I really enjoy painting and decorating seashells, especially clam and oyster shells. The 3 designs that I’m featuring today are really easy-to-make! You can add hanging strings and turn them into coastal Christmas tree ornaments or leave them as-is. I made a dozen of them and used them as party favors and tabletop decor for a pool party that I hosted last month at our home. The guests loved taking one home with them.
If you enjoy crafting and/or painting on seashells check out the 350+ free seashell painting designs we have on the TCC blog. All are great for beginners!
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You will need a few arts and craft supplies to make them along with oyster shells that you collected from a beach. Don’t live near a beach? Don’t worry. You can purchase oyster shells from Amazon or ask your local seafood restaurant shells. Often times they’ll give them to you but you’ll have to wash and clean them.
Give each shell a good coat of white paint. I used a matte finish white spray paint. I painted both sides of the oyster shells to give them an even base coat. You always want to base coat seashells when you’re working with them. Let the base coat dry for 2-3 hours or overnight.
I purchased a pack of Rub-On Ocean and Beach Craft Transfers from Amazon and use those to decorate each oyster shell. The pack comes with multiple designs on every sheet. I believe the entire pack was less than ten bucks and I have plenty leftover for other projects. They’re easy to use. Just cut out the motif that you want to use…place it down onto the shell and rub it on with a craft stick. Pull off the top sheet and viola…it’s done!
To add the color going around the perimeter of each oyster shell I used a pack of Tanmit Metallic Acrylic Paint Markers. You get 28 paint markers in the pack. They have dual-ended tips. They don’t require priming, no leaky or dripping messes and no foul paint odors. Plus, the colors dry quickly! I used the paint markers to go around the edge of each oyster shell which framed the center motif (design) nicely…plus added a great pop of color.
You need to seal-in the paint and design work by brushing on 1-2 light coats of clear Mod Podge Sealer. It goes on white but will dry crystal clear. If you don’t want to use that…you can certainly spray them with a Clear Spray-On Acrylic Sealer. I like using sealers with a glossy finish. Let all of the seashells air dry overnight.
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