Every year I put up a 7 foot tall Christmas tree that is 100% decorated with coastal and beach Christmas ornaments. My tree topper is an Angel (beach theme) and my tree collar is one that my husband made for me. Guests who visit our home during the holiday season pay me a ton of compliments on our Christmas tree. I love it!
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This year I made 6 new ornaments for our Christmas tree. These hand painted sand dollar and starfish ornaments work up quickly. You can make several in just one weekend! You can use real or faux shells when making them. What makes them really “POP” is the use of metallic colored acrylic paints. Here’s how I made them.
Use a sponge to dab on the darker blue metallic colored paint towards the bottom half of the sand dollar. Using the same sponge and while the first color of paint is still wet…dab on the lighter ocean grean or aqua colored metallic paint. Let the two colors over-lap unevenly across the middle section of the sand dollar. Apply enough of the metallic paint to give you vivid colors as some of the paint will soak into the sand dollar as your painting. Set aside to dry.
For the starfish…I elected to paint them use gold metallic and silver metallic paints using a brush. It was easier to get into all the nooks and crannies using a paint brush. I made 3 in gold and 3 in silver. Paint the back side too. Let thoroughly dry.
You don’t have to do this next step…but I did because I wanted to protect the paint and I wanted a glossy finish to the seashells. I brushed on a light coat of Clear Mod Podge Sealer to the shells and left them dry. It goes on white but will dry crystal clear.
When adhering seashells to seashells or seashells to other surfaces I like to use Gorilla Glue. Hot glue and regular craft glue only temporarily hold…they don’t give you a strong bond, so please use either Gorilla Glue or E6000 adhesive. Both will give you a strong bond but do take 2-3 hours to dry. Glue the starfish on top of the sand dollar. Let dry for a few hours.
You can make the hanging loops from several different things: twine, thin ribbons, metallic thread, clear fishing line, etc. Cut a 4-5″ long piece and knot the two ends together. Glue it on the other side. That’s it, you’re done. They look gorgeous hanging on a coastal and beach themed Christmas tree!
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