Throwing a party for Halloween? Looking for a quick and easy craft project? You can use these painted seashells as table decor, party favors or give them out to the trick or treaters who stop by. You don’t need to be a professional artist to make them. If you don’t have access to clam shells, you can paint on smooth river rocks.
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Wash all shells in warm soapy water. I like to soak them in the water for a good 15 minutes. Rinse with clean water and let them air dry overnight.
Base coat all of the shells with 1-2 light coats of white acrylic craft paint allowing for 30-45 minutes of drying time between coats. The paint needs to be thoroughly dry.
For this particular set we did a simple pumpkin combo scarecrow, a black cat and a simple ghost combo skull. You don’t need a pattern.
One clam shell was painted with a black background, one a solid orange background and one with a light and medium striped orange background. Do the background work BEFORE you do the design work.
All of the design work was made using BETEM Acrylic Paint Markers. They have dual-ended tips. They don’t require priming, no foul paint odors, they dry fairly quickly and NO drippy or leaky messes. I purchase them from Amazon.
Use a pencil to lightly sketch the design onto the shell. Simple shapes were used such as triangles, ovals, circles, pears, etc. and just build on those to get the desired image. Use the medium tip on the paint markers to color-in the larger areas and the fine tip for the smaller areas. The fine tip is great for facial features, outlining and writing wordage. Let all of the paint dry.
You need to protect the painted finish by sealing the shells. I like to brush-on 1-2 light coats of Clear Mod Podge with a glossy finish. It goes on white but dries crystal clear. This will protect the paint. Let them thoroughly dry overnight.
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