Two of the most common type’s of seashells that you’ll find laying around on the beach at the Jersey Shore happen to be Oyster Shells and Clam Shells. Every time we’re down at the beach, I collect all of the seashells that I can find and bring them home to use in my craft projects.
Today’s project is a really easy-to-do project and a great one to do with the kids! You’ll need to collect some white oyster shells from the beach and an adult will need to use a drill to make a small hanging hole at the top of each seashell. If you want to save time and would like to make a slew of them at one time…I would recommend use white spray paint with a glossy finish to paint your oyster seashells.
Halloween Craft Project: Painted Oyster Shell Ghosts
White Oyster Shells
White and Black Acrylic Craft Paint
Paint Brush, Water Dish, Paper Towels
Clear Fishing Line (for hanging cord)
Scissors
Newspaper
Clear Acrylic Spray Sealer (glossy finish)
Using the white acrylic craft paint add 2 coats of paint to the from of your Oyster Shells. Let each coat dry for about 30 minutes before applying the next coat of paint. Using black acrylic craft paint add on the eyes and an oblong, spooky-looking mouth. Let dry for 30 minutes and then dot on a tiny white dot to serve as the inner eye. Let dry for one full hour or until the paint is no longer tacky. It needs to be completely dry before moving onto the next step.
Lay newspaper down outside. Lay your ghosts on top. Spray 2 coats of clear acrylic spray sealer onto each side of your seashells, allowing each coat to dry for 30 minutes before adding an additional coat. Let dry for 1-2 hours or until no longer tacky. Use clear fishing line to make a hanging loop at the top of each ghost. That’s it, you’re done.
We like to hang our Oyster Shell Ghosts on our bushes in our front yard leading up to our front door. We will add about 10-12 of them to each bush. They really make for a nice outdoor Halloween decoration! You can use them in a variety of different ways, inside or outside your home.
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I love these shells for Halloween. I would enjoy making them with kids to hang outside on the bushes.
I havent seen you use these shells before! Now these look like they would be much easier to make a hole in. I could see this as a spooky windchime if used a glow in the dark paint!
That’s a fabulous idea! I’m going to make a Halloween theme’d seashell windchime! I have a few projects coming up that are DIY Craft that turn Oyster Shells into snowman Christmas tree ornaments and turn them into Santa Christmas tree ornaments. Will be sharing those seashell craft projects with all of you next month!!!
You amaze me at how creative you can be with the shells. I like the ghosts.
This would be a fun one for the kids coming up to our door trick or treating. With the white paint it would really stand out at night.
This is “wicked” cool 😉 I love fun crafts for the holidays!
Oyster shells! They came out adorable.
Still more shells! This one is very fun.
This is my favorite painted shell yet! The Ghost painted oyster shell is perfect for kids and their buddies to gather and make as a craft project just in time for Halloween.