These painted seashell and puzzle pieces paper weights make a great gift for Mom and Dad. Think Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, a Birthday or even as a holiday gift. Each one will take about 2 days to make to allow for drying time with the paint. It’s a frugal kid’s craft project if you live near the beach and can collect 4″ and 5″ sized clam shells, plus you’re recycling an old cardboard puzzle.

An adult should handle the E6000 adhesive glue and spraying the shells with the clear sealer. Everything else can be done by a child, with adult supervision of course.

Painted Seashell and Puzzle Pieces Paper Weight

4″ to 5″ wide clam seashell
3 small cardboard puzzle pieces
acrylic craft paint
paint brush, water dish, paper towels
acrylic paint pens – medium tips
clear acrylic spray sealer, glossy finish
E6000 adhesive glue

Always thoroughly wash seashells with warm water and liquid dishwashing soap to remove sand, debris, and fishy odors. Let them thoroughly dry before beginning the project.

Base coat the large clam shell with 2-3 coats of acrylic craft paint, allowing 30 minutes of drying time between each coat. While the seashell is drying paint the back-side of 3 cardboard puzzle pieces along with all edges. We had to use 2 coats of acrylic paint to get the coverage that we needed. Set aside to dry.

Have an adult use the E6000 Adhesive Glue to adhere the puzzle pieces to the center area of the seashell. Press firmly into place. Let dry for 1-2 hours.

Next comes the decorating! We used acrylic paint pens with a medium-tip to add a polka dot border and to write the words “Love You to Pieces”. Let dry for 2-3 hours or until paint is no longer tacky.

Take seashells outside and spray them with 1-2 coats of Clear Acrylic Spray Sealer, allowing for 30-40 minutes of drying time between coats. Let dry for 2-3 hours or until the shells are no longer tacky. The sealer will protect the painted finish from chipping, fading, or cracking.

* 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!

Got an old carboard puzzle lying around? If so, let the kids turn that old puzzle into some new wall art for their rooms! This Puzzle Pieces Tree Canvas Wall Art was made by my 12 year old granddaughter who had a great time making it. You probably have all of the supplies on hand. The project took her an entire weekend to complete (paint drying time).

Kid’s Crafts – Puzzle Pieces Tree Canvas Wall Art

1 White Canvas Art Board
Acrylic Craft Paints (assorted colors)
Paint Brush, Water Dish, Paper Towels
Cardboard Puzzle Pieces
Quick-Drying, All-Purpose Craft Glue

Cover your work surface with an old plastic table cloth or drop cloth. For this design she wanted to make a large tree with colorful leaves. She used light green acrylic paint to paint the grass onto the canvas board and then 4 different shades of blue to make the sky. Set canvas board aside to dry. Once dry you need to have the child use brown paint to make the tree trunk and branches (hard to see but there are branches underneath the puzzle pieces). Set aside and let dry.

She then worked on painting the back side of cardboard puzzle pieces. You want to make sure you ONLY paint the back…as the paint doesn’t stick or coat the printed surface very well. You may need to use 2-3 coats to get the depth of color that you need. She used a lot of different colors and probably painted 35-40 pieces. Set aside and let dry.

Now the fun part…decorating the tree with all of the painted puzzle pieces! Attach the non-painted side of the puzzle piece to the canvas art board…placing the pieces fairly close together. Let everything dry for 4-6 hours. Flip the board over and have the child sign their masterpiece with their name and date. That’s it, done!

It can now be hung up on the wall unframed or take it in to get it framed. Children love creating and seeing their own artwork!

* 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!