Craft Project: Painted Snowman Clam Seashells

Christmas is just around the corner and we came up with an easy-to-make Christmas craft project that you can do with the kids! We made these adorable hand-painted snowman clam seashells with 9 and 10 year old’s. You can make several of them in just one afternoon. Once completed, you can display them inside or outside of your home.

For this craft project we used large clam shells and smooth, white and round pebbles that we collected from the beach while on vacation a few months ago.

Craft Project: Painted Snowman Clam Seashells

Large Clam Shell
3 Round & Smooth White Pebbles
Green, White, Black & Orange Acrylic Craft Paint
Paint Brush, Water Dish, Paper Towels
E6000 Adhesive Glue
Old Newspaper
Clear Acrylic Spray Sealer in Glossy Finish

Using the green paint add 2 coats of paint onto the clam shell allowing each coat to dry for 30-45 minutes before adding the next coat of paint. The paint needs to be completely dry before going onto the next step.

While it’s drying you can use the black acrylic paint to dot two eyes onto your smallest pebble to serve as the snowman’s head and dot on his mouth. Use the orange acrylic paint to make a triangular-shaped nose. Dot on 3 small black dots of paint on a second pebble to serve as the snowman’s buttons. Let all of the paint dry.

Once everything is completely dry use the E6000 Adhesive Glue to attach the smooth white pebbles onto the front of your clam shell. We had to hold them into place for about 3 minutes so that they didn’t move around. After 3 minutes, they stayed in place. It will take approximately 2-3 hours for the adhesive to dry. We prefer using the E6000 because its very strong and we like displaying our seashells outside. You could use a different type of glue.

If you want to add a “snow falling” effect to your design you’ll want to dip the end of your paint brush into white acrylic paint. Use the end of the brush to dot the circles onto your seashell in a random pattern. Let dry for about an hour.

Lay newspaper down outside. Use the clear acrylic spray sealer to add 2 coats of sealer onto the front of your clam shells. This will protect the painted finish from chipping, crazing and/or fading. You’ll be able to display them indoors or outdoors and will protect them for many years. Let dry for 3-4 hours before displaying them. That’s it, you’re done!

* This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, we may or may not receive a small commission which helps to support this site.