Pink flamingos scream summertime and oceanside living. I love incorporating them into my garden and yard art decor. Last month I painted these easy pink flamingo clam shells to display on my back deck near our swimming pool area. They added a nice pop of color and are perfect for the hot summer season. You don’t need any patterns or templates for this design. They can be painted on any type of seashell or smooth river rocks if shells aren’t available.
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Start by washing the seashells in warm soapy water using Dawn Liquid Dish Soap. Dawn does the best job at removing sand, debris and fishy odors. Rinse with clean water and air dry overnight.
Using a paint brush and white acrylic craft paint…give each clam shell two coats of paint allowing for 30-45 minutes of drying time between the two coats.
For the design work I used a pack of BETEM Acrylic Paint Markers that I purchased from Amazon. These paint markers don’t requiring any priming, no drippy or leaky messes, no clogged tips and no foul paint odors. Plus they dry quick! Each paint marker features a dual-ended tip. One medium and one fine point. Use the medium to color-in and the fine point to outline and write wordage.
To make the flamingo body I use a hot pink paint marker to make a circle. I then used a light pink paint marker using the fine-tip to “dot on” the feathers to the body, to make the flamingo’s neck and head. You want to make sort of a reversed “S” shape. Use the black fine-tip paint marker to add the beak, eyes and legs. If you want to add any type of wordage…use the fine-tip for that. Using the medium-tip I outlined each clam shell with light pink which finished them off nicely. Let dry for 2 hours.
Once the paint is dry you need to seal in the design. I like to brush-on two light coats of Clear Mod Podge in a Glossy Finish. It goes on white but will dry crystal clear. You’ll need 30-45 minutes of drying time between coats. I also like to brush one coat on the reverse side of the shell to help protect that side too.
Your beautiful pink flamingo seashells can be displayed inside or outside of your home. They’re easy designs that you can paint on kindness rocks, seashells or other smooth surfaces.
