Penguin Random House Audio

Listen & Craft: Juliette’s Decoupage Oyster Shells

Throughout my wedding planning process, I have often been asked if I am a DIY bride or a buy bride. My answer was both!

I have always been very crafty, and I knew I wanted to create my own favors for my bridal shower. I set out for a beautiful and useful favor: decoupage oyster shells to be a catch-all dish. This pre-summer craft will have you feeling sunny whether you want to make them for a party favor or you want to make use of some shells you found on the beach.

Below are the instructions, along with some audiobook recommendations to keep you company:

Materials

• • Cleaned oyster shells (I purchased an extra large 4.5-5″ cup, but you can use any size that you would like)
  • White acrylic paint
  • Gold metallic acrylic paint
  • Mod Podge (I used a kit that can be found here)
  • Paint brushes
  • Paper cocktail napkins in designs of your choice (separating them, so you are only using the top layer of designed paper)

Instructions

Step 1: Make sure your oyster shells are clean. Give them a coat of white acrylic paint. If you plan to paint the outside of the shell gold, paint the outside with white paint first. Leave the outside of the shell alone to keep the shell’s natural look. I gave the inside and outside two coats. Let the paint dry before the next step.

Step 2: The cocktail napkins are usually double-layered. Peel off the back layer, which does not have the designs, and cut your design on paper a half to 1 inch larger in diameter than the oyster shell.

Step 3: Brush a coat of Mod Podge on the inside surface of an oyster shell. Starting from one spot on the inside shell surface (I usually started at the center or from an edge), lay the napkin on the spot and gently press the paper down little by little until it covers the entire surface. Gentle tapping motion with my finger and the end of a paintbrush to get into the tight corners worked the best for me and minimized the paper from tearing.

Step 4: While the paper is still wet, carefully tear off the excess paper around the edges.

Step 5: Once dried, brush a generous coat of Mod Podge over the entire decoupaged surface. This will create a water-resistant surface and make it more durable.

Step 6: Lastly, use a small paintbrush to dab gold acrylic paint along the edges all the way around. If you are painting the outside of the shells, flip the shells over when the inside is thoroughly dried and put two coats of gold paint on the outside of the shell.

Here are the audiobooks that I listened to while I Mod Podged: