These flowers and butterflies painted seashells are super easy-to-make! You can make a dozen of them in just one weekend. Don’t have clam shells available to you? Don’t worry, you can make this arts and craft project using smooth river rocks too! You’ll need just a few supplies to make them.
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Collect small and medium sized clam shells from the beach. Wash them 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 let them air dry overnight.
I purchased flowers and butterflies rub-on transfers from Amazon and used those to decorate the shells. You’ll cut them apart and use various pieces to come up with your own designs for the seashells.
To get started base coat all of the clam shells with 2 coats of acrylic craft paint using a paint brush. I opted to use pastel colors of paint which worked well with the rub-on transfers that I was using. You need the paint to completely dry before adding the transfers.
Cut out the transfers and rub them onto the shells in a pattern that you find pleasing. You can add a lot or a little…I like simple so I went with just 2-3 transfers on each shell. Using a set of BETEM Acrylic Paint Markers I added additional details like wordage, background dots, borders, etc. I find using the fine tip paint markers a LOT easier than using a brush with paint. Let them dry until the paint is no longer tacky.
You need to seal the design by brushing on 1-2 light coats of Clear Mod Podge Sealer. It goes on white but dries clear. I like to coat both sides of the seashell to help protect it and the design. Let them dry overnight.
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