Easy Hand Painted Beach Ocean Themed Seashells

Summer is just around the corner and I’m looking forward to spending more time outdoors. During the summer we enjoy hanging in the pool, taking beach walks and collecting seashells. I love everything that has to do with the beach and summertime living.

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These hand painted seashells are super easy to make! You’ll want to collect 4″ to 5″ wide clam shells from the beach. Wash them with Dawn Liquid Dish Soap to remove the sand, debris and fishy odors. Rinse with clean water and air dry.

You can paint the background any color that you would like. I like the seaglass color and went with that. I applied 2 coats of acrylic craft paint onto the outside of each clam shell. You’ll need 30-45 minutes of drying time between coats. 

To keep the decorating easy…I purchased a pack of rub-on ocean and beach themed decals from Amazon. You simply cut out the image and use a popsicle stick to rub the image onto the seashell. Easy!!! You can apply one, two or multiple images to make a complete scene. I used rub-on transfers on most of the shells that you see in the photographs.

On one shell I added a hand-painted wood turtle. I had purchased a pack of 3 unfinished mini wood turtles from our local Dollar Tree. Yes, they sell craft supplies too! I painted it and then used Gorilla Glue to adhere it to the shell. You don’t want to use hot glue because it will eventually fall off. Please…use Gorilla Glue or E6000 when adhering items to the seashells.

After you’ve done all of the design work you need to protect it. I brushed on 2 light coats of Clear Mod Podge Sealer in a glossy finish. Allow for 30-45 minutes of drying time between coats. I applied it to both sides which will help to protect the paint, decals, etc. Plus, gives each one a nice glossy finish.

If you enjoy painting on seashells or crafting with seashells…you’ll find over 150+ seashell craft projects right here on the Two Classy Chics blog! We will be sharing more seashell craft projects in the future too!

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