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!

Looking for more fun kid's craft projects? Adult DIY craft projects? You'll find over 400+ craft projects over on our "sister" blog called TwoClassyChics. All of our craft projects are inexpensive and easy to do!!!

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.

Kid's Crafts: Painted Seashells for Spring and Easter

Looking for a fun craft project to do with the kids? To make these adorable painted seashells you'll need to collect a few large clam shells found lying around on the beach. If you don't have access to seashells, you can try adjusting the designs and using smooth river rocks or another type of found object from nature.

We completed this craft project with a group of kids ages 9 to 12 years of age. I will describe each design briefly, but they're pretty easy to figure out by just viewing the photographs. You can use these designs to inspire your own. Looking for more fun easy-to-make Seashell Craft Projects? You can find over 100+ different projects on our TwoClassyChics blog.

PAINTED EASTER DESIGN SEASHELL

We used purple metallic acrylic craft paint to give the shell 2 base coats of paint. We left it dry for about 40 minutes. Use a white medium-tip paint pen to write the word EASTER. Let dry for 30 minutes. Dip the end of your paint brush into medium pink paint and add your polka dots around the border. Dip the end of your paint brush into teal green paint and add polka dots around the border, between the pink dots. Let dry.

PAINTED SPRING FLOWER DESIGN SEASHELL

Base coat your shell in your desired color. We used 2 coats of lavender colored craft paint. Let dry. We decided to do a free-hand easy floral design by using white craft paint and making 4 tear drop shaped petals. Have the points of each tear drop over-lap in the center to form the flower. Use green acrylic craft paint to make the stem and leaves. Dip the end of your paint brush in pink paint to dot on the center of the flower. While that's drying you'll want to add your polka dots around the border of your seashell. Let dry.

PAINTED EASTER BUNNY DESIGN SEASHELL

This design will take longer to make and you'll need 1 large clam shell and 2 smaller slipper shells, along with craft paint and glue to make it. When gluing seashells together we recommend using E6000 Adhesive Glue and recommend that an adult to do that step. The adhesive is powerful, so avoid contact with your skin.

Give all three of your seashells 2 base coats of white paint. Let dry. Use pink paint to make an oval shaped nose. Use a black medium-tip paint pen to draw on the oval shaped eyes, outline the nose, add the whiskers and the mouth. Let dry. Use pink paint to add the color to the bunny's inner ears on the slipper shells. Set aside to dry. Dip the end of your paint brush into white paint and dot on the inner eyes. Let thoroughly dry. Once everything is dry you'll use the E6000 Adhesive Glue to attach the slipper shell ears to the top of the head. Glue them on the back side of the large clam shell and be generous with the amount of glue that you use. Let dry for 4-6 hours.

To Finish: Take all of your finished designs outside and lay them down onto an old plastic table cloth or placemat. Give each one a light coat of clear acrylic spray sealer. Wait 20 minutes and spray them with a second coat. You'll want to do this on both sides! Let thoroughly dry. You can now display them inside or outside your home. It's important to spray them which will help to protect the painted finish from chipping, cracking or crazing...and will prevent the colors from fading over time.