Lady Bugs and Bumble Bees Painted Walnut Shells Kid’s Crafts

Lady Bugs and Bumble Bees Painted Walnut ShellsThese hand painted lady bugs and bumble bees are the perfect craft to make with young children. Acrylic craft paint, paint brushes, and halved walnut shells are all you need to make them. You can make several of them in just one afternoon! A group of children age 5 through 8 years of age made the ones shown in my photographs.

You’ll need to crack the walnut shells in half. Clean all of the walnut pulp out from the inside using a pick. When you crack them try to crack them lengthwise with even to semi-even edges so that they sit flat. An adult should do all of the nut cracking and cleaning.

Each shell needs to be base coated with 1-2 coats of paint. In this case…we used orange, yellow, and red as our base coat. Once dry you’ll want to start adding the details with black acrylic craft paint. Start with the black head first. Then paint on stripes for the bumble bee and polka dots for the lady bugs. Let dry until the paint is no longer tacky.

Dip the end of the paint brush into white paint and dot on the eyes. Let dry. Dip the end of a chopstick or smaller diameter end of a paint brush into black and add the inner eye. Let dry for 1-2 hours or until the paint is no longer tacky.

Optional: We took our painted walnut shells outside and sprayed with a light coat of clear acrylic spray sealer with a glossy finish. This will help to protect the painted surface and help to preserve the walnut shell for years to come.

* This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, we may or may not receive a small commission which helps to support this site. Thank you!

Shelly's Signature

Comments

  1. Jo-Ann Brightman says

    This looks like a lot of fun to make. I am glad that young kids enjoy this craft, so I shall try to make it with my granddaughter.

  2. These are so adorable I can’t decide which one I like the best. This is such a fun and clever craft project idea.

  3. gloria patterson says

    What a great ideal! My great niece (6) loves to add stuff to her flower beds. And these would be so cute to sit in front of the flowers, or maybe to sit in so low flowers. And best part they would slowly melt away in the ground.

    • You can glue Magnets on the back to turn into refrigerator Magnets or add a hanging string to turn into spring ornaments.