Thread: "Wax" Seals, two different ways.

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In another post careypiper asked how to do a wax seal with regular candle wax. So here is the how to, with out the expense.
There are two ways of doing it.
1)Wax is delicate, and good for believability, but just make sure you don't handle it too much or store it in a hot place.
Use Wax from a decent quality beeswax candle, anything with odd fillers will turn blackish and not make for a good looking seal (the fillers will burn).
Go buy your self a wood or plastic-backed stamp that fits your theme (no spongy types), or if your really picky on what you want to have as the seal, make it your self from a block of linoleum (You can find info on dong this online, and the supplies in an art shop like Blicks).
Remember! Simple is better!
I will run with the assumption of a circular seal. Light up your candle, and let it burn a while as you get out your other supplies ready to go. Grab your self a decent size piece of aluminum foil or wax paper and place or tape on a flat surface, do not make your seal on regular paper or card stock as the paper will absorb the wax. Have your stamp at the ready! After the candle is good and melt-y, drip a good sized amount of wax on the foil, after you are satisfied with the size of the wax seal to be, put your candle in the holder with one hand and place your stamp in the wax with the other, speed is VERY, VERY, VERY important here, the more you let the wax cool, the more distortion you might get, especially if you ignored my "simple is better" advice. Do not violently jam the stamp down splattering wax everywhere, set it in the wax and don't move it until it cools a bit, I'd say 30 seconds to a minute, but its not an exact science. After the wax has cooled completely, peel the foil or wax paper from the seal and affix to your surface, using cold adhesives. It is wax, and if stored in a hot environment, or displayed by candles it will melt.

2) Hot Glue!
It can be done. Hot glue seals are easier to deal with, and can be placed and stored just about anywhere. The method is the same as above, with the same warnings, but use metal or VERY VERY smooth wooden stamps, and ONLY remove the stamp from the glue when the glue is cool and lightly flexible. When cool one can use anything from Rub N' Buff to spray paints to color the seal, and it can be affixed with more hot glue if necessary. Make sure that the seal has a dull shine for believability.

Some tips:
The color is the only thing many people will notice in a haunt, thus why simple is better, heck one could use a dime or a flat piece of metal and get away with it.
If you want the designs to be noticed, age by jamming black craft paint in to the crevices of the seal and wipe away immediately to simulate grime.
Broken seals should not be just thrown out, they can be used with broken jars or old papers to add creep factor.

Enjoy!

Thanks strublay! I have a large amount of paper mache to get done first (I had this great idea to make four of them and have been putting it off for to long) but I'm looking forward to trying both techniques next weekend Will post some pictures then, thanks again.

No prob, I hope it works out.

I tried both the Hot Glue (not my friend) and the Wax, the wax worked out prefect. I use the wax paper, an ordinary white tapered candle and for the stamp I covered a cork with wax paper and stuck a butterfly tie-tack in the center (butterflies are a symbol of the soul). Finally a spray of metallic spray paint and a little dab of glue. I'm super happy with how they turned out, thank you strublay.

More info on bottles

I'm very glad it turned out well, They look great!

guess i read the subject title wrong.... glad someone else was able to help you.
Cuz i was thinking Surfboard Wax and trying to figure out how to get the Seal to stay still...
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