Classy and Opinionated Lifestyle Mom Blog
These adorable tropical fish designs were hand painted onto smaller sized clam shells, oyster shells, mussels and even a broken piece of a whelk shell. Painting on seashells is a fun hobby that I really enjoy. I normally paint on large clam shells, so this …
We love animals…all kinds of different animals. We’re also big believers that people need to ADOPT more pets insteady of buying them! There are millions of dogs, cats, hamsters, birds, etc. living in animal shelters just waiting to be adopted. Everyone needs to be a …
We live in central Pennsylvania and are fortunate that we have many local parks throughout the area. Every neighborhood seems to have at least one…if not more! In this area we’re proud of our military…all who have served Past or Present. They’re honored, respected and loved. Never forgotten.
Last November 2023 we took a drive around the area visiting several war memorials that are within a few of the neighborhood parks. We do it every year! It’s just one way our family pays our respects and we use it as a learning experience for the children in our family. We take 2-3 vehicles, load up and go. Afterwards…we go to a mom and pop style small restaurant for a late lunch. We make an afternoon of it.
For the purpose of this particular blog post…I want to encourage other families to make an annual tradition to do it too!
All of the photographs shown today were taken at Susquehanna Township Veterans Park in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It’s a neighborhood park with picnic pavilions, walking trails, athletic sport’s fields, playground for the kids, park benches and of course the war memorials that I’m showing today.
If you’ve been following the TCC blog you’ll already know that we enjoy painting seashells and leaving them all over the place when we travel. It’s call Kidness Shells. Some people paint rocks which are called Kindess Rocks. It’s all about paying it forward. If you look closely in the photographs you may see a few of my painted Patriotic Seashells that I left at each war memorial that we visited.
At Susquehanna Township Veterans Park they had several war memorials: World War II, Vietnam and the Korean War that we visited. You can find the park located on Elmerton Ave. in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It’s very easy to get to if you’re passing through the area.
One thing that we do when we’re there is look up information about the war on the internet. Just some of the basic information and facts. It’s read out loud so that the kids who are with us can learn. We allow them to ask questions and honestly answer them. They’re never too young to learn about the actual history of the United States of America. It’s “hands on” learning that children seem to enjoy. Look at it as a family field trip!
I hope that after reading this blog post that more families will make it an annual tradition to go out on Veteran’s Day to visit local War Memorials. It doesn’t matter how big or small they are. Don’t have any nearby? Then visit a local cemetary as you’ll often find a section there dedicated to our veterans.
My mom makes the best homemade soups, chowders and stews. Over the years I’ve worked hard to master her recipes and make the dishes for my own family. Mom’s homemade corn chowder recipe is easy-to-make and the perfect comfort food for a family to enjoy. …
When you visit a doctor’s office you’re coming into contact with germs. No matter how you slice it…germs live at all medical facilities…hospitals, clinics, doctor’s offices, labs, etc. We all have to visit these places, so how can we avoid the germs while we’re there? …
My granddaughter is a Girl Scout and every year they host a little Valentine’s Day party. The parents get together to provide the finger foods and drinks, provide a few fun games to play along with music for the girls to enjoy. Some of the girls invite their dads to the party and do a father & daughter dance which is really nice too.
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The girls can’t give one another store bought Valentine’s Day greeting cards. They exchange cards but they have to be homemade. This challenges them to get creative! This year my granddaughter and I made this cute Valentine’s Day Painted Seashells to use as her greeting cards for her friends. We used smaller sized clam shells and oyster shells as the base.
Alternative: If you don’t have access to seashells you can use smooth river rocks instead. Scallop Seashells and Smooth River Rocks can be purchased at various craft stores and from Amazon.
You’ll need the following supplies:
Seashells
Acrylic Craft Paint with a Paint Brush
Cardboard Puzzle Pieces
BETEM Acrylic Paint Markers with a fine tip
Mod Podge Clear Sealer with a Foam Brush
Gorilla Glue with a Fine Tip Nozzle
Base coat all of the seashells in the desired color. We went with white except for one shell which was a special request for one of her Girl Scout Leaders who loves the colors Orange, Navy and Yellow. Each shell got 2 coats of paint with 30 minutes of drying time between each coat.
While the shells are drying you want to paint the back side of each cardboard puzzle piece with acrylic craft paint. The unfinished side of the puzzle piece. You may need 2 coats of paint to get the desired coverage. Let dry. Once they’re dry you want to use a foam brush and Mod Podge to seal the paint on each puzzle piece. Let dry again.
Use a BETEM Fine Tip Paint Marker to write the wordage on each shell. You can trim out the shell along the edge with color too which adds a nice finished look. Let dry. Use a tiny dab of Gorilla Glue to adhere the cardboard puzzle pieces onto each shell. Let dry for 2-3 hours.
To finish them up you need to coat them with Mod Podge using a foam brush. If you want to do a To and From you can do that on the back side of each shell using a Betem Paint Marker and then seal them with the Mod Podge. Let dry for several hours or overnight.
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Tumbling Tower Blocks are all of the rage when it comes to crafting these days. The little wooden blocks are like Jenga game blocks but the ones that I use are smaller. You can purchase a box full of Tumbling Tower Blocks in the game …
I enjoy painting and decorating seashells, especially clam shells that I pick up from the beach. I use them as decorating accents in our home, in our flower gardens, around the swimming pool, as Christmas tree ornaments, paper weights on a desk and I give …