How to Wax Seal, Tips and Ideas for beginners with Angela Tombari
Hello crafty friends! Angela Tombari here, from I Need Confetti. In today’s post, I’m showcasing some creative wax seal styles to inspire you to use wax seals in your projects.
Wax sealing is so beautiful and adds a touch of elegance to any project. It might be intimidating at the beginning but, with a little practice and a few tips, you will seal like a pro!
First thing first, I would like to talk about how to set up the working surface. If you purchased the Spellbinders Wax Seal Starter Kit, you have almost everything you need to get started. You will also need a candle, to melt the wax beads. Plus, I’d suggest keeping baby wipes or a damp cloth handy to clean the spoon during the process.
As you probably know, the candle must be placed under the spoon holder and the spoon leaning on top. The candle will melt the wax inside the spoon. The process takes about 3-4 minutes to melt 3 beads, less once the spoon is hot.
Once the wax has melted in the spoon, pour it onto your project or onto the silicon mat and gently press the stamp in the center of the wax blob.
Leave the stamp still in place from 15 to 20 seconds. Then, remove it and the magic will happen!
Talking about the wax seal, you would probably wonder how many beads you need to use to stamp. In general, I would say that 4 beads are the right amount to obtain a beautiful wax seal stamp, especially at the beginning.
Here’s an example. I used 4 beads of Gold and, before pressing the stamp in the wax, I incorporate two leaves.
However, depending on the wax seal style you want to obtain, whether is a perfectly round or a more artistic shape, you will need to vary the amount of wax beads. For a traditional wax seal look, I would say 3 beads are enough.
As you can see in the example here, there’s a little difference but still visible.
If you prefer a wax seal that stands out, I would suggest increasing the number of beads from one to two, like in the example below.
The result will be a fun chunky look.
Talking about shapes instead, what you need to vary in this case is not the amount of beads, but rather the way you pour the wax. For a perfectly round shape, wax should be poured without moving the spoon, so that the wax falls down in the same spot. Moreover, the stamp should be placed in the center of the poured wax, pressing evenly to avoid wax from squeezing on one side. It could sound difficult but, with a little practice, it is easy to obtain a beautifully round wax seal, I promise!
Here, I used the wax seal to secure the twine with beads wrapped around the envelope.
That said, I think that a wax seal with an irregular border is the one that comes closest to traditional wax seals of the past.
Here, I poured the wax on the ribbon that wrap the letter, without thinking to much and enjoying the process.
If you are looking for fun and not perfection, there are other pretty styles you might appreciate. One of my preferred is the wonky style.
To reach this irregular wax seal border, you do have to move the spoon while pouring the wax. Usually, I pour the wax in a triangle shape and then, press the stamp in the center.
Here is another example with the beautiful Thanks wax seal stamper and Pastel Aqua wax.
Another fun idea is a seamless wax seal. There is no border around the stamped image and you achieve it with just a tiny amount of wax, let’s say about two beads.
To create the marbled effect of the wax, I melted together different color beads. I poured down the wax in a circular motion and last, pressed the stamper. The result was this awesome mix of colors.
The seamless technique works very well with designed images, like the Forever Rose Stamp. You can also cut the image itself and use it as an embellishment. Here is an example where I included the Rose seal onto a Christmas ball.
I first stamped the rose seal onto the silicon mat provided in the kit. Then, when it cooled down, I cut the rose with a precision knife, as close as possible to the borders. Last, I glued the rose on the decoration with a drop of melted wax and voilà, a beautiful and unique Christmas gift for my friend!
Spellbinders Supplies:
Other supplies
Watercolor card stock, gold cardstock, vellum, gold and silver twine, ribbons, teal beads.
Thank you so much for stopping by Spellbinders blog. I hope you liked my wax seal ideas and feel inspired to include wax seals into your future projects.
Love, Angela
One Comment
Debbie Pohl
I just received my wax melt things from SMS, but she didn’t have the candle holder so I will have to improvise. I going to play with it today. Thank you for some great ideas.