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How To Paint Oyster Shells Gold Perfect For Party Decor

How To Paint Oyster Shells Gold Perfect For Party Decor

Welcome to the May Pinterest Challenge Blog Hop, hosted by My Pinterventures. The purpose of this Pinterest Challenge is to motivate all the participants (and you too) to not just pin, but to make it happen! This month, I chose to create a painted gold oyster shell holder. These are perfect for parties or gifts.

This month the pin that inspired me to make the painted oyster shells were designed by Design Sponge. There were many oyster painting pins but the Design Sponge had a great tutorial. I did my own take on some of them by painting the edges and leaving the natural oyster shell for salt and pepper holders. I hand-painted oyster shells white section in gold and used those as a pretty decorative coastal piece on top of a place setting.

Supplies:

  • Oyster Shells. (To find oyster shells for sale, you can check your local fish market or online. I live near the coast so there are plenty for sale here.)
  • Gold Leaf Paint
  • Small Artist Paint Brush

 

Step 1: Cleaning the Oyster Shells

Clean the oyster with 1/2 cup of cider vinegar and 1/2 cup of water. Leave them soaking in there for a few hours. Take them out and dry for a few hours.

 

Step 2: Painting the Oysters

I have painted the oysters in two different styles. Style (1.)  The entire white part of the oyster. Style (2.)Paint only the edges gold.

 

 

Style 1

The gold oyster shells center ones I used as a centerpiece for my table place settings.

 

Style 2

The gold edge ones are perfect for the salt and pepper holder that the Design Sponge created. They did there’s in all gold.  I did not use nontoxic paint. The gold leaf is not safe to put anything edible on top of it. What I did was paint the edges so I kept the white natural with no paint. I can now use them for the salt and pepper. I could not find nontoxic gold paint but I am sure its out there.

 

For more Pinterest challenges check these bloggers’ exciting projects.

Pinterest Challenge Blog Hop

Erlene – My Pinterventures • Jenny – Cookies Coffee and Crafts
Debbee – Debbee’s Buzz • Laurie – My Husband Has Too Many Hobbies
Bri – Halfpint Design • Julie – Sum of their Stories
 T’onna – Sew Crafty Crochet
Beverly – Across the Boulevard • Debra – Shoppe No. 5
Roseann – This Autoimmune Life • Terri – Our Good Life
Chelc – Inside The Fox Den • Cherryl – Farm Girl Reformed
Leslie – Once Upon a Time & Happily Ever After • Katrin – Kreativ K
Kelley – Simply Inspired Meals • Joanne – Our Unschooling Journey
Toni – Small Home Soul • Gail – Purple Hues and Me
Rebecca – Hello Central Avenue • Gwen – Geez, Gwen!
Marie – DIY Adulation
Kristie – Teadoddles • Marie – The Inspiration Vault
Lydia – Lydia’s Flexitarian Kitchen • Maria – Simple Nature Decor
Michelle – Our Crafty Mom • Emily – Domestic Deadline
Alexandra – Eye Love Knots 
SamRaggedy Bits


47 Comments

  1. Really lovely for a more elegant coastal tablescape.

  2. Gorgeous Maria! I love this, they look so beautiful and can be used for so many things.

  3. Mother of 3 says:

    Very pretty! What a fancy idea. Pinned.

  4. What a great idea for individual salt & pepper for dinner parties. You can customize these in any color but I really love the gold paint you used. So elegant!

  5. How lovely. I love the touch of gold. I don’t buy a bushel of oysters like I use to but I will have to see what I can buy in a smaller quantity to make the salt and pepper holders. Love this idea!

  6. Maria, These are beautiful! I have that same gold leaf paint and have used it on many projects. The painted oyster shells look lovely on your breezy simple table setting. Great project. Pinned.

    1. Laurie, Its great meeting you and I appreciate the stop by and thanks for pinning xoxo

  7. The shells look gorgeous! What a lovely addition to your tablescape. I can’t decide which style I like best. Both are beautiful. Pinning to my coastal decor board.

  8. Such a beautiful idea and a gorgeous addition to your tablescape!! Both designs are just beautiful!

    1. Thanks! I only painted the edges so you can place edible salt and pepper on the holder, You can add a clear top coat so it last a longer time on the all gold ones. I did not add a clear coat for this post! I only use the all gold ones for a pretty decor topper on place setting.

  9. That looks so beautiful and so incredibly classy. Sometime less is more and packs a better punch and the gold painted oyster shells do that in such an elegant way

  10. I love things made with shells. I have a bunch of oyster shells from a shell basket and they’ve been sitting around waiting for a project. I’m going to try this and use them as a ring holder in my bathroom.

  11. I like the touch of gold with the white. What a great idea for a table.

  12. These look so classy, I can imagine using them for all sorts of home decor ideas.

  13. Kathleen Andvor says:

    Can you use them as salt & pepper holders since they are painted? I love the look, very elegant!

  14. Great idea! how does one use them? add a mini spoon? pour salt or pepper right on the food? how much salt and pepper do the shells hold? a tablespoon? ?? Love the look.

    1. You can about a teaspoon salt or pepper to the oyster shells for a dinner party or even just for yourself.

  15. These turned out perfect! I love to decorate with oyster shells and this will be a wonderful addition to my collection. I glued oyster shells to a few plates and use them all the time.

  16. These are oh so pretty!!! I wish I had easy access to some oyster shells now…

  17. So beautiful Maria! I have buckets of these in my yard, now I know how to make them an elegant addition to my table.

  18. Rosemary Palmer says:

    I love oyster shell projects and actually working on a couple of my own. Love the brand of paint you used.

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