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In yesterday’s post, I professed my love for wax seals. So today, I’m going to show you how to use them. They can be found at most paper stores and in every design from animals to letters of the alphabet. The design I’ll be using for our demonstration is a butterfly. The wax is also available in a multitude of colors. I like how this silver one has a bit of sparkle to it. This small detail can add a lot to your invites and be done in less than a minute per invitation.
Here’s the wax, stamp, and envelope. Many times the wax will be sold with the stamp.
Step 1: Light the wick and tilt the wax towards your desired spot on the envelope.
In a matter of seconds, wax will begin to drip off.
Keep the wax there until enough has dropped to stamp.
Step 2: Blow out the wick and place the stamp in the center of the hot wax. Hold for a about 10 seconds. That extra dot of wax shouldn’t be there- it got a little messy trying to blow out a hot flame, stamp a envelope, and take a picture all at the same time. 
Step 3: Pull the stamp off, and you have your design (that dot is killing me, I’m so sorry it’s there). So if you’re using this on your invitations, and not the back of your junk mail like I am demonstrating on, the overall effect will be much nicer. I highly suggest practicing a few times before moving to your actual invites!
Share your tips for perfect wax seals in the comments!
lol @ the extra dot of wax. someone is def a perfectionist, maybe one could a placemat over the rest of the envelope to prevent any wax from falling onto the actual invitation. very cool though
I also love wax seals, but they cost extra to mail. For our invites, we used one on the invite. I put a piece of ribbon around the top of the invite and then put the seal in the middle. It was a nice way to carry our fleur de lys theme, in honor of my husband who is from Quebec.
When I use wax seals, I drop more wax, so that around the seal, there’s a little “bubbling up” effect of wax in a circle shape. It feels very Victorian (or something!) to me!
Ooh good demo Miss Espresso! Love it. I’ll have to try this. 
@Amanda: How beautiful, a fleur de lys theme. That’s interesting that yours cost extra- mine don’t when I send them. Maybe with the ribbon too they added to the postage.
@groomzilla: haha your comment made me laugh
@MagPie518: I know just how you feel! I always feel so old fashion when I use them too!
do you have any favorite online stores to buy supplies?
hehe, i would so be the girl with wax splatters all over the back of her invites.
I’m such a spaz.
Great idea.. I might give it a shot.
thanks for the tutorial, miss espresso! how hot is the wax when it drips onto the paper? not hot enough to damage the invite inside, right?
We did wax seals on my high school graduation invites. Definitely the last time I will ever do them. But they are so fun and drippy and you get to use fire! What other wedding project requires the use of fire?
I am sure someone has addressed this next question I am about to ask–> When you mail the invitations- isn’t anyone worried about the seal being cracked during sorting@ the post office? I have done wax seals before and my friends have told me that once in a while like a triangle/chunk is missing from the overall wax design. I don’t know of a way to prevent it other than to put the envelope into something else…. Just a thought. I wasn’t sure how that works out for others….
Does anyone know where I can get specially designed stamps? A friend of mine designed our monogram (an overlay of our initials) and I would really like to use it as a wax seal but don’t know where I can get a stamp replica of the design.
@Eliloza: http://www.oldschoolseals.com makes custom wax seals out of your artwork. They’re located in my college town and I’m in love with their work.
My friend’s husband melted some wax into bottle caps (to get the round shape) and stamped it. Then, after releasing the round stamped wax from the bottle cap (after it had cooled and formed), he heated the bottom part and stuck it to their scroll invite. He found it simpler, less messy and more economical that way (wax was expensive and harder to find in the Philippines years ago).
Awesome tutorial! That’s such a fun, old fashioned idea.
If you were really paranoid about drips, you could make a template out of cardstock that has a hole cut out of it. If you lay it on top of the envelope then drip the wax through, any splatters will go on the template. That’s my perfectionist tip!
@cannotwait: I bought mine at a cute little odds and ends boutique in Carpenteria but I was searching online and found some at Papersource, Amazon and even Ebay. Just type in wax seal or wax stamp
@kumquat: I don’t know the exact degree or anything but I do know that it’s not hot enough to damage the invite inside. It actually starts to cool very quickly- which is why you need to stamp it immediately
@Miss Avocado: True dat! Fire is fun… that doesn’t make me sound like a pyro at all 
@Sparkles: I haven’t had that problem yet but if you’re worried- maybe you could do a trial run and send one to yourself to see how it works out. Or if you just want the look of a wax seal- you can buy stickers that look like wax seals
@Eliloza: I’ve never used them but here’s a site that also does it: http://www.customwaxnseals.com/
@Cha: Very creative!!
@Christy: Great tip Christy!
I used the faux wax that you can buy at Michaels and melt with a hot glue gun. It worked pretty well once i realized that sitting the sealer in ice water made it release from the hot glue/faux wax nicely. Before that, I was tearing my envelopes! ACK
Thanks for sharing, I absolutely love wax seals! We are using our monogram on seals for our programs. We thought about including them on invitations but decided against it. Our programs are folded a certain way and they look really good with the seal keeping them, well, sealed! I bought a ton of gold wax sticks from a scrapbook store here that was closing, so I have way more than enough of ‘em.
WARNING! If you are doing lots of stamps DO NOT LICK the stamp to get it to unstick!! Maybe for the very first one but keep a damp sponge nearby otherwise you’ll end up with a branded tongue! I still have a scar on my leg from where either some hot wax or the hot stamp landed on my leg about 50 envelope (out of 75) sealed.
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Mrs. Espresso, Corona/Big Bear Age and Occupation: 23, Community Services Specialist Fiance's Age and Occupation: 22, Maintenance Technician Engagement Date: December 21, 2007 Wedding Date: October, 2008 Blogging Since: June 25, 2008 Venue: Outside a rustic b&b in Big Bear Lake About Me: I'm a lover of all things good: coffee, music, travel, rain, and of course- my handsome fiance! I'm a full believer in the "Life is Short," mantra - and therefore, eat lots of dark chocolate. I'm a Geographer by degree and nerd by choice. I cook to the sound of French and Portuguese music even though I speak neither. I love road trips, camping, hiking, and capturing life through the lens of my camera. Take me to Anthropologie and I may never leave. I'm a sucker for pretty packaging, bargain finds, and old movies. Mr. Espresso and I are high school sweethearts and I am so blessed to be this amazing man's future wife.
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