Hand Painted Seashells for Summer – Easy Garden Yard Art

Over the past 14 months we’ve featured many different hand-painted seashell designs here on the blog. I have to admit, those crafting with kids posts are some of the most popular posts here on the blog! Thank you!!! With that said, some of our readers told us that they’re not artistic or crafty enough to do free-hand painting. Well, today we’re solving that problem for all of you!

This craft project is perfect for kids or adults…with or without any crafting/painting experience. A few months ago we reviewed the Paint Brush Pen & Stencil Set from Yoobi and you can re-visit that post to learn more about that craft kit. We used that same kit today to make the project that we’re featuring below.

If you love crafting with seashells, you can find over 4 dozen seashells craft projects right here on Two Classy Chics blog! Many of these projects can be done with smooth river rocks too!

Kid’s Crafts – Hand Painted Seashells for Summer with Stencils

Paint Brush Pen & Stencil Set from Yoobi
Large Clam Shells (Seashells)
White & Black Acrylic Paint
Paint Brush
Newspaper and Paper Towel
Round Wooden Toothpicks
Clear Acrylic Spray Sealer in Glossy Finish

Lay newspaper down on your work surface. For our project we used large clam shells that measure about 6″ in width. You can do this same project on smooth river rocks, block’s of wood, on canvas tote bags, square ceramic tiles (think beverage coasters), etc.

We used the bright blue paint from the kit to add two coats of paint to the front of our large clam shell. Leave it dry for about 40 minutes or until no longer tacky. Place the tropical fish stencil (included in the kit along with many other designs) on top. Using the glitter mauve paint (from the kit) dab paint inside the stencil until you get the desired coverage. Carefully lift the plastic stencil off. Let dry.

Dip the end of a paint brush into white acrylic paint. Dot on white colored air bubbles in front of the fish’ head. We added four. Clean the brush end and then dip it into black acrylic paint and dot on the eye. Let dry for 10-15 minutes. Dip a round wooden toothpick into white acrylic paint and dot a small white circle in the center of the eye. Let dry for 1-2 hours or until the paint is no longer tacky.

Lay a sheet of newspaper down outside. Place your painted seashells on top. Lightly spray a coat of clear acrylic sealer (glossy finish) on top of the shell. You don’t need a heavy coat. Let dry for 30 minutes and then spray on a second light coat. Let dry for several hours. Your painted design is now sealed and you can use your newly painted seashells inside or outside! They look beautiful sitting on a porch, in your garden & flower beds, lining the sides of your steps, etc.

Note: The seashell shown with the stencil is without the glossy finish spray sealer on it (yet). As you can see, spraying the seashells with the glossy sealer brightens up the colors, protects the painted finish and adds a pretty glossy sheen. I highly recommend that you do this step when crafting with seashells!!!

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