Looking for an arts and crafts project to do with the kids? Love zoo animals? If so, check out these easy-to-make painted seashells! You’ll need a variety of clam shells, oyster shells and other type’s of seashells to make them. If you don’t live near a beach…you can buy a bag of shells from Amazon or from your local craft store. You’ll need acrylic craft paints, paint brushes and a few other basic supplies to make them.
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Our photographs show the following animal designs:
Elephant
Bluebird
Snake
Penguin
Sloth
Eagle
You’ll want to refer to the photographs to help guide you when painting the designs. We didn’t use any templates or patterns. Just sketched the outline shape onto the painted shell using a pencil. To keep this really simple (especially when working with kids) we used BETEM Acrylic Paint Markers which feature dual ended tips (a medium tip and a fine tip). No priming, no drippy messes and no foul paint odors.
You’ll want to base coat each seashell with your desired coloring using regular acrylic craft paints and a paint brush. Then sketch the design on top (once the paint has dried) and color-in the design with the paint markers. Always make sure the paint has fully dried before moving onto the next step. It’s dry when it’s no longer tacky when touched.
The snake, bluebird and sloth designs were painted onto small to medium sized clam shells. The elephant was painted onto a broken whelk shell, the eagle was painted onto an oyster shell and the penguin can be painted onto a clam or cockle shell. Basically, the designs can be painted on just about any seashell.
Once all of the paint is dry you’ll want to seal them with Clear Glossy Mod Podge Sealer using a foam paint brush. I recommend brushing on 2 light coats of sealer with 30-40 minutes of drying time between coats. This will help to protect the painted finish from chipping and cracking. It gives the shells a nice glossy shine too! Let dry overnight.
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