These hand painted Santa Claus red coat ornaments are adorable! They’re super easy-to-make using Clam Shells Seashells that you collect from the beach. Don’t live near a beach? Don’t worry, you can buy inexpensive shells from Amazon. Perfect Christmas Tree Ornaments, package tie-ons, table place settings, refrigerator magnets and more!
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Wash all shells in Dawn Liquid Dish Soap. Why Dawn? It does the best job at removing sand, debris, oils and fishy odors from the shells. Rinse with clean water. Air dry for 2-3 days. They need to be completely dry before you paint on them!
Base coat each clam shell with 2 coats of red acrylic craft paint allowing for 30 minutes of drying time between coats. Dip a paint brush into white paint and go along the bottom edge making the faux fur. You want uneven edges so that it looks “furry”. Then take the white paint and make a center “furry” sections running up the middle of the shell. Let dry.
Dip the paint brush into black acrylic craft paint and add the Santa’s belt as shown in the photograph. Let dry for 20-30 minutes. Then use gold metallic craft paint and a thin-line paint brush to add the buckle. Let dry for 3-4 hours or until the paint is no longer tacky.
You need to seal the painted shells one of two ways:
1. Spray 2 coats of a clear acrylic spray sealer on each side of the shell. You need to do this outside in fresh air.
2. Brush on 2 coats of clear Mod Podge Sealer with a Glossy Finish. Allow for 40-45 minutes of drying time between each coat. Let dry for 3-4 hours after the second coat of sealer.
Finishing up – If you’re turning them into ornaments glue a hanging cord on the back side of each shell. If you’re using them for table place settings use a Sharpie Marker to write the person’s name on the front or back of each shell. If you’re using them for refrigerator magnets…glue heavy-duty commerical magnets on the back side using Gorilla Glue.
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