Kid’s Craft Project: Sharpie Marker Painted Seashells

I spend a lot of time with my 7 year old granddaughter and one of the things we enjoy doing together is crafts! At least twice a month we will sit down and do some craft projects together which is great for teaching kids to be creative and a great bonding experience for families.

Since we love the beach, we often take our granddaughter down to the beach house with us. Over the past 2 years, we’ve started seashell collections together and will walk the beach every day collecting pretty seashells. A few weeks ago, we collected a slew of surf clam shells and recently whipped up some creative crafts with them.

Before you get started, wash, clean and dry out your clam shells. We do this the day before and then let them dry out in the sunshine until they are thoroughly dry.

Kid’s Craft Project: Sharpie Marker Painted Seashells

Seashells (We like using Surf Clam Shells)
Sharpie Markers (variety of different colors)
Newspaper
Clear Acrylic Spray Sealer

Cover your work surface with old newspaper or an old plastic tablecloth. Since the kid’s are using permanent markers, you definitely want to protect your table top.

Give the kids a variety of Sharpie Markers and let them decorate and paint their shells any way that they desire. Way too often I see parents wanting the children to design them the way that they want them…to make them pretty for blogging. I don’t believe in doing that, I believe it’s important to let children be creative and if they want to scribble all over them, then let them! If they want to paint pretty designs, let them! Give them that creative freedom!

Sharpie Markers dry within seconds and we like to use the ones with the medium point. The fine point markers are great for adults who are making detailed designs, but the medium point markers are better for children to use. Once they are done, let the shells dry for at least 2 hours.

Once they are dry, take them outside and lay them down onto old newspaper. Have an adult spray them lightly with clear acrylic spray sealer. (comes in a spray paint style of can & is available at home improvement stores & craft stores). We let them dry outside for 2 hours, flip them over and hit them with an additional coat of the sealer.

By using the clear acrylic sealer, you’re adding a nice glossy finish to the seashell and it’s protecting the painted design. We like to place most of our seashells out in my flower beds and along our garden paths, but you can place them indoors too.

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