Teacher's Gifts: Painted Seashell Paper Weights

The end of the school year is approaching and my grandchildren needed a few end of the year Teacher's gifts. Every year we buy their teacher a small gift and then have the kids handcraft one too. I feel its important to let kids be artistically creative and this project is fun for them to complete.

For our project we used large 4" and 5" wide clam seashells that we collected off of the beach. Wash them with a little bit of soapy water (to remove sand and debris) and let them thoroughly dry before painting on them. This size of a clam shell is weighty and makes great paper weights for the teacher's desk.

Teacher's Gifts: Painted Seashell Paper Weights

Large, Clean, Clam Shells (see note above)
Acrylic Craft Paints
Paper Towels, Water Dish, Paint Brush
Medium-Tip White Paint Pen
Clear Acrylic Spray Sealer, Glossy Finish

Have the child base coat their large clam shell with their desired color of paint. We wanted our seashells to resemble a blackboard, so we painted them with 2 coats of black acrylic craft paint. Leave them dry for 60-90 minutes or until the paint is no longer tacky.

Once the paint is dry...have the child hand-write the teacher's name using the medium-point white paint pen. Let them write out the name which shows off that child's penmanship. They can use additional paint colors to add polka dots or other fun little designs around the outer edge of the seashell if they want to add color and/or additional decoration. Let dry for 60-90 minutes or until paint is no longer tacky.

Tip: To make the perfect circular polka-dots have the child dip the end of their paint brush (non-bristle end) into wet paint and then place the wet end (tip) onto the seashell. Perfect polka dots every time! Have them re-dip the end into wet paint before "dotting" on a new polka dot each time.

After they're done drying have an adult take them outside. Lay them down onto a plastic placemat, old table cloth or drop cloth. Lightly spray them with 2 coats of clear acrylic spray sealer. We like the glossy finish, but you could certainly use matte finish if you prefer that look. Let them dry for 60-90 minutes. This will preserve the painted design and help to prevent cracking and crazing over the years. That's it, you're done!

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