These adorable hand painted and decoupage coastal beach Christmas ornaments are easy to make! You can use oyster shells or mussel seashells to make them. You can whip up several of them in just one weekend. You’ll need to collect seashells from the beach or purchase them from Amazon. Two of the designs in the photo are oyster shells and one was made using a mussel. Mix and match!
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Oyster Shells (used for Jellyfish and Seahorse)
Mussel Shells (used for the Gnome)
White Acrylic Craft Paint
Paint Brush
Metallic Acrylic Craft Paints
Clear Mod Podge Sealer, Glossy Finish
Rub-On Beach Themed Transfers
Gold Metallic Thread for Hanging Loops
Ribbon
Scissors
Gorilla Glue (in Fine-Tip Bottle)
Base coat all of the oyster shells with 1-2 light coats of white acrylic craft paint on the side that you plan on adding the decoupage design. The other side of the shell you can paint with acrylic craft paint…like what’s shown in my photograph. Let the paint dry.
I used a package of rub-on Coastal Beach Transfers that I purchased from Amazon. You get several sheets of rub-ons in one pack. Oodles of different designs are available. Use scissors to cut out the transfer that you want to use. Place the transfer in the center of the shell. Use a popsicle stick to adhere it onto the seashell. Remove the cover sheet and smooth it down with your fingers.
Metallic acrylic paints look so pretty on these ornaments. I used a bronze color on the jellyfish ornament, a purple color on the seahorse ornament and a dark teal color on the gnome ornment (which was solely hand painted). Let all of the paint thoroughly dry.
You need to seal the decoupage design and all of the paint by brushing on 1-2 light coats of Clear Mod Podge Sealer. I cover the front and back sides of the seashells. Let dry.
Hanging Loops – You can use metallic thread, twine, thin ribbons, clear fishing line, etc. Use what you like! Cut a 4-5″ long piece. Knot the two ends together to form a loop. Use the Gorilla Glue to adhere it to the seashell. I don’t recommend hot glue which doesn’t work well with seashells. Let dry overnight.
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