Over the years I’ve collected thousands of different seashells while walking the beach. A lot of my craft projects utilize clam shells and conch shells. With that said, I had an entire box of Razor Clam Shells and needed to find a way to use them. Well, I have and I look forward to sharing my new project with all of you.
If you enjoy painting on seashells or crafting with seashells…you’ll find over 70+ seashell craft projects right here on the Two Classy Chics blog! We will be sharing more seashell craft projects in the future too!
These Razor Clam Shells can be used as garden plant markers or indoor houseplant markers. You can leave them in their natural unpainted form and just use a Sharpie Marker to write the name of your plant on the front of the seashell. If you like color, you can hand-paint them and do the same thing!
Unfamiliar with what a Razor Clam Shell looks like? They’re long, skinny white seashells as shown in my photograph above. After collecting them you’ll want to wash them and remove all of the sand and debris. I like to use a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser to clean up my seashells and then let them thoroughly dry.
I opted to paint mine with acrylic craft paints. I had to use 2-3 coats of paint and I only painted the one side as I wanted the other side to look natural…just like a seashell. I left them dry for 2-3 hours or until the paint was no longer tacky. You can then use Sharpie Markers to write on the plant’s name or use acrylic craft paint and a paint brush. If using Sharpie Markers, let dry for 30 minutes. If you’re painting on the name you’ll want to allow it to dry for 1-2 hours.
To protect the painted finish you’ll want to take them outside and lay them down onto newspaper or an old plastic placemat. You’ll want to spray the painted surface with 2 coats of clear acrylic sealer, allow each coat to dry for 30 minutes before spraying on an additional coat. Let them dry for 6-8 hours or overnight. You can now use them out in your garden, flower beds or place them in some of your indoor houseplants.
If you’re a stickler about paint and putting them in your veggie garden, you can indeed buy non-toxic, food-safe paint and use those paints to decorate your Razor Clam Shells. The ones that I had used on some of mine took an extra-long time to dry. If you don’t want to use paint at all, leave them in their natural form and just use a Sharpie Marker to write on the name of your plant.
Super-easy and a great way to use up some of those seashells that you find laying around on the beach!
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This is a great way to make garden markers. I would never have thought to use razor clam shells and they look so pretty as markers.
I have been wondering when you would go for garden markers! I think shells help enrich the soil so I would go for using a sharpie and maybe just painting a stripe or something for color and putting the natural part in the dirt. I think these are fun. I am no where close to shells but I bet these would lend themselves well for crafts.
These may be easy to find on the beach, but I’m 1,000 or 2,000 miles away from a beach. They do make nice markers.
What a fun way to add garden markers for this year. I will need to take a jaunt to the beach soon and see what I can find.
I love this craft! Razor clam shells are so easy to find on the beach. This would be a nice craft for the little ones to lend a hand to.
I’ll be sharing a few more razor clam shell craft projects in the coming weeks. You’re right, you can find a ton of them easily on the beach as MOST people just walk by them. They’re not the prettiest thing to collect but they’re great for crafting!