About this deal
Mix 1 cup of soap powder with about 1 cup of water in a bowl. You don’t need to use hot water, room temperature water works great. You can also add a few drops of pine or fir essential oil , or winter fragrance oils to the mixture to make it smell like Christmas! In this application the sealing finish really doesn’t matter, but you could modify the steps and use a satin or gloss finish to get a more wet look. You’ll see below. Sno-Bond is also available in a few different sizes. Currently, you can buy a 2 lb box, a 5 lb box, or a 25 lb box.
I used an old swag (pulled apart) that I bought at the thrift store last year for a few dollars to decorate them with. You can see the wetness of the glue in these shots. If you aren’t after a fluffy snow look then you could stop here, and this is where the finish of the Mod Podge would matter. I don’t have any finished shots of what this would look like, but from experience I can say it would dry very much like you see it but without the wet look to it; at least with the matte version of Mod Podge I’m using. I like to add a few drops of white paint into the glue as well. The reason for that is it gives the snow a vibrant white look once it’s all mixed in. Without the white paint the glue will dry mostly transparent and it gives the snow a more wet look. Nothing wrong with that, and it looks good, but it’s not what I’m after with this snow base.All these ( branches, Christmas tree and berries ) took less than 1/4 of a 3 oz soap bar. Best ways to make snowy pine cones.
You will also need a box grater or a cheese grater, a whisk or a fork, and a bowl to mix the fake snow. Some types of pine cones have more porous surface than others. I find that it is much better to use methods in this tutorial when you are using more absorbent pine cones – 3 best ways to make snow covered pine cones. How long can you store homemade fake snow mixture.I use Mod Podge, which is a PVA glue that doubles as a sealer. In the U.S. you can find it at most craft stores for pretty cheap. I use the one that has a matte finish to it. Just rub the soap bar against the spikes on the box grater or cheese grater, the soap powder will fall right off, into a tray below. You can immediately see the difference; it’s very fluffy, I leave it alone like that for a handful of hours to dry and setup. Once it’s dry I blow off the excess and use a large brush to brush the stray flakes off the model and base rim. A 3 oz or 4 oz soap bar will yield over a cup of grated soap powder that resemble finely grated parmigiana cheese. If you wanted larger snow piles then just repeat these previous steps. Do a first layer, let it dry, then add another layer on top and just keep building it up.
You can use any PVA glue you like. I just like Mod Podge because I can get a big container, and it has the sealing component to it for other projects I use it for. PVA glue is something that every hobbyist should have on hand. Choose soap bars with very little fragrance. You can also add a few drops of pine or fir essential oil , or winter fragrance oils to the mixture for an extra Christmas smell! Step 1: grate the white soap barsI then use a brush and glob the snow onto it and apply it to the base. I try to be pretty random with it. For what I’m doing I don’t want to cover the entire base and I want the ground to show through in spots. I just like the mix of textures and layering you get this way but you can certainly do the entire base as well.