Craft Project: Metallic Painted Seashell Christmas Ornaments with Pearls

When it comes to decorating our Christmas tree I love mixing in handmade ornaments among my store bought ones. Decorating my tree in a coastal and beach style is colorful and unique…especially in this area of the country.

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During the summertime we collected a lot of seashells from the beach and have been utilizing them in our Christmas and holiday craft projects. Seashells are FREE if you’re willing to pick them up and clean them. If you love crafting with seashells you’ll find 150+ craft projects right here on the Two Classy Chics blog.

Before beginning this project you’ll need to wash and thoroughly dry your seashells. Use an awl or drill to add a hole to one scallop shell (this will be used to thread the hanging cord through). Supplies can be purchased at your local craft supply store or from Amazon online.

Craft Project: Metallic Painted Seashell Christmas Ornaments

2 Scallop Seashells
Metallic Finish Acrylic Craft Paint
Paint Brush, Water Dish, Paper Towels
Clear Fishing Line
Scissors
Quick-Drying Craft Glue
E6000 Adhesive Glue
Faux Round Pearls

Paint the outside of each scallop seashell with your desired color of paint. We used metallic-finish acrylic craft paints and each one required 2 coats of paint to get the coverage that we wanted. Let dry.

Cut a 5″ long piece of clear fishing line and tie it in a loop. Thread it through the hole in the seashell anchoring the knotted end inside the shell with a tad of glue. Let dry for 1 hour.

Use the E6000 Adhesive Glue to attach the two scallop shells together along the flat edge. We placed a small wooden thread spool between the two seashells to keep it anchored opened while the glue dried. The adhesive takes 2-3 hours to dry. Remove the spool.

The quick-drying glue is best used to glue the faux round pearl inside of the ornament. Let dry for one hour. That’s it, you’re done!

We opted to keep the inside of our seashells unpainted and in their natural state. You can opt to paint the inside of the shells too…although I prefer the natural look. You can also opt to NOT drill a hanging hole into your seashell and just glue the hanging loop to the glued edge when attaching your two shells together. You have options for sure!

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