Every year our adult daughter hosts a costume Halloween party at their home. It’s a tradition and everyone looks forward to it every year. The party is for families, adults and the kids. She provides the majority of the food and beverages, although a few of the guests will contribute food too. In addition to hosting the party, she likes to decorate the house too! Yup, you gotta set the party mood!

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Last week she asked me to paint a few clam shells seashells in a black spider them for the upcoming Halloween costume party. She wants to use them as table decorations and party decor. For this arts and crafts project you’ll need to collect large 4″ to 5″ wide clam shells from the beach. Wash them with Dawn Liquid Dish Soap in warm water. I like to let them soak for about 30 minutes and then rinse with clean water. Why Dawn? It does the best job at removing sand, debris and fishy odors. Let them air dry overnight.

Orange Shells – Base coat the clam shells with 2 coats of orange acrylic craft paint allowing for 30-45 minutes of drying time between coats. I purchased a pack of 6 black plastic spiders from the Dollar Tree which are used to decorate these shells. Use Gorilla Glue to adhere the plastic black spiders on top of the seashells. Let dry for one hour. I used a BETEM black acrylic paint marker (the fine tip side) to write the words Let’s Hang Out or Itsy Bitsy Spider on each one. I then used it to add the black border you see running around the outer edge. Let dry for 2 hours.

White Shells – Base coat the clam shells with 2 coats of white acrylic craft paint allowing for 30-45 minutes of drying time between coats. I used a pack of BETEM Acrylic Paint Markers to decorate these shells. These paint markers are fantastic! There’s no priming, no clogged tips, no drippy messes and no foul paint odors. Plus, the paint dries fast! You can purchase them from Amazon for a really affordable price! Use the paint markers to add the “simple designed” black spider, then add the wordage and then finish up by adding the polka dots. I wanted a cutesy design that the kids would enjoy. Let dry for 2 hours.

Finishing Up – You need to protect the painted surface by brushing on 1-2 light coats of Mod Podge Clear Acrylic Sealer. I used one with a glossy finish. It will go on white but dries crystal clear. This will protect the painted surface. Depending on the weather and humidity…it can take 1-3 hours for them to completely dry.

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