Here’s a fun and easy art and crafts project that combines painted rocks with small seashells. These designs are perfect for kindness rocks, kindness seashells or use them as little decorating accents around your home. I placed two of them in my houseplants as a little colorful decoration and gave the rest away to my friends.
For this particular project I used smooth river rocks, a broken whelk shell and small clam seashells. You’ll need just a few basic art and craft supplies to make them.
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Wash all river rocks and seashells in warm soapy water using Dawn Liquid Dish Soap. Dawn does the best job at removing dirt, sand, debris and fishy odors. Rinse with clean water. Let them air dry overnight.
Paint all of the river rocks or larger seashells with green acrylic craft paint. I selected a dark green metallic paint which gives them a nice shine and gave me good coverage on the rock/shell. I only needed to apply one coat of paint. Let dry.
The lady bugs and bumble bees were all made out of small clam shells that I collected from a beach. Use the photograph as reference on how to paint them. I used acrylic craft paint and a paint brush except for the eyes and antannae. For those…I used black and white fine-tip paint markers by Tooli-Art to give me the precision that I needed. You could also dip the end of a wooden toothpick into craft paint and dot-on the eyes and antannae that way too. Let the seashells dry.
When attaching things to rocks and seashells you want to use Gorilla Glue. Don’t use hot glue and a glue gun as the items will eventually fall off. Handle the Gorilla Glue carefully as it is a form of super glue. A little bit of Gorilla Glue goes a long way! Glue the lady bugs and bumbles on top of your painted surface (rock or seashell) and let dry for 2-3 hours.
Seal the painted artwork by brushing on 1-2 light coats of Clear Mod Podge Sealer with a Glossy Finish. It goes on white but will dry crystal clear. Make sure you cover all surfaces with the Mod Podge including the bottoms to help protect them from weather and other elements. Let dry overnight.
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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!