Hosting a party or backyard bbq for Independence Day, July 4th? If so, take a peek at these cute hand painted patriotic seashells that are the perfect party favors or table decor. Help America celebrate it’s 250th anniversary in style! These designs were painted on seashells but you could certainly do the designs on smooth river rocks. All you need are a few basic art and craft supplies to make them. Great for beginner artists too! Take a look at the 300+ painted seashell designs on the TCC blog while you’re here.
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For this project I used 2 smaller sized clam shells and 1 small oyster seashell that I collected from the beach. Wash them in warm soapy water using Dawn Liquid Dish Soap. Dawn is great for removing sand, debris and fishy odors. Rinse with clean water. Let them air dry overnight.
Base coat all of the seashells with white acrylic paint. You can brush-it-on with acrylic paint or spray paint them. Cover them completely. This base coat allows all of the colors applied on top to be more vivid! Let dry.
I used a combination of acrylic craft paint and a paint brush and a pack of Betem Acrylic Paint Markers to make the designs. I didn’t use a pattern or a template. You’ll want to do your background first and then do all of the design work on top…allowing for the paint to dry in between. I used the fine tip on each paint marker to do the wordage and outlining. The medium tip to color-in the larger areas. Let all of the paint thoroughly dry.
You can seal the design by one of two different ways:
Spray-On Clear Acrylic Sealer – This needs to be used outdoors. Lightly spray 1-2 coats over the seashell. Let dry.
Brush-on Clear Mod Podge – This can be used indoors. Brush-on 1-2 light coats of Mod Podge. It goes on white but will dry crystal clear.
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