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Nautical Wall Art Using Clay and Faux Shells

I bought some nautical pieces at Dollar Tree this past spring but, at the time, I had no clear idea what I would do with them. Inspiration eventually struck.

Here’s how to make some 3-D nautical wall art by putting modelling clay in an ice cube tray and mounting it on some scrap cardboard for framing.

Supplies Used:

• two large faux shells from garlands (Dollar Tree)
• silicone shell-shaped ice cube tray (Dollar Tree)
• air dry clay (Dollarama)
• 3 – 7×7-inch frames
• scrap cardboard
• Mod Podge
• hot glue
• beige decorative sand 
• acrylic paint in tan and white

 

 

The cardboard that comes with large wall calendars is the perfect weight for this project.

 

 

These beaded garlands are from Dollar Tree. I removed the shell icons to use for two of the three pieces I was making.

 

 

I found this shell-shaped ice cube tray at Dollar Tree too, and thought I would use it to make some more shells for my project using modelling clay.

 

 

I use this air dry modelling clay from Dollarama.

 

 

I pushed a quantity of clay down into the mold until it was full and smoothed the top flat.

 

 

It came out of the mold looking like this…

 

 

…which was easily fixed by smoothing it out with my finger. I made six of these and let them dry overnight.

 

 

I’ll be the first to admit that my painting skills are lacking. I was unsure how to paint the molds, but wanted them to look like natural sea shells.  I originally painted them a tan colour but didn’t like that so decided to cover them with white paint. After the first coat of white, I noticed that a bit of the tan colour was showing through and liked how that looked, so I left well-enough alone.

 

 

 

I took three 7 x 7″ frames apart and traced some backings for them using some stiff cardboard. 

 

 

I hot glued the six small shells onto the cardboard in two rows.

 

 

Normally, I don’t care to dry brush anything, but after painting the two larger shells white, I decided to brush on a bit of the tan colour so they would match the smaller shells. Then I centred them onto cardboard as well.

 

 

Next, I brushed Mod Podge all around the edges of the shells…

 

 

…and sprinkled a bit of beige coloured sand onto it, shaking off the excess. I made sure not to get sand too close to the edges of the cardboard, as I needed it to fit into the frames.

 

 

 

When the Mod Podge was dry, I  inserted the cardboard into each frame, replaced the backing and hung my new art on the wall. I’ve always liked 3-D wall art and I think mine turned out pretty good.

 

Another option for displaying these is to turn them into display cases, such as you’d see in a museum. You can glue the frames together or just sit them side by side. Glue 3/4-inch wood blocks to the corners of each frame and sit the glass from each frame on top. 

 

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