Heading to the beach this summer for vacation? Live there or have seashells lying around? If so, here’s an easy arts and crafts project that you can make. You’ll need 4″ to 5″ wide clam shells and then several smaller 1/2″ to 2″ wide seashells to make this project along with acrylic craft paint. All of these designs were made in just one weekend.
Wash all of the seashells in warm soapy water using Dawn Liquid Dish Soap. Dawn does a fantastic job at removing sand, debris and fishy odors. Rinse with clean water and then let them air dry overnight.
You’ll need various shades of acrylic craft paint: Blues, white and sandy/tan along with a flat paint brush. Follow the photographs for placement of the tan colored area and the blue colored area. The tan will be the sandy beach with the blue being the ocean water. Once those 2 colors have dried…add the white foam from the water hitting the beach. It shouldn’t be a straight line…make it wavy! Let dry.
Once the paint has dried it’s time to decorate the clam shells with smaller seashells. If you’re working with young kids I recommend using regular quick-drying craft glue. If you’re working with adults I recommend using Gorilla Glue which gives you a much stronger bond when working with shells. Glue on the small shells in a pleasing to the eye pattern. I like keeping them grouped together in one area…but you decorate as you see fit. Let dry.
Finally…you need to seal-in all of the paint! You can do it one of two ways:
Spray on 1-2 coats of a glossy clear spray acrylic sealer. If you’re using the spray…do it outside on a warm sunny day. Let dry for 2-4 hours.
Brush on 1-2 coats of glossy clear Mod Podge sealer. You can use this one indoors. I personally like brushing on 2 light coats to give the shells a great shine! Let dry for 2-3 hours.
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