As a companion to my ground foam article I decided to write a "How To" on how I make inexpensive puff ball trees. My method is a very straightforward and simple approach.

The ingredients are ordinary products that can be purchased relatively cheap at any craft shop or major retailer. They are as follows:

Polyfill Foam

Spray Glue Adhesive

Hair Spray

Black Spray Paint

The first step is to pull small balls of foam out of the bag and form them into somewhat round balls. Squeeze them and pack them as tightly as possible so they hold their shape better. I found that you can fill a very large box during your favorite TV show.

The next step is to paint them black. I use the cheapest black spray paint I can find because, well, I'm cheap. I hold the puffball with an old pair of needle nose pliers and give the ball a good coating then set it aside to dry.

Once dry, the puffballs now have some stiffness to them. I hold each one with the pliers again and give them a liberal coating of the spray glue. A little goes a long way here. I also make sure I coat the entire puffball. I have found the more expensive stuff seems to go farther than the cheaper stuff. Your mileage may vary here.

As soon as I get the puffball coated with glue I dunk it into the bucket of ground foam I made. I make sure to cover the entire puffball with the foam and to make sure it is covering good I will pack it like a snowball ( you southerners will just have to figure this one out on your own). This ensures the foam is stuck real well to the puffball. Once that is done I shake off the excess and set it aside to dry for a day or two.

Once the glue has dried I do the final manufacturing step. The puffballs get a good coating of the hairspray. I have found the opposite to be true in this case. The cheaper, the better. Apparently, the cheaper stuff has more shellac in it than the higher priced stuff. Also, make sure you get the unscented stuff. I am sure the "spring meadow" smells nice in your girls hair, but I think you will get some strange looks from the guys on operation night.

That it for making them, pretty simple. Now, you need to mount them on the layout.

If you noticed in the first picture I have a lot of mountains to cover. What you see is only about 25% of what is to get covered. When I started to apply the puffball trees I remember thinking to myself, "Boy, I have a lot of trees to make". That's when this idea hit me. I am not sure if I read this somewhere or if it just came to me as an original thought but, I figured it was worth a shot. I realized that when I started to cover the hills with the trees I could only see the tops. All of the work I did on the bottoms would be hidden from view for ever. So, I started to cut the trees in half. What you see in the first picture is all top half trees only. They glue down real nice with a flat base and the gaps between the trees can be filled with loose foam.

I simply cut them in half with a pair of scissors. In the above picture, the tree on the left is the other half of the one on the right.

That all there is to it.

Please keep in mind that some of the products used in this demonstration need to be used in a well ventilated area. Please read and follow all safety precaution on the product labels