Using Spray Foam In Candy Bouquets

If you are making lots of candy bouquets you might be able
to save money using spray insulation foam. 
There are different brands and sizes of the is product.
It is available at home improvement stores and WalMart. 

Most cans of insulation spray foam cost between $3 -$4.
Count the cost. Consider how many candy bouquets you
are making and if it would be more cost effective to buy
the foam pre-made or make your own with this spray foam. 

Of course, filling baskets and containers for candy bouquets
 is not the original purpose of this product. 

There are lots precautions to take (read and follow the fine
print on the can) like using gloves and making sure kids and

animals don't get near it before it cures completely.

 It can be tricky to use...you never know how much it is 
going to expand, for example.  

It will stick to anything that it touches so if you want the

basket to be reusable, put a liner in the container before filling

it with the foam. I found out a big NO-NO is to use plastic

as a liner (as pictured above). Apparently the foam needs

air to "do its thing" and I ended up with a gooey mess with

the containers I used plastic to protect from the foam. 

The basket that had paper napkins as a liner would have 

done fine except that I put too much foam in. The foam

really expands so spray less foam than you think you need.

When I tried to cut down the spray foam (after it had
 cured for about 8 hours) in the larger basket, 

the center was still gooey...guess it could not 
get enough air either...knife ruined. 

I tried the spray foam in cups/coffee mugs/bags too.

 I tell myself

"Don't put so much!" but I usually do...just a little dab

 will do ya' when it comes to candy bouquets...they don't 

need a lot to keep the candy on skewers standing up. 

The above picture shows plastic liners on the cups and bags but they DID NOT work...don't use them. 

Only use air-permeable liners like napkins or paper towels to line the containers. 

Also don't spray it directly into plastic disposable cups; they don't let enough air in either. 

The foam usually expands more than I think it will.

With the cups/mugs that I put an air-permeable liner in

(like a napkin or paper towel) I was able to pull the liners

out with the foam and do some re-construction after the foam

had cured about 8 hours and was a firm as it was going to get.

On some of the foam that was sprayed directly in the cup or

mug with a paper liner, all it needed was to have an air

 hole poked in the bottom so that the foam product that had 

not cured (due to lack of air?) could continue to harden.

You really don't need the foam above the top of the container

for the candy bouquets. I left it on a few of them 'cause 

they reminded me of the center of a flower with the tissue

paper sides. I painted those yellow like the center of a daisy

but I don't know if that really translated in the end product.

Most of the ones that expanded beyond what I thought they

would were just "whittled down". 

On this one I just chopped off the top...

Once it is completely cured, the spray foam is easy to form with a serrated knife.

Another "chop from the top" job...

This one was too far gone. I chopped it from the bottom

and "sacrificed" the top with the tissue paper.

Another custom chop job...

...bottom of foam cut off but still had to be "whittled" for

 foam to fit down inside of mug...only takes a few seconds.

These spray foam in the solo cups turned out pretty well.

The cups were lined with paper towels or napkins before

the spray foam was added. 

After allowing the foam to cure and dry the paper and 

the foam was pulled out of the cup.

The paper towel was pulled off of the foam as much as 

possible. Some of the paper will stick to the foam. 

Then the foam was placed back in the cup.

These did not need any further action like chopping or whittling.

If you don't want to fool with trying to make the spray foam 

fit each individual container, you can spray it out on newspaper

(I did it in a rectangular shape...was I thinking it looked like

a block of floral foam?...don't know). After it cures (about

8 hours) you can pull it off of the newspaper. It will have a

newspaper backing. Like I said, it sticks to what it touches. 

Then you can cut it to fit in your candy bouquet containers.

Red mug with cured/dried spray foam blocks

Spray foam block cut to fit in mug

Spray foam block cut to fit in bunny box

Spray foam blocks cut to fit inside boxes 

If you are trying to fill a larger container like a big

 bag or a basket, you can just stack your home-made

 blocks of foam in them.

If you want to paint the home-made foam to make it 

blend in with the container or the filling, you can.

Exposed area of  cut piece of  spray foam painted red

This picture is supposed to represent (left) non-painted foam with filler on top, (center) painted foam,

 (right) painted foam with filler on top. 

Two bags of foam painted, one not

Cups of spray foam painted on top

Gift bag of cured spray foam in process of being painted

To see other ways to hide the foam, click on this highlighted 

link...

If you get spray foam on your skin before it dries, it literally

has to wear off (like days to wear off) and it basically won't

come off of floors, furniture, etc. so take that into 

consideration before you decide to use it. I love it though.

I have used it in crafting here, here, here and here.

Have fun making your candy bouquets and if you 

decide to use the (tricky but fun) spray foam, be careful!