Thursday, November 19, 2015

Rediscovering Sealing Wax

I am rediscovering the the fun of sealing wax and wax stampers.  I used it when I was in my early teens and wrote letters quite often.  I thought it was a fun way to spruce up an envelope.  Boy, if I knew then what I know now about sprucing up an envelope, my life might have turned out to be a different story.  LoL


BUT!...I do remember it being a bit challenging.  This may have been because of my young inexperienced age, but I see it as just as challenging today.  So I instructed Amazon to send me some new wax and a stamper and set about to find an easier way to get better results than just "do I feel lucky today".  And here's my technique to get a wax seal that I like every single time.


The whole secret is to make them separately and glue them to my envelopes or projects.




Yeah, it's cheating, but I'm never disappointed sending off my mail.  The secret ingredient is parchment paper.  The wax does not stick to it.


I like the sticks that don't have a wick.  I light a tea light candle to melt the wax in a long handled tea spoon.  Then push it off the spoon onto the parchment paper, use the wax stick to spread the puddle to fit the stamper.  Let it settle for a few seconds, then push the stamper into the wax puddle.




I clean off my spoon with Flushable Wipes while the stamper and wax are doing their thing.  Then I life the stamper and the wax is still stuck to it.




But they separate so easily and perfectly.




The stringys just snap off or you can cut them off.  I love how imperfect my puddle sizes sometimes are.  I've been using these as a signature on the back of cards I've made, so in that case, I don't want globby edges.




Those globby edges trim off so nicely with scissors.




And the extra was will be kept to be remelted for another seal.  It's now ready to be glued to the back of my card.  Or glued as a faux seal on my envelope.  I'm loving this centruries old craft.




There aren't many colors available in the wick-free wax sticks.  So I experimented with a stick with a wick with the spoon melting technique.  (Normally you would light the wick like a candle then wait for enough wax to melt and drip into a puddle).  It works just as well.  I keep the wick trimmed down to the wax vbetween uses.  The wax takes a bit longer to melt enough for a puddle and is thinner and takes a tad bit longer to set.  But I'm glad to know I am not limited by wick or no wick.  And colors will only be limited by the companies making the wax sticks.




So many things from my youth are coming back into style again.  YIKES!


Having fun with the old being new again.
xxx
Annie

13 comments:

sheila 77 said...

I see I am the first to comment.
This is probably because others, like me, are still trying to get their jaw back off the floor.
Sealing wax! Your personal seal! Long handled silver spoons! (I assume your spoon is solid silver).
Is this the first blogpost ever on wax seals?
Fascinating stuff.

tink's mom said...

Wow, I have some great memories of wax seals from back in the day too. I loved writing and receiving letters. I had pen pals all over the states. Thanks for sharing. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Sheila said...

Looks like fun , I was always intrigued by these stamps but never actually seen one in person .

Createology said...

You have me wanting to dig out my "vintage" wax sticks and stamps. I like your foolproof way of creating the wax stamps. I think this is a very fun way to try a very ancient craft. Creative Bliss Dear...

Evergreen Mo said...

Thanks for sharing this. Just had some legal documents to sign and secretary put a wax seal on the bottom. Wish I had seen this a week ago, would have asked where the seal came from. It did look old. She used a lighter and dripped wax directly onto the paper. I like your method

Renee said...

I have one on the shelf some friends purchased for me. I shall start using it again after seeing your hints. Thanks as always for sharing great tips!

Deb said...

Well I'll be darned, I've never seen anyone use sealing wax before! And you can get it on Amazon too? Will wonders never cease, thanks for sharing your tips Annie! Deb xo

pinsandneedles said...

Hi Annie! This does bring back memories of my childhood too! I still have my original stamper. I like your tip of using a spoon and 'setting' the stamp on parchment paper. Thanks for the tips. I may need to uncover my stamp kit and see what shape it is in.

Tera Callihan said...

I love sealing wax! I totally know what you mean, I wish I knew years ago what I do about mail art now... 😊

Miss Iowa said...

I just bought a seal and some wax sticks last year, and have used it a few times. I love how the seal looks on the back of an envie. One thing I don't like about the sticks with wicks is that I sometimes get little bits of black, burnt wick dropping into the wax. Maybe I need to trim the wick more? Or maybe just decide that it makes the seal look more old-fashioned which in my book, is a good thing! lol

Sandy said...

What a wonderful new old idea. It really adds to the fun of sending mail!
Sandy xx

Carol Swift said...

I used to love to put wax seals on my letters when I was a teenager. Thanks for this sweet reminder...now I want to make some!

Katherine said...

Now that looks like fun! Thanks so much for sharing how you do this, Annie, it's something I've wanted to try and now I have your experienced guidance to ensure it turning out. Yay!