Sealing Wax Embellishments

Last year, on a whim, I bought a sealing wax hot glue-style gun, a stamp kit, and the wax sealing sticks and promptly put them in s drawer and forgot about them. I pulled them out for a project that I’ll be sharing with you on Thursday, and then became obsessed with finding all kinds of ways to use them other than sealing envelopes. I thought making sealing wax embellishments for holiday cards and tags was a fun way to use them! I added glitter and it took it to an entirely new level.

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I really like the kind of wax sticks that go in the gun over the kind that you light a wick on and let it drip on the paper. First of all, I tried it, and I almost lit my studio on fire. I was watching the wax drip and I had an OH CRAP moment, it’s ON FIRE.  That was the end of that kind for me! You can find the supplies here.

 

I tried to make them directly on my marble slab, which worked ok, and then in a more mass produced style on aluminum foil, which worked well because it’s meant to take heat, and you can easily peel your sealing wax embellishments off.

I tried baker’s paper (because it’s meant to take heat), but after the whole “fire” thing I switched to aluminum foil. My first few looked like jellyfish, and then they got better with practice.

 

The idea is to add about the nickle-size bit of melted wax and then press directly in the center so you have a perfect little circular rim around your seal.

I tried adding glitter and a fun little sprig of pine before pressing the seal, and after pressing the seal, and it gave two totally different effects which was fun.

The one downside to the glue gun style, is once you’ve picked a color, you’re committed to it, and when you are ready to switch colors, you get this mix of the two colors that comes out for a bit. I personally thought it was kind of fun and interesting to have the swirled pattern, and it’s better than a house fire. I am experimenting with different fun ways to use these in crafting and decor. I’ll share one way with you on Thursday!