This arts and craft projects utilizes scraps of fabric, seashells and acrylic craft paints. That’s basically what you need along with a bottle of Mod Podge Clear Sealer and a paint brush. Once completed you can use them as little home decor accents or use them to decorate your garden. They’re great yard art! Love crafting with shells? We have 300+ seashell arts and crafts projects on the TCC blog.
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For this project I collected a few seashells from the beach. Wash them in warm soapy water using Dawn Liquid Dishwashing Soap. Why Dawn? It does the best job at removing sand, debris and fishy odors. Rinse with clean water after soaking for 15 minutes. Let the seashells air dry overnight.
You only need a few scraps of cotton fabric for this project. You can cut shapes out of the fabric or use the entire piece to cover the seashell. We’ve done it both ways! To get started…base coat each seashell with 2 coats of acrylic craft paint and let dry until the paint is no longer tacky.
Turquoise colored clam shell – Cut a large heart shape from fabric. Brush-on a coat of Mod Podge Clear Sealer onto the shell. Place the fabric heart on top. Use your finger to press it down and smooth it out so that there’s no wrinkles. Brush-on another coat of Mod Podge across the top of the shell and the top of the fabric heart. Let dry.
Black Whelk Shell – Cut out smaller heart shapes from the cotton fabric. Brush on a coat of Mod Podge Clear Sealer across the surface of the shell. Place the fabric hearts on top. I used several of them in varying sizes. Once I had them in place I brushed on another generous coating of Mod Podge. While it was still wet…I sprinkled on some fine-grade glitter. Let dry.
Overall Floral Shell – This one I decided to completely cover the outside of the clam shell. Place the shell onto the piece of fabric. Use a pencil to trace around the shell. Use scissors to cut out the shape. It should be slightly larger than the seashell. Brush a coating of Mod Podge onto the entire surface of the clam shell. Place the fabric on top. You’ll need to use your fingers to smooth it down working from the center out towards the edges. It’s fine for it to hang over the edge of the shell. Let dry. Once it has dried you can go back with sharp scissors and trim away any excess fabric.
Crafting Tips – It’s easier to paint the seashell and just Mod Podge various fabric shapes on top than to cover the seashell completely. The best type of fabric to use is cotton or cotton-blend fabrics. You can use Mod Podge Clear Sealer with a glossy finish or matte, whatever you personally prefer.
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