Wax Seals

Most people seal their envelopes by licking the flap, some people use tape, others employ stickers... then there are some that keep it old school and take the time to seal with wax. I use wax seals infrequently, and most times when I do, I use a faux wax - because I'm terrified of the wax falling off in transit. I have one penpal, however, who always seals his letters with real wax. Somehow, all of his wax seals have made it to me virtually unscathed.


Wax can be made into seals through a variety of methods. They can be melted as candle-like sticks that drip onto the paper. Some, more traditional people, either cut up the sticks, or buy wax pebbles, and melt them in a melting spoon over a flame - often an alcohol burner, to pour just the right amount of wax onto the paper. I opt for the most modern method and purchase the wax sticks made for glue guns.


I just love way a seal looks on the back of an envelope. All of the above seals are from my penpal. I have only one seal, a simple "J".

If you want to try seals out, the glue gun wax sticks are usually under $2 a piece, each piece making around 10 seals. Instead of a metal seal, you can try stamping almost any object with an interesting image into the wax, i.e. the end of your pen (Hero pens have a nice image on their ends), your thumb (once the wax has cooled), or even a coin (dimes and pennies are the perfect sizes).