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I’ve been a home canner for the past 30 years. I’ve canned vegetables, fruits, soups, stews, sauces, condiments, meats, fish, juices, desserts and all sorts of things over the years. My water bath canner and steam pressure canners get a workout every canning season. With …
These hand painted love bird seashells would be perfect for you to give to your sweetheart for Valentine’s Day. They’re easy-to-make and require no template or pattern. They can be made by older children and adults. Perfect project for Seniors too! Don’t have access to …
Valentine’s day is 2 weeks away. This year I’m making homemade greeting cards for my grandchildren, friends and loved ones. These hand-painted Valentine’s Day themed seashells are something they can keep forever and use them as part of their decor. The design is painted on one side with a personalized written message on the back. They’re easy-to-make and won’t cost you a fortune!
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You’ll need 4″ to 5″ wide clam shells collected from a beach. Wash them in warm, soapy water using Dawn Liquid Dish Soap. Why Dawn? It does the best job at removing sand, debris and fishy odors. Rinse with clean water and let them dry overnight. They need to be completely dry before painting on them.
Base coat each clam shell with your desired colored of acrylic craft paint. I painted 2 with white paint and 1 with red paint. You may need to apply 2 coats of paint to get the desired coverage that is needed. Let dry.
To keep everything simple…I used a back of BETEM Acrylic Paint Markers that I purchased from Amazon. They contain acrylic paint (not kiddie markers) and have dual-ended tips. One tip is a medium and one is a fine tip. They don’t require any priming, no drippy messes, no clogged tips and no foul paint odors. Plus, they dry fast!!!
Me and You Design – Use a pencil to sketch a heart shape in the center of the shell. Color it in with the red acrylic paint marker. Outline it with blue. Write ME on one side and YOU on the other side. Add a border around the clam shell using the red paint marker. Let it dry.
Love is Forever Design – In my scrap box I found a cardboard cut-out of a heart. I used a dab of Gorilla Glue on the back and applied it to the front of the clam shell. Underneath the heart I wrote “True Love is Forever!” Let dry.
Best Friends Design – Use a pencil to make a heart shape on the center of the white clam shell. In the center of that heart sketch 2 stick figures. I opted to make 2 girls…as I’m giving this one to my best friend. You can do 1 male and 1 female, 2 males, 2 females or whatever. I like the simplicity of the stick figures! Color in the stick figures using BETEM paint markers. I used the red medium-tip BETEM paint marker to cover around the heart aka adding the border. I then used the black BETEM fine-tip marker to add the hearts and wordage. Let dry.
Personalizing: Flip the seashells over. Use a fine point BETEM paint marker to write your personalized message. Let dry.
Finishing Up: Protect the painted surface by brushing on 1-2 light coats of Clear Mod Podge Sealer. I used one with a glossy finish. If applying 2 coats you’ll need to allow for 34-45 minutes of drying time between coats. It will dry crystal clear. This protects the paint from chipping, cracking, fading, etc.
If you enjoy painting on seashells or crafting with seashells…you’ll find over 150+ seashell craft projects right here on the Two Classy Chics blog! We will be sharing more seashell craft projects in the future too!
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I love the beach life and everything that goes along with it. There’s something about sitting on the beach and listening to the waves that calms my soul….my entire soul!!! With that said, I decorate our home in a Coastal Beach Style and often make …
Ham and Bean Soup is a classic belly-filling soup that can be made on the stove-top or in your slow cooker crockpot. I like to make a huge kettle of it on the stovetop and can it for later use. For this home canning recipe …
These camping and nature inspired hand-painted seashells are so cute! They’re easy-to-make and can be completed in one afternoon. You don’t need any professional artistic skills to make them. I’m certainly no artist! You’ll need 4″ to 5″ wide clam shells along with a few basic painting supplies. Let’s get started!
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Supplies Needed:
4-5″ wide clam shells
acrylic craft paint
paint brush, water dish, paper towels
pack of BETEM Acrylic Paint Markers (see note below)
Clear Mod Podge Sealer
foam brush
pencil
Note: I recommend and use Betem Acrylic Paint Markers. They’re not kiddie markers! They contain acrylic craft paint. Available in beautiful colors. They don’t require priming, no dripping messes, no clogged tips and they don’t have any foul paint odors. Plus, they’re affordable!
I didn’t use any printed patterns or templates to make these designs. You want to start by base coating your seashell in your desired color or colors using acrylic craft paint. For the camper I used 3 different shades of blue muddled together for the background color. For the pine tree forest I used several different colors muddled together – pink, red, yellow, orange and white. Muddled Together – Swirling and blending together while the paint is wet. Let dry for 1-2 hours.
Use a pencil to lightly sketch the design onto the shell. You don’t have to be precise. It’s just a guide!
To do all of the design work I used BETEM Acrylic Paint Markers. They’re much easier to use than a brush loaded with paint! I used the medium tip for the larger areas, fine tip for the smaller areas and for outlining. As you can see, I’m not a professional artist. I think they design work came out cute. Let dry for 1-2 hours.
You need to seal all of the beautiful work that you’ve done by brushing on 1-2 light coats of Clear Mod Podge Sealer. I like using one with a glossy finish, but you can certainly use matte if that’s what you prefer. It will dry clear. That’s it, you’re done!
* This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, we may or may not receive a small commission which helps to support this site. Thank you!
Looking to make some unique homemade Valentine’s Day greeting cards that also double as home decor? If so, you’ll love our pretty Valentine’s Day themed clam shells aka seashells! You can make several of them in just one weekend using 3-5″ wide clam shells and …
I enjoy painting seashells and smooth river rocks as part of a Kindness Project – Paying it Forward group in our local area. We paint shells and rocks with colorful designs and leave them for others to find. You can leave them just about anywhere …