Over the last 15 years we’ve shared hundreds of easy arts and craft projects with you on the Two Classy Chics blog. We specialize in easy and affordable. Since we spend a lot of time at the beach…many of the craft projects include painting on seashells or using seashells in some way in a craft or home decor project.
Today…we’re featuring 4 painted seashell designs that are perfect for summer decorating. You can use the finished shells as little home decor accents, use them to decorate the swimming pool area, as table-top decor when hosting a backyard barbecue or if you participate in a kindness rocks or seashells group…they’re perfect for that too!
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First things first. You need to wash all seashells in warm soapy water. We recommend that you use Dawn Liquid Dishwashing Soap. It does the best job at removing sand, debris and fishy odors. I like to soak them for 10-15 minutes in the soapy water and then rinse them down with clean water. Lay them out to air dry overnight. They need to be clean and dry before you paint and decorate them.
Base coat each seashell in your desired color. I like to base coat with 1-2 coats of white acrylic craft paint. This allows any colors that I apply on top to be more vivid…otherwise, colors can look distorted and dull. Base coating is worth the extra time. Once the paint is dry it’s time to decorate them.
I had some leftover paper embellishments from my scrapbooking days. I decided to apply a few of those to the seashells. You’ll want to brush on a generous coat of Clear Mod Podge Sealer. Add the embellishment on top. I wait a few minutes to allow it to adhere and then brush on a generous coat across the top. The Mod Podge goes on white but will dry crystal clear. If you want to add glitter or sand, you’ll sprinkle that on while the Mod Podge is still very wet.
If you want to attach heavier embeliishments or non-paper embellishments like buttons, charms, beads, etc. I recommend that you use Gorilla Glue to adhere them. Hot glue and regular craft glue won’t work!!!
The Pocket Full of Sunshine design was hand-painted. No pattern was used. It’s just a simple design that I sketched onto the shell. I then used a pack of BETEM Acrylic Paint Markers to color-in the design. I like using BETEM Paint Markers because they have dual ended tips (one medium and one fine). Use the medium tip to color-in the larger areas and the fine tip to outline, do facial features and to write wordage. What’s nice about these paint markers is that they don’t require priming, no clogged tips, no drippy messes and no foul paint odors.
Once the paint has dried you’ll need to brush-on 1-2 light coats of Clear Mod Podge Sealer. I like using the one that gives everything a nice glossy finish. You can certainly use a matte finish if desired. Let all of the shells dry overnight.
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