Over the past 12 years I’ve posted 150+ painted seashell designs on the Two Classy Chics blog. You can find designs that are seasonal, holiday related, animals, flowers, or designs that are just colorful and fun! With that said, I’m often asked about EASY designs that any skill level could do. Well, today…I’ve got 3 designs that are easy to make. You can make them in any color combination that you like.

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You’ll need clean clam shells that measure 3″ to 5″ in width. We collected them from the beach and washed them in warm, soapy water using Dawn Liquid Dish Soap. Rinse with clean water and air dry for 1-2 days. They need to be clean and dry before painting on them.

Star off by base coating the seashell in your desired color. You can do the entire shell in that color or split it into two. Think about the color scheme that you want to use and colors that work well together. These designs are simple because all you’re doing is making dots and circles. That’s right…dots and circles!

We used acrylic craft paint and a paint brush to make the circles but used a black acrylic paint pen to outline those circles and to make the polka dots. Using a paint pen gives you better control and the best thing for outlining or writing wordage. You can follow the patterns in my photograph or come up with your own.

Tips – Limit the color choices that you’re using on one shell. Make sure those 2-3 colors work well together. Let the base coat thoroughly dry before decorating it with circles and dots. You can make all of your circles the same size or vary them but don’t use too many different sized circles at one time. You want a cohesive look. Don’t be afraid to mix 2-3 colors together and swirl them around on the shell to come up with your own unique color pattern when base coating. The purple shell has swirls of pink within it.

Once the seashells are completely dry you need to seal them using Modge Podge Clear Sealer and a foam brush. I like to give them 2 light coats of Modge Podge to seal the painted design. You’ll need to allow 30-45 minutes between the 2 coats. If you’re going to be displaying them outside…I recommend sealing the unpainted side too…so that you’re protecting the seashell 360 degrees around.

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Have you tried paint pouring yet when it comes to painting seashells and river rocks? If not, give it a try! It’s an easy way for you and the kids to paint them! You don’t need any artistic skills and you don’t need a lot of art supplies to make them. It’s one of the easiest ways to decorate them.

Here are the supplies that you’ll need:

Seashells or Smooth River Rocks
Several Bottles of Acrylic Craft Paint
Clear Acrylic Spray Sealer – Glossy Finish
Plastic Drop Cloth (something to protect your surface as this can get messy)
Old Plastic Placemat

Note – For paint pouring I like to use plastic medicine cups. You know…those little plastic cups that come with liquid cough medicine, infant fever reducer, etc. They’re the perfect size for mixing the acrylic craft paints.

Make sure all shells and rocks are clean and dry. Decide on a color scheme. I like using only 3-4 colors that work well together. See my photograph for some ideas on colors that play nicely together.

Squirt a few drops of each color into the plastic medicine cup. For example on the patriotic one I used Navy Blue, Medium Blue, White and Red acrylic craft paint colors. I squirted 3 drops of navy blue, 2 medium blue, 2 red and 2 white into the cup. Gently move the cup side to side to kind of swirl the paint colors together. You don’t want to stir them together as that will make an entirely new color!!!

We like to paint pour over the kitchen sink so that as the paint runs off the shells we can easily wash it down the drain. Gently pour the paint out of the cup and onto the seashell. As you’re doing that…move the seashell around to let the paint run over all surfaces of the shell. You want to cover it all. As you move the shell around the paint runs and makes beautiful swirl-type of designs.

Once it has been covered in paint place it on an old plastic placemat to dry. Don’t have one? A sheet of aluminum foil works great as a non-stick surface too! It will take a few hours for them to air dry. After drying…you’ll want to have an adult take them outside to spray each one with 1-2 coats of a Clear Acrylic Spray Sealer. We used one with a glossy finish. This protects the painted surface. Let dry for several hours.

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