Classy and Opinionated Lifestyle Mom Blog
Before I get started with this review I want to give you a little big of medical history about myself. Over the past 15 years I’ve had 9 surgeries which include a right hip replacement, a left knee replacement, a left wrist replacement and recents …
Are you an animal lover? Love dogs, cats and birds? If so, you’ll love these adorable painted and decoupaged seashells! They were made using 4″ to 5″ wide clam shells, craft paint, fabric and Mod Podge! I was able to complete all 4 of them …
These hand painted Santa Claus red coat ornaments are adorable! They’re super easy-to-make using Clam Shells Seashells that you collect from the beach. Don’t live near a beach? Don’t worry, you can buy inexpensive shells from Amazon. Perfect Christmas Tree Ornaments, package tie-ons, table place settings, refrigerator magnets and more!
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Wash all shells in Dawn Liquid Dish Soap. Why Dawn? It does the best job at removing sand, debris, oils and fishy odors from the shells. Rinse with clean water. Air dry for 2-3 days. They need to be completely dry before you paint on them!
Base coat each clam shell with 2 coats of red acrylic craft paint allowing for 30 minutes of drying time between coats. Dip a paint brush into white paint and go along the bottom edge making the faux fur. You want uneven edges so that it looks “furry”. Then take the white paint and make a center “furry” sections running up the middle of the shell. Let dry.
Dip the paint brush into black acrylic craft paint and add the Santa’s belt as shown in the photograph. Let dry for 20-30 minutes. Then use gold metallic craft paint and a thin-line paint brush to add the buckle. Let dry for 3-4 hours or until the paint is no longer tacky.
You need to seal the painted shells one of two ways:
1. Spray 2 coats of a clear acrylic spray sealer on each side of the shell. You need to do this outside in fresh air.
2. Brush on 2 coats of clear Mod Podge Sealer with a Glossy Finish. Allow for 40-45 minutes of drying time between each coat. Let dry for 3-4 hours after the second coat of sealer.
Finishing up – If you’re turning them into ornaments glue a hanging cord on the back side of each shell. If you’re using them for table place settings use a Sharpie Marker to write the person’s name on the front or back of each shell. If you’re using them for refrigerator magnets…glue heavy-duty commerical magnets on the back side using Gorilla Glue.
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My family loves ham but we typically only make it during the holidays. You know…Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. When it comes to ham I buy the spiral cut, fully-cooked ham at my local grocery store. We’re big fans of the Smithfield Hams. ** Post contains …
These melting snowman designed seashells are super cute. They can be displayed in your home for the entire winter season. There’s nothing on them that screams Christmas. All were hand painted on small to medium sized clam shells that were collected from the beach. You …
You typically wouldn’t think of seashells being part of your Christmas and holiday decorating decor. However, there are millions of people around the world who decorate in a coastal & beach theme who love decorating with them during the holidays. That would include ME!!!
Over the past 5-6 years I’ve shared hundreds of different craft projects on the blog that use seashells and today…I’m going to show you a fun design that my 15 year old granddaughter made for me. It’s really easy-to-make! A great little project for the kids.
The design is painted on a large 5″ wide clam seashell that we collected from the beach. You’ll want to wash them in warm, soapy water (we like using Dawn dish soap), rinse and let them thoroughly air dry. All of the salt, fishy smells and sand needs to be removed before using them.
You can base coat the clam shell with whatever color that you would like. She used a dark pinky coral color. You’ll need 2-3 coats of paint, allowing 30 minutes of drying time between each coat.
For the Christmas tree she made a simple green triangle using 2 coats of paint. For the trunk she made a brown rectangle shape. Let your tree thoroughly dry. She used bottled acrylic paints and a paint brush.
To decorate the tree she used acrylic paint markers that I purchased from Amazon. She added simple polka dots to the tree to resemble the holiday lights. A yellow paint pen for the star shaped tree topper finished off the tree. You could definitely get more elaborate by adding ornaments and a garland. To finish up the design on the seashell she used a teal green paint marker to make dots that run around the perimeter of the shell.
On the under-side of the seashell she signed it and dated it which was a nice tough, especially if you’re gifting them.
To protect the painted surface you want to take them outside and spray them with 2 coats of clear acrylic spray sealer. We used one that gives it a glossy finish. A really nice shine!!!
* 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!
When I was a little girl I would spend hours in the kitchen helping my mom make old fashion Sand Tarts during the holiday season. If you’ve never had them…they’re a thin shortbread butter cookie with a little bit of crispiness. These cookies do take …
This year I’m doing something different for my family’s Christmas cards and my holiday table place settings. I decided to get crafty and make my own! For this project I used 4″ and 5″ wide clam shells seashells that I collected from the beach. You …