Seashell Santa
These seashell Santa decorations are SO CUTE! These DIY Santa ornaments are super quick and easy to make, with no special painting skills required.
Turn your summer treasures into homemade Christmas decor in just a few simple steps. Then hang them on your beach themed Christmas tree, or use these Santa seashells to celebrate Christmas in July!
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DIY Seashell Santa Ornaments
Materials:
- Scallop seashells
- White paint
- Red paint
- Peach paint(or other skin tone paint)
- Black fine tip marker
- Red marker
- Pom pom(1cm, white)
- Twine
Equipment:
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Paper plate(or paint palette)
Instructions:
Step 1: Find what you need
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Gather your supplies and materials.
Step 2: Paint the seashell white
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Add white paint to a paper plate or paint palette.We like to paint directly on the plate. It’s an easy way to protect your working surface.
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Paint the seashell white.(If your seashell is already white, you can skip this step.)
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Allow the paint to dry and then add a 2nd coat of white paint.Again, allow to dry, and add a 3rd coat as well, if the shell isn’t completely white.
Step 3: Paint Santa’s hat and face
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Add red paint to the palette and paint the top third of the shell red. Paint down a little further in the center, angling up on the sides, creating a curved line at the bottom of this area.Then paint a line of red (about 1/4 inch thick) down along the left side of the shell, following the lines of the shell.
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Now paint a small section of the shell with the peach coloured paint.Paint a curved oval (or an elongated kidney bean shape) with the peach paint in the center of the shell. Make sure there is a strip of white paint between the peach and the red.Allow to dry, and add a second coat of red and peach, as required.
Step 4: Draw Santa’s nose, eyes, and mouth
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Use a red permanent marker to draw a small circle (about 1/8 inch diameter) at the bottom center of the peach paint. This is Santa’s nose.
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Draw 2 circles with black marker, above and on either side of the nose. Santa’s eyes should be just a bit smaller than his nose.
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Finally, draw a curved line for Santa’s smile, in the white paint below his nose.
Step 5: Add a pom pom and an ornament hanger
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Add a dot of hot glue to the bottom of Santa’s red hat.
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Attach a white pom pom into the glue.
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Cut a piece of twine about 6 inches long.
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Fold the twine in half.
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Place the twine on the back of the seashell, loop side up.Add a generous amount of hot glue on the edges of the twine. Hold the loop in place until it stays by itself.
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Your seashell Santa is complete!
Helpful Tips:
- Add sparkle to Santa’s beard or hat! Simply brush a thin layer of glue overtop of the dried paint and sprinkle with glitter. Allow to dry and shake off the excess glitter.
- If you don’t like the rustic look of twine, add a Christmas coloured ribbon or metallic baker’s twine to the back of the seashell Santa ornament.
Where to get seashells to make a seashell Santa?
These seashell Santa ornaments are the perfect way to use up beach treasures you’ve collected in the summer or on vacation. Simply wash and dry these shells before using them for crafting.
Or you can easily buy seashells that are clean and ready for painting. Check the dollar store first, since they’ll be the least expensive, but otherwise you can find a good selection in craft stores and online.
What type of paint is used for making a seashell Santa?
We used acrylic paint to paint our seashells. Keep in mind that dollar store acrylic paint definitely works, but tends to require more coats.
If you don’t already have paint at home, we suggest buying multi-surface acrylic paint. This paint has better coverage and needs fewer coats.
Can I paint the face on my DIY Santa ornaments?
Yes, if you have a fine point paintbrush and the skills to do so, definitely feel free to paint the Santa Claus face on your seashell ornament.
But we definitely like the control of using a marker to add the small facial features. You can use regular permanent markers like we did, or you can use paint pens.
Do I need to seal the paint on my seashell Santa?
You don’t have to seal your Santa Claus ornament, but it will help preserve the ornament for years to come, ensuring the paint won’t flake off.
Once the paint is totally dry you can brush the ornament with mod podge or spray on some acrylic sealer.
This seashell Santa is such an easy, adorable, and inexpensive DIY holiday decoration! Each ornament will be unique, and they look so cute hanging on the Christmas tree.
Don’t forget to write your name and/or the year on the back of the ornament!
Here’s even more seashell craft ideas:
Our book Low-Mess Crafts for Kids is loaded with 72 fun and simple craft ideas for kids! The projects are fun, easy and most importantly low-mess, so the clean up is simple!
