These lighthouse design large clam shells are easy to make! You don’t need to be a professional artist and no template or pattern is needed. The design is made using simple shapes with a combination of acrylic craft paint and paint pen markers. One design depicts a nighttime scene and the other one a sunset scene.
Before you begin…collect large clam shells from the beach. We used seashells that measure 4″ to 5″ wide. Wash them in warm, soapy water using Dawn Liquid Dish Soap. Why Dawn? It does the best job at removing sand, debris, and fishy odors. Rinse with clean water. Air dry for 1-2 days.
Nighttime Scene – The background was painted using 3 blue colors of acrylic craft paint and a paint brush. The 3 blue colors were swirled together while still wet to come up with a nice background color with highs and lows of blues. Let dry. Using the BETEM Acrylic Paint Pen Markers you want add the dark brown rock at the bottom which the lighthouse sits on. Use the white paint pen to make a “cone shape”. Let dry. Use black, red and gold paint pens to add the doors, windows and the “light” at the top along with the triangular roof. Use a light blue paint pen to add waves out in the ocean water and a pale yellow/white paint pen to add the moon (upper left corner). Let dry.
Sunset Scene – The background was painted using yellow, orange, and red acrylic craft paint and a paint brush. The 3 colors are swirled together while the paint is still wet. The lightest colors should be towards the bottom to make it appear that the sun is setting in the horizon. Cover the entire shell in the sunset colors. Let dry. Use blue acrylic craft paint to make the ocean water. Let dry. The rest of the design was made using Acrylic Paint Pen Markers. Dark Brown was used to make the rock and white was used to make a “cone shape” for the building. Once dry you want to add the building accents – the door, stripes, windows, triangular shaped roof and the “gold light” at the top. We opted to add 3 white seagulls in the sky area. Let dry.
Finishing up – The painted finish needs to be protected. Use Modge Podge in a Glossy Finish with a foam brush to apply 2 coats of sealer to the FRONT of the seashell (the painted side) and let dry. Once dry, flip it over and add 1 coat on the unpainted side. Let dry. This will protect the painted surface from chipping, cracking and the colors from fading.
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