Easy Halloween Designs Painted Clam Seashells

Here’s a fun Halloween craft project to do with older kids, adults and/or seniors. All of these designs are easy-to-make and require no artistic skills. No pattern or template is needed. We kept the designs simple using basic shapes and with the majority of the painting done with Acrylic Paint Markers. We personally recommend the BETEM Acrylic Paint Markers with dual ended tips (one medium and one fine).

You’ll need to wash all of the clam shells with Dawn Liquid Dish Soap. Rinse with clean water and let them dry overnight. Dawn does a great job at removing sand, debris and fishy odors.

If you’re going to make the Jack-o-Lantern, Ghost, and/or Frankenstein designs you need to base coat each clam shell with 2 coats of white acrylic craft paint using a paint brush. Allow for 30-45 minutes of drying time between coats.

Use a pencil to lightly draw rectangular shapes to serve as the “head” of each Halloween figure. Use Acrylic Paint Markers to color them in. Once that has dried, go back over them to add the facial features and black outlining. Let dry. Finish up by writing wordage on the bottom of each seashell or adding a decorative border. Let dry for 2-3 hours.

Pirate Design – Base coat the clam shell with your desired color. We used royal blue. We had to give it 2 coats of paint to get the desired coverage with 30 minutes of drying time between coats. Let dry for 30-45 minutes. Use BETEM Acrylic Paint Markers to paint on all of the facial features, eye patch and bandana hat. Let dry for an hour.

Finishing up – Use a foam brush to brush-on 1-2 light coats of Glossy Clear Mod Podge Sealer across the painted surface. This will help to protect the paint and will allow you to display them outside if desired. If you’re going to use them outside, I recommend applying 1 coat of the sealer to the unpainted side to help preserve the seashell from the weather elements. Let dry overnight.

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