Last month I made a dozen of these pet themed Christmas and holiday decor seashells. If you don’t have seashells available to you, you can certainly make the project using medium sized smooth river rocks or ceramic tiles. For this arts and craft project you’ll need clam shells, acrylic craft paints, paint brushes, cotton fabric with a pet themed print, clear mod podge sealer and a bottle of glitter glue. I picked up the fabric at a local fabric shop on clearance.
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You need to paint the clam shell or your chosen base item with 2 coats of acrylic craft paint allowing for 1 hour of drying time between coats. The paint needs to be thoroughly dry before proceeding.
Tip – I like the fabric to blend in with the color of the seashell on some and on others I liked the contrasting colors.
While the paint is drying…prepare the fabric. I used fabric that was in a Christmas holiday print featuring dogs and cats dressed up in their winter clothing. I guess…their holiday party-wear! Use sharp scissors to cut out the area on the fabric that you want to use. It needs to be a little smaller than your base item.
Dip a brush into clear Mod Podge Sealer. Brush a generous coat of Mod Podge across the painted seashell. Lay your prepared fabric piece on top. Brush a second (generous) coat of clear Mod Podge Sealer over the top. Make sure you cover the entire surface. It goes on white but will dry clear. If you want to add a touch of glitter you’ll want to sprinkle that on while the Mod Podge is still wet.
Once the Mod Podge is dry…you can outline your fabric square or design using Glitter Glue. I purchased one that comes in a fine-tip bottle that gave me precision control when I was doing the outlining. The glitter glue will take several hours to thoroughly dry. I think it adds a nice little sparkle. I used it on several of the designs.
If you would like to personalize them…use a Sharpie Marker or Acrylic Paint Markers to personalize the front or back. You can write a person’s name, a pet’s name, date them…or whatever. I made a dozen of them that I donated to a local pet rescue group for a holiday fundraiser. I think they turned out adorable and were super easy to make!