Over the past 12 years I’ve published hundreds of seashell and beach crafts for our readers to enjoy. With Christmas just around the corner I wanted to post these 4 easy to make designs that were hand painted onto small clam shells aka seashells. You don’t need to be a professional artist or crafter to make them! No templates or patterns required! You need just a few basic art supplies and that’s it!
** Post contains affiliate links.
All of these designs were painted onto 2″ and 3″ wide smaller-sized clam shells. Wash the seashells in warm soapy water. Rinse with clean water and air dry overnight. You want to remove all sand, debris and fishy odors.
These four seashells will be used as table decor or place setting on the kid’s table at our holiday meal. I wanted them to all coordinate so I went with green background colors. All 4 in a different shade of green. You’ll want to paint them using acrylic craft paints. You may need up to 2 coats to get the coverage that you need. Let dry.
Use a pencil and lightly sketch on your words or design. Use my photograph for some inspiration.
To keep all of the design work easy….I used a pack of BETEM Acrylic Paint Markers that I purchased from Amazon. They have dual-ended tips, one medium and one fine. They don’t require any type of priming, no drippy messes and no foul paint odors. Use the paint markers for all of the design work. You may need to use 2 coats…if so, let 30 minutes of drying team between coats. I like to use the black fine tip for outlining and the white fine tip for writing wordage. Let them fully dry until the paint is no longer tacky.
You need to seal the paint by brushing on 1-2 light coats of Clear Mod Podge Sealer. I used the one that gives them a glossy finish. It goes on white but dries crystal clear. If you want to add glitter…sprinkle the glitter on while the Mod Podge is still wet. Let dry overnight.
If you’re going to use them as place settings and table decor…you can use a black paint marker to write on the back side…name, date or a holiday message.