Lichen/Reindeer Moss

[anevilgiraffe]

any tips on firming this up? If memory serves it's kind of floppy, and in anticipation of having some for the first time in years, just wondering how you work with it.

I'm aiming for kind of dead bushes, it's not dyed, so is in a natural white state.

[AndrewBeasley]

PVA or Moge Podge spray is my go to. Stops twigs falling off but still leaves it spongy enough to cope with getting squashed during transport.

A spray of matte varnish to dull it down and I'm done.

Some types do not like getting wet (garden centre I'm looking at you here) - the colours run and it goes squishy so I would check first with a small test bit.

[robh]

If it is natural moss as used in crafting you will need to air dry it slowly then when it is as rigid as you want dip it in dilute pva and drip dry it.

You cannot dry the garish coloured, bagged, railway stuff as it has a glycerine type treatment and loses its structural rigidity and just crumbles when dry.

[snitcythedog]

My two cents.  I have had it decompose and desiccate when it is exposed to humidity.  If you are going to use it, be sure to dip it completely so the whole surface is sealed up so it doesn't end up smearing or crumbling in a year or two. 

[Daeothar]

If it is natural moss as used in crafting you will need to air dry it slowly then when it is as rigid as you want dip it in dilute pva and drip dry it.

You cannot dry the garish coloured, bagged, railway stuff as it has a glycerine type treatment and loses its structural rigidity and just crumbles when dry.

A caveat here; I used exactly this type, about 25 years old at the time (they were from my model train days back in early highschool and stored in a cardboard box for all those years; they never crumbled but remained springy and squishy) when I made some hedges. This was about 10(?) years ago.

I dripped thin superglue over them, to stiffen them up, then I painted them brown and finally used PVA to sprinkle leaf litter over them (I believe I used dried parsley from the grocery store). This was then strengthened with several PVA/water/varnish washes.

They still hold up well today, even though the once green leaves have all turned brown

[anevilgiraffe]

thanks chaps