Hand Painted Lady Bugs Seashells Yard Art

These hand painted lady bugs are adorable and easy to make! You’ll need a large clam shell, 2 small scallop seashells, acrylic paints and a few basic craft supplies. You can make several of them in just one weekend. Use a garden yard art, as little home decor pieces in your tiered trays, as paper weights on a desk, etc.

I think this design is cute for Mother and Daughter, Sisters, Grandmother and Granddaughter, etc.

Hand Painted Lady Bugs Seashells Yard Art

4-5″ wide Clam Shell
2 Scallop Seashells
Tile Nippers or Pliers
Acrylic Craft Paint: Lime Green, Red, Black, White
Paint Brush, Water Dish, Paper Towels
Gorilla Glue
Clear Acrylic Spray Sealer, Glossy Finish

Wash and dry all seashells before crafting with them! You can use Dawn Liquid Dish Soap (our favorite) to remove sand, debris, and fishy odors. Let them dry out in the sunshine for 24 hours or indoors for 2-3 days. They need to be completely dry!!!

Base coat the clam shell with 2-3 coats of lime green acrylic craft paint allowing 30 minutes of drying time between coats. Let dry.  Use tile nippers or pliers to snip off the hindged edge of each scallop shell. Base coat the two scallop seashells with red acrylic craft paint (2 coats) and let dry.

Starting with the lady bugs..Use black paint to make the “arc shaped” head, the line down the back, the triangular shaped wing spread and to add tiny polka dots onto the top of the red painted areas. Let dry. Once dry complete the eyes…allowing for 30 minutes of drying time between the white, black, and white dots. Let dry again.

While the lady bugs are drying add the polka dot border around the perimeter of the large clam shell. We used red and black acrylic paint. Once the paint is dry…you need to use a strong adhesive like Gorilla Glue to adhere the lady bugs onto the clam shell. Let them dry for 6-8 hours or overnight.

Take your pretty painted seashells outside and spray them with 1-2 coats of clear acrylic spray sealer allowing for 1-2 hours between each coat. Make sure you spray the un-painted side too! You want them fully protected. That’s it, you’re done!

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