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    Home » Crafts

    Modified: Jun 10, 2025 · Published: Aug 17, 2015 by Vicky · This post may contain affiliate links · 4 Comments

    Bubbling Shell Craft

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    • 72

    If you have been doing some beach trips this summer, it is time to break out your bag of shells and paint them in a new and exciting way. We had a blast with this Bubbling Shell Craft. This is one of those summer activities for kids that combines craft with science.

    Kids will love exploring what happens when vinegar is added to baking soda. I have been on a shell craft kick as of late. We recently made this cool sand Sea Shell Craft and even made some yummy Clam Shell Cookies.

    This bubbling shell craft is a great way to decorate shells saved from beach trips and a fun art and science activity for kids as well!.

    I found that flat, porous (not shiny) shells work better for this craft.

    Jump to:
    • Bubbling Shell Craft

    If you have a ton of shells leftover from your beach vacation, you are going to want to check out these Seashell Crafts for Kids for some fun ideas!

    Bubbling Shell Craft

    You will need:

    • Baking soda
    • White vinegar
    • Various colors of powdered tempera
    • Plastic cups
    • Shells
    • Spoon
    • Paper towels
    • Condiment squirt bottle (optional)
    shell craft supplies

    Mix equal parts baking soda and tempera paint in a small plastic cup. If you have never used powdered tempera before, it is just powdered paint that you add to water to make paint. For more fun water activities, check out our Duck Tape Boat Races.

    powdered tempera

    Add one shell to the center.

    shell in powdered tempera

    I filled up a condiment squirt bottle with vinegar to make it easier for my kids to add it to the baking soda. Now it was time for the magic to happen. My daughter squirted some vinegar into the cup to start the painting process.

    exploding painting

    She was thrilled when the concoction started bubbling and errupting! While all that was going on, the shell was getting painted in the cup. When the bubbling subsided, we used a spoon to fish out the colorful shell.

    baking-soda-experiments

    We repeated this process with different colored powdered tempera paint. Place the shells to dry on some paper towels. We left ours overnight and were greeted in the morning with some beautiful and vibrant shells!

    shell-art

    For more baking soda and vinegar reactions, check out:

    Baking Soda Experiments                 

    Baking Soda Easter Eggs

                                 

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    Comments

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Kristie Sumner says

      June 22, 2019 at 10:47 am

      Hi, I cannot find powdered paint very easily. Will holi powdered paint work?

      Reply
    2. denise welch says

      August 13, 2018 at 2:20 pm

      Help, this didn't work for me at all! What did I do wrong? i mixed powdered tempera with the baking soda, added the shell, then vinegar and it bubbled nicely but did not color the shell!

      Reply
    3. devon says

      May 28, 2016 at 11:15 am

      Will it works with regular tempura paint? Or is it only powdered that would work?

      Reply
      • Vicky says

        May 28, 2016 at 12:58 pm

        Hi Devon, I don't know if it would work with liquid paint. Since the powdered paint easily mixes with the baking soda it works well with the reaction. If you try it out with regular paint please let me know how it works. Thanks and have a great day!

        Reply
    Vicky from Mess for Less

    I'm Vicky, the founder of Mess For Less, which I started in 2011 to share easy, family-friendly recipes. With over a decade of experience as a home chef and recipe developer, I love creating meals that bring people together. I also design play and learning activities for kids, using my background as a former teacher with a Master’s degree in education. Learn more about me.

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