Hand Painted Summer and Beach Themed Seashells

These hand painted summer and beach themed seashells are the perfect little decorations for the summertime. They can be used as home decor accents or place them outside around the garden, front porch, deck, and swimming pool. They add a nice pop of color and totally celebrate the summer season. Hosting a summer backyard barbecue? They make great party favors too! Enjoy painting on seashells and rocks? We have over 200+ easy designs on the TCC blog!

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First…you don’t have to be an artist or experienced crafter to make them! All designs are easy to do! If you don’t have large clam shells seashells to paint on…collect smooth river rocks. Those work just as well as the shells. You can do any design that you would like. We printed off a FREE template for the ice cream cone, turtle, and seahorse from the interent. Just do a Google image search for Seahorse Template and hundreds will pop up. Resize the image to fit the shell and then print it out. Easy peasy!

Supplies Needed:

Large Seashells (We used Clam Shells)
Acrylic Craft Paint
Paint Brushes, Water Dish, Paper Towels
Acrylic Craft Paint Pens
Clear Acrylic Spray Sealer
Pencil
Scissors

Base coat all of the shells with the desired color of acrylic craft paint. We used 2 coats of paint with 30 minutes of drying time between coats. Let dry.

If you’re using a free template (see above) cut it out from paper after printing from the internet. Use a pencil to trace around it onto the shell.  Use acrylic craft paints with a paint brush and/or acrylic craft paint pens to do the design work. We used regular paint for the majority of the design work and use the paint pens for writing words, outlining, etc. Paint pens give you better control. After you’re done painting them let dry for 3-4 hours. The paint has to be completely dry.

Take the painted seashells outside. Spray each side with 1-2 coats of a clear acrylic spray sealer. You’ll need to allow 30 minutes of drying time between coats. This will protect the painted design from chipping, cracking or fading. They can be displayed inside or outside of the home. That’s it…you’re done!

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