Sitting down to paint seashells and/or rocks is one of the most relaxing hobbies for me. It allows me to de-stress and to be creative all at the same time! Painting kindness rocks and shells is an affordable hobby and you ONLY need a few supplies to get started. As a bonus, those supplies don’t take up a lot of storage space! Great for college dorms, apartment dwellers, etc.
Looking for more easy to paint designs for seashells and rocks? You’ll find over 400+ on the Two Classy Chics blog!
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You can paint these designs on smooth river rocks, stones or seashells. For this project I elected to use free clam shells that I collected from a local beach. You want to wash them in warm, soapy water. I like to use Dawn Liquid Dish Soap because it does a great job at removing dirt, debris, fishy odors, grease, grime or whatever. Rinse with clean water. Lay them out flat to air dry overnight.
I recommend that you base coat them with 1-2 light coats of a white acrylic craft paint. You can use paint and a brush or spray paint. I like to use paint with a brush, so that I can get into all of the little grooves, nooks and crannies. Let dry for 2-3 hours. If you want to speed up the drying process…have a desk fan blow air across them for an hour.
To keep all of the design work simple I used a pack of BETEM Acrylic Paint Markers. They have dual-ended tips. One tip is a medium size and one is a fine tip. Use the medium tip to color-in larger areas. Use the fine tip for detailed work, writing wordage or for outlining. The BETEM Acrylic Paint Markers don’t require any priming, do drippy paint messes and no foul paint odors. They’re super easy to work with. Let the paint dry.
Once all of the design work is done drying…time to seal the paint. You can do that by one of two different ways:
1. Spray-On Clear Acrylic Sealer – This product has to be used outside due to the fumes. You’ll need to spray-on one to two light coats and then let them sit for 2-3 hours to dry.
2. Brush-On Clear Mod Podge Sealer – This is my preferred method because it can be used indoors with no foul smells. I like to use a foam brush to brush-on 1-2 light coats. It goes on white but will dry crystal clear. Let them sit for 2-3 hours or until fully dry.
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