Classy and Opinionated Lifestyle Mom Blog
Have you ever heard of the art form called Zentangle? Last year I heard about it for the first time and decided to give it a try. You can find all kinds of beginner’s information, lessons, resources, classes, etc. online by visiting this Zentangle website. …
Love cats? Got a kitty fur baby in your family? Check out this collection of 5 hand painted kitty cat designs! All of them have been painted onto medium and large clam shells that were collected from the beach. All of them are great for …
These hand painted Easter bunny themed clam shells seashells are adorable! They would look cute sitting on your dinner table as pace settings (name cards), sprinkled in a tablescape or just used as little home decor accents. You can let each guest take one home after dinner which makes for a nice momento. You can paint several of them in just weekend, no artistic skills needed.
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We painted the designs on 3″ to 4 1/2″ wide clam shells collected from the beach. Wash them in warm, soapy water using Dawn Liquid Dish Soap. Dawn is fabulous for removing sand, debris and fishy odors. Rinse with clean water and air dry overnight. If they need a little extra scrubbing use a Mr Clean Eraser. Don’t use metal scouring pads which will scratch up the seashells.
To get started you need to base coat each shell with 2 coats of acrylic craft paint with 30 minutes of drying time between coats. Two of them have a white base coat and one has a magenta base coat. Let dry.
Use a pencil and sketch on the design. As you can see…simple shapes put together make the design. It doesn’t need to look perfect.
Keep things easy! We used BETEM Acrylic Paint Markers with dual ended tips. One end has a medium tip and the other end has a fine tip. The medium tip is great for coloring in the image while the fine tip is great for facial features, outlining and wordage. BETEM paint markers require no priming, don’t leak, no dripping and they dry fast! Acrylic Paint Markers are different than children’s markers…they contain acrylic paint but give you awesome control…no brush needed. Let dry.
Finishing up – You need to seal the paint which can be done one of two different ways:
1. Spray 1-2 light coats of a Clear Acrylic Spray Sealer on both sides of the shell. Allow for 45 minutes of drying time between coats.
2. Brush-on 1-2 coats of Glossy Clear Mod Podge Sealer on both sides of the shell. Allow for 45-60 minutes of drying time between coats. (we used Mod Podge).
Sealing the seashells protects the painted finish from easily chipping, peeling, cracking, the colors from fading, etc. They can be displayed indoors or outdoors. Highly recommend that you seal the paint using 1 of the 2 methods above.
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Are you a dog lover or know someone who is? Work with a rescue group or need a little gift for a vet or vet tech in your life? If you answered YES to any of those questions…we’ve got the perfect art and crafts project …
Love celestial symbols? If so, you’ll love these hand-painted Sun and Moon designs clam shells seashells. These designs are easy to make and don’t require any templates or patterns. You’ll need 3″ to 5″ wide clam shells, acrylic craft paint, paint brush, Mod Podge Sealer …
A friend of mine hosted a Zoo themed birthday party for her 8 year old son. She asked me to come up with some unique party favors and table decor to go along with her Zoo animal theme. Well, I got busy and this Elephant is one of the many animals that I created.
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To make the Elephant you’ll need 4 different seashells: A large clam shell, 2 small clam shells and a broken small whelk shell. You’ll need acrylic craft paint (light blue silver metallic, white and black), paint brush, Gorilla Glue, royal blue paint marker and a black paint marker. I also recommend that you seal the painted shell using 1-2 light coats of Clear Glossy Mod Podge to help protect the painted finish.
Wash the seashells in Dawn Liquid Dish Soap. It’s the best for removing sand, debris and fishy odors. Rinse with clean water. Air dry overnight.
Base coat the large clam shell with 2 coats of light blue acrylic paint allowing for 30 minutes of drying time between coats.
Paint the 2 smaller clam shells and the small broken whelk shell with silver metallic paint. You may need 2-3 coats to get good coverage. Let dry. Then use white and black paint to add the eyes.
When gluing seashells onto seashells I highly recommend that you use Gorilla Glue. Hot glue doesn’t work well at all and falls apart. Glue the shells onto the large clam shell using my photograph for reference on the placement of the shells. Let dry for 3-5 hours or until the glue has set.
I trimmed out the shell using a royal blue paint marker…going around the outer edge. I then used a black paint marker to write Save the Elephants onto the front of the shell. Let dry.
Brush-on 1-2 coats of Clear Glossy Mod Podge Sealer across the entire seashell…front and back. Let dry until it’s no longer tacky.
If you’re using these as party favors…you can use a black marker to write names, dates, etc. on the unpainted side of the clam shell.
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I’ve been hand-painting on seashells for over 20+ years. When I first started out I would just paint them solid colors or a very simple stripe or polka dot pattern. Over the years I’ve learned to do better designs that really stand out. If you …
St. Patrick’s Day is just a few days away. You still have time to make these beautiful hand painted St. Patrick’s Day Shamrock Design seashells. The designs were painted onto 4″ to 5″ wide clam shells collected from the beach. You don’t need any patterns …