These hand-painted cupcakes with sprinkles seashell refrigerator magnets are really easy to make. All you need are a few scallop seashells, painting supplies and magnets. You can whip up an entire bakery of them in no time at all. They would be cute used as party favors at a little girl’s birthday party, at a Mommy & Me baking party or just make them to give as fun little gifts. No painting or crafting talent needed!
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We collected our scallop shells from the beach. Brought them home and washed them in hot, soapy water, rinsed them and then left them air dry for 2 days. You need to make sure your shells are clean with no fishy odors or sandy debris before starting this project. You can buy scallop shells from Amazon or your local craft store if you don’t live near a beach. They’re fairly inexpensive.
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Hand-Painted Cupcake with Sprinkles Seashell Refrigerator Magnets
Scallop Seashells
Acrylic Craft Paint
Paint Brush, Paper Towels, Water Dish
Acrylic Craft Paint Pens
Heavy-Duty Small Magnet Discs
E6000 Adhesive Glue
Clear Acrylic Spray Sealer, Glossy Finish
If you’re doing this project with children you’ll want to protect your work surface with an old drop cloth, plastic table cloth or old sheets of newspaper. I personally like to recycle bubble wrap that I receive in packages when I’m painting shells. They won’t stick to them (wet paint) and I just toss it away when I’m done.
You can use whatever paint shades that you would like. To get a nice coverage I did have to use 2 coats of paint with 30 minutes of drying time between them. You’ll pick one color for your cupcake liner or base and a different color for the frosting. Let dry until no longer tacky.
You’ll use a variety of different colors to make your sprinkles. I found that using my paint pens worked best to get that nice oblong skinny shape. You can certainly use regular acrylic craft paint and a paint brush too. Let dry for 2 hours or until no longer tacky.
Take your newly painted cupcakes outside and spray them with 2 coats of clear acrylic spray sealer (glossy finish) allowing 30 minutes of drying time between coats.
Flip your shells over to the reverse side. Use E6000 adhesive glue to add your magnet disc onto the back. I use commercial grade little magnets on mine. Why? I like to display my grandchildren’s photos and artwork on the front of my refrigerator and don’t want them sliding to the floor. If you plan on using them to tack up artwork and photos…use a commercial grade magnet which is 5 times stronger than cheap craft magnets. Just a tip on that. Let dry.
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Another sea shell project that makes me smile. I like the idea of using strong magnets so they can hold up things.
I never would have saw a cupcake in this shell. But looking at the finished you can see the pleated paper and then the icing covered cupcake. My great niece would love this………….. she loves cupcake icing. She eats the icing and gives the cupcake to somebody else to eat.
This idea is so cute. I love it. The girls will love doing something different with the shells. Thank you for the idea.