Over the past 25+ years I’ve painted over a 700 seashells. That includes clams, oysters, conch, whelk and scallop shells. I enjoy collecting the empty shells from the beach and using them as my art canvas. Once decorated I use them as little home decor accents, party favors, table-top decor, porch and deck decorations, etc. I often give my painted designs as gifts to friends and family.
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Typically I paint on clam shells because you get a larger surface to paint on. However, I wanted to challenge myself with using oyster shells. If you don’t live near a beach…contact a local seafood restaurant or market to see if they will save oyster shells for you. You don’t need hundreds…just a few!
Today’s designs feature candy corn, a friendly ghost, frankenstein and Happy Halloween. All are super easy-to-make, no template or pattern is needed. These designs are great beginner’s projects.
Candy Corn – Base coat the oyster shell with 2 coats of white acrylic craft paint. Split the shell into thirds. The upper section should be painted white, the middle section orange and the bottom section bright yellow.
Ghost – Paint the oyster shell with 2 coats of white acrylic craft paint. Use a black acrylic paint marker to add the eyes and mouth.
Frankenstein – Base coat the shell with 2 coats of green acrylic craft paint. Use black and white acrylic paint markers to add the hair and facial features.
Happy Halloween – Paint the oyster shell with 1-2 coats of black acrylic craft paint. Use lime green, orange and white acrylic paint markers to add the wording of your choosing to the front of the shell.
I like using a set of BETEM Acrylic Paint Markers when painting on oyster shells. They feature dual tips (a fine tip and a medium tip) and come in vivid colors. They don’t require priming, no leaky messes, no clogged tips and no foul paint odors. As a bonus…they dry fast! You can pick them up from Amazon for an affordable price!
Once all of the paint has dried you need to seal your beautiful artwork by brushing on 1-2 light coats of clear Mod Podge Sealer in a glossy finish or spray-on 1-2 light coats of a Clear Acrylic Spray Sealer. I used Mod Podge. Let dry overnight.
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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