The holiday season is finally here and now it’s time to get busy with all of our holiday crafts. Last week my 9 year old granddaughter and I sat down and made a few of these adorable Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Painted Seashells. Kids can make them but they will need some help from adults.

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Painted Seashells

Large Clam Shell
2 Small Mussel Shells
Dark Brown, White, Black and Tan Craft Paint
Paint Brush, Water Dish, Paper Towels
1 Gold Metallic Pipe Cleaner
Scissors
E6000 Adhesive Glue
Acrylic Spray Clear Sealer in Glossy Finish
Old Sheets of Newspaper

Lay newspaper down onto your work surface. Make sure that all of your seashells have been washed and thoroughly dried before beginning this project. The head is made from a 5″ wide surf clam shell and the ears are made from 2 small mussel shells.

Base coat the clam shell with 2 coats of dark brown acrylic craft paint. Paint the inside and outside of each mussel shell with 2 coats of dark brown acrylic craft paint and let dry.

Using the tan color paint a tear-drop shop inside each mussel shell to form the inner ears. Use the tan color paint to paint on the reindeer’s outer nose. We kind of made a triangular shape and you’ll want it at the “pointy” end of your clam shell. Use the white paint to make 2 oval shapes for his eyes.

Once those facial features have dried you’ll want to add his red nose, black mouth, black inner eyes and then let it dry again (about 20 minutes). Dip the end of your paint brush into white paint and dot on his inner eyes. You can use black paint or a black fine-tip Sharpie Marker to outline his nose and eyes, which helps those features to “pop” against the dark brown background. Let all paint thoroughly dry.

To make the antlers, cut a gold metallic pipe cleaner in half. Then cut 1 3/4″ off each of those halves. Wrap the smallest pieces around each of the larger pieces to form 2 deer antlers. To make sure they wouldn’t come undone, we used a tiny dot of glue to hold them in place. Set aside.

Using E6000 Glue Adhesive you’ll want to add that glue around the pointy end of each mussel shell. Be generous with the amount of glue that you’re using, but be careful to NOT get it onto your skin. Do that to each of the mussel shells. Line the mussel seashells up underneath your large clam shell to form the reindeer’s ears and put them into place to dry. In the center of his head you’ll use that same glue to attach his 2 antlers. This type of adhesive is super-strong, so let it sit for 6 hours or dry overnight.

Lay newspaper down outside. Place your finished Reindeer Seashells on top. Lightly spray each seashell with the clear acrylic spray sealer. Let dry for 30 minutes and add a second coat. Let dry for 1 hour. Flip your shells over and spray with a light coat of the sealer. Let dry for 1 hour. That’s it, you’re done!

You can display your Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Painted Seashells inside our outside your home. We like placing some of our holiday seashells on the side’s of steps coming up to our front door, in flower beds, on our front porch, back deck, etc. They also look cute displayed indoors on a table, shelf or the mantle.

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