Kid’s Crafts – Painted Seashells Fall and Winter Designs

We enjoy collecting seashells off of the beach when down at our summer house. We use the shells to decorate our home, yard & garden areas…and we use them in craft projects too! Over the years we’ve made Christmas ornaments, paper weights, refrigerator magnets, garden yard art, door wreaths, etc. all using seashells.

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When collecting them you ONLY want to take the unoccupied shells. Any that still have a live animal inside need to be put back where you found it. You’ll need to clean them with soapy water and air dry before using them in your craft projects. We recommend that you seal the painted design with 1-2 coats of clear acrylic spray sealer once you’ve completed them. The sealer will allow you to display your designs inside and outside your home…protecting the painted finish from chipping, cracking and color fading.

Today we’re featuring part 2 of a 2 part series featuring the 4 seasons. These designs were painted by two 11 year old’s, so its the perfect craft project for older kids and adults. You don’t need any expert artist skills to make this project. Let the kids come up with their OWN creative designs or use our’s as inspiration & guidance. You can check out the Spring and Summer Designs that we published last week. They make a nice seasonal set that you can change out as the seasons change.

Painted Seashell FALL Design

Large Clam Shell
Acrylic Metallic Craft Paint in Bronze & Gold
Acrylic Craft Paint Pens (medium tip) – Variety of Colors
Paint Brush, Water Dish, Paper Towels
Clear Acrylic Spray Sealer, Glossy Finish
1 Acorn Cap
E6000 Adhesive Glue

Base coat your clam shell with 2 coats of Bronze colored paint, allowing 30 minutes of drying time between coats. Use the gold metallic paint to add a 1/4″ boarder around the perimeter of your shell. Use that same paint on the acorn cap. Let everything dry for 1-2 hours or until no longer tacky.

Use the E6000 Adhesive Glue to add the acorn cap to the top of your shell. Use a black paint pen to write the word FALL. Use an orange paint pen to make a pumpkin shape. Let dry for 30-45 minutes. Use a green paint pen to add the stem and use a black paint pen to outline your entire pumpkin. Let dry for 1-2 hours or until no longer tacky.

Take painted shells outside and lay them down on the cement or an old plastic drop cloth. Spray each side with 1-2 coats of clear acrylic spray sealer. We like using the glossy finish which gives your shells a beautiful shine. Let dry for 2-4 hours.

Painted Seashell WINTER Design

Large Clam Shell
Acrylic Craft Paint – Metallic Blue, White and Pearly White
Acrylic Craft Paint Pens (medium tip) – Variety of Colors
Paint Brush, Water Dish, Paper Towels
Clear Acrylic Spray Sealer, Glossy Finish

Base coat the entire shell with metallic blue craft paint. Let dry. Use white craft paint to add the little snow layer at the bottom of your shell. Use the pearly white color to make your snowman. You’ll want to be generous with the amount of paint your using so that it looks lumpy with texture to it…just like snow! Let dry for 60-90 minutes.

Use the paint pens to add the word WINTER, to add the snowman’s facial features, his twig arms, falling snowflakes and his black buttons. Let dry for 1-2 hours or until no longer tacky.

Take painted shells outside and lay them down on the cement or an old plastic drop cloth. Spray each side with 1-2 coats of clear acrylic spray sealer. We like using the glossy finish which gives your shells a beautiful shine. Let dry for 2-4 hours.

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