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 them as gifts. If you’re not a trained artist (I’m certainly not)…I recommend using rub-on transfers (not stickers) that can be affordably purchased from Amazon.

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Back in December I purchased the Mermaid and Marine Life Rub-On Transfers for Crafts 16 Sheets Pack and love them! I’ve been using them to make Christmas tree ornaments and decorative accents. I’ve been placing them onto my painted clam shells and oyster shells – seashells that I’ve collected from the beaches in North Wildwood, New Jersey.

You always want to wash your seashells thoroughly with warm, soapy water using Dawn Liquid Dish Soap. It does the best job at removing sand, debris and fishy odors. Rinse with clean water. Then let all of your seashells air dry for 1-3 days. They need to be completely dry before painting on them.

The rub-on decals are super easy-to-use. Cut out the design you want to use. Peel off the backing sheet. Press it onto the surface you’re working with. My body heat is enough to transfer it onto the surface, so no rubbing stick is needed. Press it down, smooth it out. Then peel off the top sheet. That’s it, you’re done!

Uses: You can place the transfers on all type’s of different surfaces. Seashells, Wood, Smooth Rocks, Glassware, paper products like notebooks and journals, eyeglass cases, phone cases, gift boxes, place onto solid color gift bags, make your own greeting cards, scrapbook layouts, etc. You can use them gobs of different ways!!!

After I place them onto the painted seashells I like to seal them with 1 coat of Clear Mod Podge Sealer with a glossy finish. I used a foam brush to apply the clear sealer. Let dry for 2-3 hours. This protects the decal on the surface from peeling or flaking off. Plus, gives everything a nice glossy shine.

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Looking for a unique Valentine’s Day decorating? How about a unique handmade Valentine’s Day seashell card! Gnomes have been one of the hottest decorating crazes the past few years and we decided to make them our theme for Valentine’s Day 2024. While the design make look complicated, it’s super easy to make. No template or pattern is needed.

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You’ll need 3″ to 5″ wide clam shells. We collected them from the beach but you can certainly purchase them from Amazon. Wash them in warm, soapy water…rinse and then air dry for 2-3 days before painting on them.

We used a combination of acrylic craft paint with a paint brush and BETEM Acrylic Paint Markers to do all of the design work. To get started…base coat the clam shell in your desired color. We really liked a white background but did do a few in a light pastel color too. Give the shell 2 coats of paint with 30-40 minutes of drying time between coats.

Using a pencil make a triangular shape for the hat (rounded corners). Then in the center of the hat draw the nose. Use a paint pen marker to color in the hat in your desired color. Then color in the nose. Using the “fine tip” of the Betem Acrylic Paint Pen Marker we made the squigly lines for the Gnome’s beard. We did the black lines first and then added the white lines on top while the black was semi-wet. This gives you black, gray and white colored beard. At the bottom paint on 2 small overal shapes for his shoes. Let it dry for at least an hour.

Add the finishing touches…outline the Gnome using black (fine tip side of the paint pen marker). Use the fine tip on your desired color to add the wordage. You can use our wordage or come up with your own ideas. To really give them that “finished” look we outlined the entire shell with an acrylic metallic paint in a coordinating color. Metallic paint takes 2-3 hours to dry compared to regular paint. Let them dry for several hours.

Seal the paint by using Clear Mod Podge in a Glossy Finish with a foam brush. I like to use two coats with 30 minutes of drying time between each coat. This seals the paint to help prevent scratches, cracking and color fading.

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