A lot of people collect seashells when visiting a beach but did you know that you can collect horseshoe crab shells too? You can! They will require a lot of cleaning, but once cleaned…you can paint them and preserve them to use in your home decor. As always, do NOT kill any animals! Only collect the vacant shells or shells from deceased animals.
When we find a deceased horseshoe crab on the beach we clean it out right there. You’ll want to flip it over and remove the legs and inside parts. Gently rinse in the water to remove any debris. The shells are extremely delicate and will crack easily, so carry it with care.
Once you return back to your hotel or home you want to rinse it thoroughly with fresh water. We like to use a garden hose with the nozzle set on a gentle spray or mist. Again, shells are delicate. You can also rinse them clean in a sink. Rinse off all of the saltwater, sand and debris.
Take shells outside to air dry. We place them on an old plastic table cloth but you can use a drop cloth or newspaper. Bugs and flies may be attracted to them if you didn’t get them properly cleaned, so keep an eye on them. If necessary, rinse with freshwater again and air dry.
You can use all kinds of different paints and/or paint pens to decorate the shells. I personally like using metallic acrylic paints for all of the base coating and then acrylic paint pens to add the decorations. You will need to apply 2-3 coats when basecoating and 1-2 coats when decorating…depending on the type and color of paint that you’re using. I don’t paint the underside at all but I do sign and date the underside with a paint pen.
To protect the painted finish and to give MORE strength to the shell you’ll want to take it outside and spray it with 2-4 coats of clear acrylic spray sealer. You can buy it in a matte, semi-gloss, or glossy finish. Allow for 1 hour of drying time between each coat. You’ll want to spray both the outside and under-side of the shell. Let completely dry.
You can now use the painted shells as coatal beach home decor. Use as-is or mount them onto wood, wreaths, etc.
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It has been way too long since I have collected seashells along the beach. I would love to print some like this. I love the colors that you chose it turned out so pretty.
This shell is very pretty. You can imagine that it has a horseshoe crab inside it.
That one is so pretty. You did a good job with it.