Kid's Crafts Painted Seashell Paperweights

Looking for a fun craft project to do with the kids that won't cost you a lot of money? All you need for this easy-to-make project are some large clam seashells and craft paints. Once completed they will have made a beautiful and unique seashell paperweight. A great end of the school year teacher's gift too!

If you enjoy crafting with seashells you'll want to check out the 100+ Seashell Craft Projects that we've published over on our TwoClassyChics blog. You'll find hundreds of fun and easy designs over there too!!!

Kid's Crafts: Painted Seashell Paperweights

Large Clam Shell Seashell
Acrylic Craft Paints, Various Metallic and Glitter Colors
Acrylic Craft Paint Pen in White
Paint Brush, Water Dish, Paper Towels

Wash and thoroughly dry seashells. We used large clam shells that measure at least 4 1/2" in width. We recommend washing them in hot, soapy water and letting them air-dry out in the hot sun. Make sure all of the sand and debris has been removed.

Cover work surface with sheets of old newspaper or an old plastic drop cloth. Kids can get messy when they're using paints.

Have each child give their seashell two base coats of paint in their desired color. We used metallic paints and glitter paints that can be found in any craft supply store for about $1.00 per bottle. Using the metallic colors give your seashells a nice glossy finish. Using glitter paints give them sparkle. Once the base coating is done...let them dry for about an hour.

Let the children come up with their own designs and color schemes! Its important that we let them be creative without a lot of input from us. Not every craft that a child makes needs to be "Pinterest Worthy" if you know what I mean. Plus, we can all tell when a craft was made by an adult and NOT by a child! Sigh, I wish people would just be honest!

For these designs my 10 year old granddaughter base coated both seashells with a bubblegum pink color. One was done with metallic paint and one was done with glitter paint. She then used a white colored paint pen to write the word MERMAID on one shell and her nick-name on the other shell. She dipped the end of her paint brush into royal blue and purple metallic paints and added a dotted border around the MERMAID seashell. Kids could use cotton swabs dipped into paint to get the perfect-sized polka dots too.

They can paint on nature-inspired designs, animals, just names and words, rainbow colors, etc. Whatever their little hearts desire. Once they're done decorating them you'll want to let them thoroughly dry for 2-3 hours. If they're giving them as a gift I recommend letting them take a Sharpie Marker and writing a message on the back side of the shell, along with their name and the date. In other words, autograph their artwork. Fun!

These type's of kid's craft projects don't cost a lot of money. If you live near the beach or will be visiting one on summer vacation...pick up some of those large clam shells you see lying around on the beach. Don't have access to seashells? You can do this same project using smooth river rocks too.