How to Make Decoupage Oyster and Seashell Trinket Dishes

Have you seen beautiful decoupage oyster and seashell trinket dishes at beach gift shops? They’re perfect for holding small treasures like rings or earrings, adding a touch of seaside elegance to any room.

Benitosbungalow on Instagram created decoupage oyster trinket dishes. They are beautiful! Her post is the inspiration for these decoupage seashell dishes.

These can be used for display only. They are not for serving food!

You can find oyster shells and seashells at the beach, from a local seafood restaurant, a craft store, or online. Fortunately, I’ve been collecting seashells for many years.

Oyster and Seashell Trinket Dishes

Supplies:

Oyster and Seashells
Paintbrushes
Sandpaper
Emery board
Decorative Napkins
Scissors
FolkArt Gold Paint
Triple Thick Brush-On Gloss Glaze

Directions

Prepare the Seashells

Seashells washed in soapy water.

Lightly sand the inside of the seashells.

First, wash the shells on both the inside and outside. Clean the shells in warm, soapy water and let them dry. Using sandpaper, scuff up the shell to help the paint adhere to the smooth surface.

Paint the Inside of the Seashells

Paint 2 coats of white craft paint on the inside of the seashells.

2 coats of white craft paint.

Next, paint 2 coats of white paint onto the inside of the shell. The paint creates a light solid base and makes the patterns pop. If you like a vintage look, skip the white paint.

ModPodge the Seashells

Open your paper napkin and peel the 1 or 2 plain layers away from the decorative layer. You only need the decorative layer.

Brush on a thin layer of glossy Mod Podge.

Brush a light layer of Gloss Mod Podge over the white paint on the inside of the shell.

Position the napkin over the Mod Podge.

Lay the decorative napkin layer on top of the Mod Podge. Then, gently press the napkin into the Mod Podge from the center outward.

Gently press out wrinkles with your fingertip. I’ve found that laying a piece of plastic wrap over the napkin and pressing on the plastic helps to keep the napkin from tearing.

Lay plastic wrap over the napkin and smooth onto the seashell.

If necessary, cut a slit from the outside edge of the napkin inward so that the napkin will lay flat on the outer edges.

Remove the Napkin Excess

Tear the napkin downward around seashell edges.

Napkin covered seashell.

Gently tear off the extra napkin hanging over the edges. I found that brushing a small amount of water with a paintbrush along the napkin edge made it easier to tear the excess napkin away from the shell.

Paint another layer of Mod Podge around the outer edges.

After the Mod Podge dries, gently sand the edges with an emery board or sandpaper to remove any napkin pieces and smooth the edges.

Paint the Edges

Paint FolkArt Treasure Gold around the outer edge.

Paint all around the outer edge.

Apply gold paint around the outside edge. You can choose to paint the outside of the shells or leave them as is. Some of these are too pretty to cover with paint.

Outside of the oyster shell.

The outside of the shells.

Seashells

Next, apply a thin coat of FolkArt Triple Thick Gloss Glaze over the napkin and gold edges. This glaze gives an almost porcelain look to the inside of the seashells. I painted one coat, let it dry for 24 hours, and then applied another thin coat.