Easy Seashell Turtle

This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Want a cute summer craft that’ll keep the kids entertained? Grab some seashells, paint and glue and make this adorable seashell turtle. It’ll be fun for the kids and even better, will keep you from having to hear “I’m bored”, at least for a little while!

Want a cute summer craft that'll keep the kids entertained? Grab some seashells, paint and glue and make this adorable seashell turtle craft. It's fun for kids but fun for mommy too!

Looking for some fun ways to entertain the kids this summer. Why not grab those seashells you found at the beach and start crafting. I actually got this idea from my crafty friend Kristie. She’s always creating something fun and told me about the seashell animals they were making with shells they’d found on the beach.

You'll need to put your seashell turtle on something. This mini canvas with easel is perfect.

I’d put that idea on hold until I came across this mini-canvas and easel at Walmart. They were so cute that I just had to buy them, even though I had no idea what I was going to use them for. When I got home, I remembered Kristie’s seashell animals and decided to try creating my own little piece of “art”.

What you’ll need:

Seashells (one large for the body, four smaller for the feet, a shell for the head and a small one for the tail)

Green acrylic paint

Light blue acrylic paint

White acrylic paint

Black acrylic paint

2 wiggly eyes

Hot glue gun and glue sticks

Small canvas (these are similar) & easel

Paint the canvas blue and the easel white.

I started by painting both the canvas and the easel. Blue seemed like a good shade for the canvas since I wanted to make some sort of aquatic animal.

This is going to make a pretty background for your seashell turtle.

I went through my shells for inspiration and found that I had a few that actually resembled webbed feet.

These "webbed feet" are perfect for a seashell turtle.

Hmmm…it was either going to be a duck or a turtle. Turtle it is! I started by painting the shells with green acrylic paint and waited for them to dry. Then I arranged them, without glue, on the canvas. I placed the feet first, then put the body on top. Once I knew where everything should be place, I removed the body and hot glued the feet to the canvas. Don’t worry if you can see the glue when you do this. Most of the feet will be covered by the body.

Next, I mixed one drop of black paint with the green (about a 4:1 ratio) and made small brush strokes on the turtle’s shell.

Paint the shell with a darker green to resemble a turtle's shell.

I glued wiggly eyes to the head. If you don’t have wiggly eyes on hand, you can always draw them on with a permanent marker.

Your turtle seashell head needs wiggly eyes.

Finally, my turtle needed a tail. I found a piece of broken shell that was the perfect shape.

You just need a small piece of shell for the turtle seashell tail.

I glued the tail so that it would be poking out from under the body. Then all I had to do was glue the body and the head and my sea turtle was complete.

The kids are going to love making this adorable turtle seashell

I can’t wait to try making more animals. Oh wait, I guess I should let the kids help next time since they’re back from grandma’s. I’ll admit, this project is just as much fun for adults as it is for kids! I had a great time making this turtle (it’s even more fun when you have a glass of wine…don’t worry, the turtle won’t judge)!

You don’t even have to use the type of shells I did. Feel free to improvise with other shapes and sizes.