Hand-Painted Bumble Bee Seashell Garden Yard Art

When I walk through a home decor store I see tons of products that are in a trendy bubble bee theme. I’ve see dishes, wall art, kitchen linens, wall clocks, figurines and all sorts of different things. Bees have an important part to play in our ecosystem. Even though I’m highly allergic to them, I respect them and the job that they do.

These hand-painted Bumble Bee Seashells are easy-to-make. The design was painted onto large 4″ and 5″ wide clam shells that were picked up from a local beach. Washed and dried. Because of their size…they make great garden and yard art. Don’t have a garden? They would look pretty used as a paper weight on a desk, sitting on a table-top or just displayed on a shelf.

Getting Started: Base coat your seashells with 2 coats of a light blue acrylic craft paint. Allow for 30 minutes of drying time between coats.

Adding the Design: To make the design you want to use a pencil and draw on a large…chubby peanut shape. Use yellow acrylic paint and fill in the entire peanut shape which is the bumble bee’s head and body. You may need 2 coats of paint. Let dry. Using black paint add the striping details as shown in the photograph along with the little legs and antannae. Once dry add the white wings and the little dots at the end of the antannae. To add interest to the background we added purple polka dots and pink flowers. Let everything fully dry.

If you don’t want to use traditional craft paint and a brush to do the design you can certainly use Acrylic Paint Markers that I like to purchase from Amazon. They’re inexpensive and make no mess! Plus, cuts the drying time down by 75%.

Finishing Up: Take seashells outside. Spray them with 1-2 coats of a clear acrylic spray sealer. You want to spray BOTH sides of the shell. This will protect the painted surface and help to preserve the shell from the weather. Let dry overnight.

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