Classy and Opinionated Lifestyle Mom Blog
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!!!
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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 …
These adorable hand-painted Santa Claus seashells are super easy to make! You don’t need any artistic talent to make them. In one weekend I was able to make 10 of them to give out as holiday gifts this year. You only need a few basic art supplies to make them. Let’s get started.
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Clam Shells Seashells
White, Metallic Green, Flesh-Tone and Metallic Red Acrylic Craft Paint
Paint Brush, Paper Towels, Water Dish
Acrylic Paint Pen Markers (Black, Blue, White, Green)
Pearl Metallic Paint
Mod Podge Clear Sealer in Glossy Finish
Foam Brush
Base coat all clam shells with 2 coats of white acrylic craft paint. Allow for 30 minutes of drying time between coats.
Using flesh-tone colored paint make the face using a paint brush. Refer to the photo, it’s a simple shape and doesn’t have to be exact. Next….add the hat. I used green and red metallic craft paint (2 coats of paint for each color). Let dry.
Dip your paint brush into the Pearl metallic paint. Pounce the color along the edge of the hat to form a “fluffy” brim…to kind of make it look fluffy and furry. At the “painted” pom-pom at the top of the hat with the same pearl metallic paint. This type of paint takes a little longer to dry.
The rest of the design work was done using BETEM Acrylic Paint Pen Markers. They’re fabulous! They’re dual tip meaning a medium tip on one end with a fine tip on the other end. No priming, no dripping, no leaking and no foul paint odors! Use the Paint Pen Markers to do all of the facial features as shown in the photograph. Let dry for 1-2 hours.
Use a foam brush dipped into Clear Mod Podge Sealer to seal the seashell. I like to brush on 2 coats of Mod Podge with 30 minutes of drying time between each coat. Once dry, flip it over and seal the unpainted side. Let dry for several hours to let everything “cure”.
Note: If you want to add wordage or a message you can do that on the unpainted side of the clam shell.
Snails, Owls and Birds…oh my! These 3 cuties are easy-to-make with no pattern needed. Once you make them you can use them as paper weights on a desk, colorful yard art in your garden, as party favors or little home decor pieces around the house. …
During the holiday season I like to make several loaves of homemade cranberry sweet bread. I give them to various friends, family members and to my neighbors. They always look forward to receiving them. One thing I like about this recipe is that it makes …