Hosting a Halloween party this year? If so, check out these easy to paint Halloween designs that we painted onto seashells (clam shells) but you could certainly paint them onto smooth river rocks. You’ll only need a few basic art supplies to make them! No professional artistic skills needed.
These designs include: a black cat, bat, pumpkin, skeleton face, green monster face and just a purple and green ribbon design. All perfect for Halloween decorating or hand them out to Trick or Treaters instead of candy! Check out our collection of 400+ seashell craft projects on the TCC blog.
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Wash all seashells in warm soapy water and let soak for 10 minutes. I like to use Dawn Liquid Dish Soap because it does the best job at removing sand, debris and fishy odors. Rinse with clean water. Lay them out on a towel to air dry overnight. They need to be completely dry before you paint them.
The designs were painted using a combination of acrylic craft paint and a paint brush along with a pack of BETEM Acrylic Paint Markers.
Each seashell should get a base coat of white acrylic craft paint. Why? It allows all of the colors that you will be applying on top to be more vivid. Don’t skip the base coat! Let dry.
Next…background colors. You can use traditional acrylic paints with a brush or paint markers. The choice is yours. I like to use a combination of both. Once the background color has dried take a pencil and lightly sketch your design onto the shell. It can be simple designs like the ones in my photograph.
Betem Acrylic Paint Markers – These are my favorite because they have dual ended tips. One medium and one fine. They come in a large array of colors. They don’t require any priming, no drippy paint messes, no clogged tips and no foul paint odors. Plus, they dry fairly quickly. You can purchase them from Amazon for a great price!
Use the acrylic paint markers to make all of the designs unless you’re handy with a paint brush. You can do basic or get really detailed, that’s up to you. Once you have the designs painted you need to allow the paint to dry for at least 4 hours or overnight.
Once dry…you need to seal the painted design with 1-2 light coats of Mod Podge Clear Sealer. I like using the one with a glossy finish. This sealer goes on white but dries crystal clear. I like to apply it using a foam brush and do coat both sides of the seashell. Let them air dry overnight.
If you want to speed up drying use a desk fan to lightly blow cool air over the shells as they’re drying. It will cut the drying time in half! You can display them inside or outside of the home.
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