there any bit of flaking that we should be aware of?ReplyCancel

    • Kim11.18.19 - 1:06 PM

      It doesn’t come off the garland easily! I mean, it might flake a little if you keep touching it, but it’s a semi-permanent solution, I’d say. We may re-flock it again in a couple of years to keep up the look!ReplyCancel

  • I want more Flock Off puns in this post!  It’s all beautiful though, you guys do the holidays so well.ReplyCancel

  • AmandaKB11.18.19 - 6:36 PM

    I love all of your posts, but I especially love when you throw in fun little project posts like these!  The garland looks great – thanks for sharing!ReplyCancel

    • Kim11.18.19 - 9:57 PM

      We love this feedback! It’s nice to throw in some lighthearted just-for-fun projects to keep the spirits high.ReplyCancel

  • Maggie11.29.19 - 9:27 AM

    Hi Kim! I love this idea – can’t wait to try it myself! One question for you – where is your mirror from in the dining room? Love the size and simplicity! xxReplyCancel

  • Kim12.4.19 - 9:25 PM

    Hi Kim, I found another site that has one similar to the one you have and the one at Anthropology. https://ashleynicholedesigns.com/products/5-norfolk-pine-garlandReplyCancel

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We’re Kim + Scott, Chicago based content creators behind the Home + Lifestyle brand Yellow Brick Home.

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