Last month I got to work on hand painting a dozen clam shellls and seashells for an upcoming Halloween party. These cuties will be used as table decor and party favors. All of them are super-easy to make and ONLY require a few basic art supplies. The designs can be painted onto seashells, smooth river rocks, wood slices, wood blocks, wine glasses, etcs. No professional artistic skills required!
Looking for more easy hand-painted Halloween seashell ideas? You’ll find over 250+ arts and crafts that utilize seashells on the TCC blog.
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These Halloween designs were painted on 3″ wide clam shells. Always wash and thoroughly dry items before painting on them. You want a clean surface to paint on. No dirt, sand, dust or debris. I personally like washing seashells in Dawn Liquid Dish Soap. It does a great job at removing sand, debris and fishy odors. Rinse clean, air dry overnight.
I recommend base coating seashells and river rocks with 1-2 light coats of white acrylic craft paint. By base coating…the colors applied on top will be more vivid. Otherise, colors can appear dull. Let your base coat thoroughly dry until the paint is no longer tacky.
Use a pencil to lightly sketch your desired design onto the seashhell.
To keep all of the design work and painting simple…I used a pack of BETEM Acrylic Paint Markers that I purchased from Amazon. They require no priming, no clogged tips, no foul paint odors, etc. They have dual-ended tips (one medium and one fine). As an added bonus, the paint dries fairly quickly. I also find that it washes off most surfaces if you make a mistake. Just use a little bit of liquid soap and water. You don’t need to use any harsh chemicals or paint cleaners.
Refer to the photograph if you wish to reproduce the Ghost, Jack ‘o Lantern Pumpkin and Candy Corn designs. You can do just a plain candy corn or add the black spider and web like I did. The choice is yours. You can use any color combinations that you like. I like “cute” Halloween decor…nothing scary or gross here. Sorry, just not my style. Paint the designs and let them thoroughly dry.
You need to seal the painted design by one of two different methods:
* Clear Acrylic Spray Sealer – Spray-on 1-2 light coats, let dry for a few hours. This product needs to be used outdoors.
* Clear Mod Podge Sealer – You brush-on 1-2 light coats. It goes on white but dries crystal clear. This product can be used indoors.
You can use the hand-painted Halloween design seashells to decorate the inside and/or outside of your home. I’ve painted the designs onto large 5″ wide clam shells and have them sitting on our front porch and lining the steps to come up onto the porch. They look fantastic, especially if you love coastal home decor and landscaping.