Planning a Halloween party? Just looking to add some unique decorations to your Halloween home decor? These hand painted sheashells are easy to make and super cute! We painted the designs onto medium sized clam shells seashells, but you could certainly paint them onto smooth river rocks or ceramic tiles. This craft project is for older kids, adults and seniors!
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Wash all of the clam shells in warm soapy water using Dawn Liquid Dish Soap. Why Dawn? It does the best job at removing debris, sand and fishy odors. Rinse with clean water and let them air dry overnight.
Base coat all of the clam shells with 1-2 coats of white acrylic craft paint. Let 30-45 minutes for drying time between coats. The paint needs to be completely dry before decorating them. By base coating them with white paint…this will allow the colors applied on top to really “pop” and be more vivid.
To keep all of the design work easy…we used a pack of BETEM Acrylic Paint Markers with dual ended tips. One tip is a medium size and the other is more of a fine tip. Use the medium to color-in larger areas and the fine to outline, do facial features and to write wordage. No patterns or templates were used. Refer to the photograph and lightly sketch your design onto the shell using a pencil.
If you wish to splatter the background on the shells use an old toothbrush dipped into acrylic craft paint. Rub your finger over the bristles to splatter the paint onto the shell for a unique look. I used that technique on all 3 clam shells before painting the design on top. I really like the look on the Halloween themed seashells.
You can do any design you would like on the top. I was working on a themed set of ghosts, bats, black spiders and cobwebs. All very simple designs that anyone can make.
Once all of the paint has dried you need to seal-in the design by brushing on 1-2 light coats of Clear Mod Podge Sealer. I like using the one that gives the seashells a glossy finish. You can use the matte version if that’s what you prefer. Let all of them dry overnight. That’s it…you’re done!
You can use them as tabletop decor, as party favors or just sprinkle them around your house as party of your Hallween decorations. We have over 200+ painted seashells and beach craft projects on the TCC blog that you can check out. All are easy to make!