Over the past 2 months we’ve shared many kid’s craft projects with you having a holiday and Christmas theme. The countdown to Christmas is on and you still have some time to whip up some fun holiday decorations!

Today’s Kid’s Craft Project features 2 hand-painted seashells that my 8 1/2 year old granddaughter designed. I think she did a fabulous job! Each of these designs were painted onto large clam shells (measuring about 5″ to 6″ wide) at their widest point. If you don’t have access to seashells, you can go out and collect smooth river rocks and paint on those too!

If you enjoy painting on seashells or crafting with seashells…you’ll find over 70+ seashell craft projects right here on the Two Classy Chics blog! We will be sharing more seashell craft projects in the future too!

Snowman Design Seashell – Clam Shell

For this particular design she painted two coats of dark blue acrylic paint onto the outside of the clam shell. You’ll want to let it dry before decorating it with the snowman design. She simply free-handed (painted) her snowman onto the shell using white acrylic paint as shown in the photo. She then dipped the end of our paint brush into the white paint and dotted on the falling snow (polka dots). Let dry for about an hour and then she used a black Sharpie Marker to add the snowman’s facial features and coal buttons. She dipped a wooden toothpick into orange paint and used that to draw on her small carrot-shaped nose. Let it dry for at least 2 hours before proceeding.

Take newspaper outside and lay it onto the ground. Place your seashells on top. Use clear acrylic spray sealer in a glossy finish and give them a light coat of sealer. Let dry for an hour and then spray on a second coat. Bring them inside to finish drying overnight. You can now use them inside or outside since the painted finish is now protected.

NOEL Painted Large Clam Shell Design

For this particular one she used your classic Christmas colors: Red, White and Green. She painted red and white strips using acrylic craft paint and then added the forest green section to the narrow-end of the seashell. Let it dry for 2 hours.

She then decided to use Sharpie Markers to decorate it. She added the red and green polka dots to the white painted areas, red polka dots to the green painted area and she used a white chalk marker to spell out the word NOEL. Once it was dry, she then outlined each letter with a black Sharpie Marker.

Take newspaper outside and lay it onto the ground. Place your seashells on top. Use clear acrylic spray sealer in a glossy finish and give them a light coat of sealer. Let dry for an hour and then spray on a second coat. Bring them inside to finish drying overnight. You can now use them inside or outside since the painted finish is now protected.

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The Christmas holiday season is just around the corner and we’ve been busy working on some new Kid’s Crafts Projects. As you all know, my family loves the beach and we go down to the beach several times every year. When we’re down at the beach…we always take several beach walks to collect seashells that we find laying around in the sand. We bring them home and wash them up for our various craft projects.

My granddaughter is 8 year’s old and was able to easily make this project. Younger children will need adult help. You can use smaller clam shells and drill a small hole into one of them and use them as Christmas Tree ornaments. Don’t have shells? Find some odd-shaped river rocks!

Kid’s Crafts Project – Painted Snowman Clam Shells

Large Clam Shells (clean and dry)
Small Clam Shells (clean and dry)
Acrylic Paint (white, orange, black and green)
Glitter Glue (clear and red)
Paint Brush, Water Dish, Paint Palette
Round Wooden Toothpick
Paper Towels and Newspaper
Heavy-Duty Glue/Adhesive (we used E6000)
Clear Acrylic Spray Sealer

Cover your work surface with newspaper before beginning this project.

Paint the outside of the claim shell in solid white. Let dry. Paint a second coat over-the-top and let dry. It typically takes 30-60 minutes for each coat of acrylic paint to dry. Add two coats of green acrylic paint to the front of the small clam shell and let dry.

Have an adult use a strong glue or adhesive to glue the smaller clam shell onto the top of the larger one to form a hat. We used E6000 which takes several hours to dry and set-up. With that said, it’s a permanent adhesive and great for outdoor use. If using it, wear glues and don’t let it come into contact with your skin.

Using the back-end of your paint brush, dot on 2 round black circles for the eyes and 5 smaller round black circles for the mouth. Using the orange acrylic paint, add a carrot-shaped nose. Use white paint to add a medium-sized round circle to the top of the smaller shell to form the painted-on pom-pom. If the 2 black eyes are done drying, use the tip of a round toothpick to dot the center of each eye with white acrylic paint.

Use the clear glitter glue to add a glittery rim around the bottom of the snowman’s hat. Use the red glitter glue to add sparkle to the painted-on pom-pom. Let dry. Using glitter glue can take 2-3 hours to thoroughly dry.

Take your dry shells outside and lay them on clean newspaper. Lightly spray the top of each shell with a coat of clear acrylic sealer. Wait 2 hours and then add a second coat. Let dry thoroughly, I recommend letting them dry overnight. Using the clear acrylic sealer adds a glossy topcoat and will protect the paint from scratches and fading. Plus, you can now display your pretty shells outside!

* 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!