You won’t believe how easy it is to make these magical painted designs on seashells! If you’ve never heard of acrylic pouring, it’s a technique where paints (and sometimes additives) are put in a cup together and then poured over something. As the paint drips and flows, different patterns and layers of color emerge! The natural roughness of the shells meant the paint stuck fabulously without any priming, and interesting contours made some beautiful ridged designs.
Magic Mermaid Shells
- Find something or somewhere for the shells to drip on. If using cardboard, I suggest a box because the paint might flow itself right off a flat sheet!
- Place clean, dry shells on a rack or, like I did, on upside-down used K-cups to raise them off your drip surface.
- Pour/squirt paints one at a time into a cup. Remember, the first color in will be the last to come out. You might need to experiment to see how much paint your shells need depending on their side.
- Slowly pour cup in the middle of the shell.
- Let paint flow and drip. You should see some cool patterns emerging!
- If needed, you can gently tilt the shell to encourage paint to flow over areas it’s missing.
- Dry overnight and brush/spray with a top coat sealant.
- Voila! Magical mermaid shells. 🙂
These are really cute and it looks pretty simple, and the clean up would be minimal also like how they would all look different
I LOVE this idea! Pinned for Summer project girly bedroom decor <3
These are so pretty. We’re going to the ocean soon so I will definitely have to get some shells and try this
I love these!
Those are so pretty, great idea
I have a 9 yr old daughter who would LOVE this! Bonus…we live in Florida 🙂
This looks like a fun craft for rainy days! I love the colors and the ability to make so many different combinations!
These are absolutely gorgeous. I’d love to try this technique. Thanks for posting!
I have never heard of this technique. Those turned out so pretty. This is the perfect fun rainy day craft!
I showed my daughter and she loves this idea…
These seashells are beautiful. They look so mystical and magical.
I have two kids who would love this idea! We will definitely be trying it!
These are really cute!