Hand-Painted Beach Red Crab Clam Shell Seashell Designs

These hand-painted red crab clam shells would make a great decoration during a backyard barbecue, pool party or if you live near the beach…paint them up and add them to your garden for a pop of color. Each one was made using a 4″ to 5″ wide clam shell and then a smaller clam shell for the red crab. You can make several of them in just one weekend!

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3″ to 4″ wide Clam Shells
1″ wide Clam Shells
Red, Blue, White and Black Acrylic Craft Paint
Paint Brushes, Water Dish, Paper Towels
Mod Podge Clear Sealer with Glossy Finish
Gorilla Glue
Pencil

Base coat each clam shell with 2 coats of blue acrylic craft paint allowing for 40-50 minutes of drying time between coats. While they’re drying…pain the smaller clam shells with 2 coats of red acrylic craft paint.

The best glue for attaching seashells to one another is Gorilla Glue. You don’t want to use regular craft glue or hot glue! Squirt Gorilla Glue around the outer edges of each red clam shell to attach it to the large blue shell. You should only have to hold it in place for about a minute. Set them aside for 1 hour to let them firmly set-up.

Use a pencil to lightly sketch-on the 6 legs (3 on each side), 2 claws (1 on each side) and his eyes. Use red acrylic craft paint and a detailer brush to paint the legs, claws and eyes on. Let dry for about 35 minutes. Dip the end of the paint brush into white craft paint. Dot on each of the eyes. Let dry for 15 minutes. Dip the end of a wooden toothpick into black paint and dot on the pupils to his eyes.

If you want to add a border…you can keep it simple by dotting on white polka dots. You can write any message that you want onto the shell. I wrote I’m Crabby” to keep things easy. Let dry for 1-2 hours.

You need to protect the paint by brushing on 1-2 light coats of Mod Podge Clear Sealer with a Glossy Finish. It comes in Matte Finish if you prefer that. As it dries…it will dry clear.