Tips & Tricks For Using Wax Seals

Find out the best beginner tips, tricks, and hacks for using wax seals on envelopes and gifts, along with my favorite budget-friendly products to start with.

I have always wanted to be that person that uses wax seals on holiday cards. It just seems like the perfect little “extra” to show my card recipients that I really care, but at the same time looks like so much fun to make. Every single year I made plans to stock up on supplies and use wax seals but I never got around to it. But this year I finally got to try them and I absolutely fell in love. So today I want to share my tips for getting started with wax seals, what to buy as a beginner, and some hacks I found along the way.

Getting Started With Wax Seals

As a beginner, you’re probably dying to load up on all kinds of seal stamps so you have a huge variety to play with. I want to encourage you to dial that enthusiasm back a bit and start small. If you’re planning on making holiday card seals, you can grab a variety pack like this one on Amazon for a few options, but stick with just one variety pack.

I also recommend starting with just one color of wax sticks. If you’re like me, you probably want a rainbow of colors to choose from, but swapping wax colors is not like changing a marker color. You have to clean your spoon or heat gun before every color swap, so it takes a lot of effort. I recommend grabbing a silver or gold color since they go with every type of design or holiday.

I thought I would be flip-flopping through all the stamp designs and wax colors, but in the heat of the moment, I was cranking out 30+ cards so it was faster for me to just use the same stamp and one color.

If you plan on using wax seal stamps for other holidays, it’s better to wait until you need than rather than loading up all at once. And keep an eye out for sales at Hobby Lobby, because their Paper Source wax seal line gets discounted by 50% very often.

Wax Seal Tips & Hacks For Beginners

Use A Low Temperature Glue Gun for big projects like holiday cards, invitations, or gift wrapping. Yes, a glue gun is harder to clean, but melting wax in that tiny spoon or dripping a candle would take you forever. You can use any standard size low temp glue gun with wax sticks.

Add a little more wax than you think you need. This was the biggest hurdle for me. I kept thinking I had added enough wax, but my design ended up imprinting kind of lopsided. Plus it looks extra cool when there’s a big bulgy ring around your stamp design. Do a few practice runs before you start your project to get a feel for how much you need.

Seal envelopes with double stick tape before applying wax seals. Licking that glue strip doesn’t cut it for a wax seal project. The heat from the wax can cause the glue to lose its stickiness and your envelope may open back up. Plus the mail carrier won’t take an envelope that is sealed only with wax. The flap has to be properly sealed all the way around.

Check the envelope weight before mailing. A US Forever Stamp covers any piece of mail weighing up to one ounce. Wax seals add some extra weight to a package, and when paired with a thick cardstock greeting card or enclosed gift card, you may go over the weight limit. That can result in the mail being sent back to you or the recipient being charged a fee for delivery. If you’re over an ounce in weight, you’ll need to add extra postage.

My Favorite Wax Seal Supplies For Beginners

1. Christmas Wax Stamp Set
2. Low Temp Glue Gun
3. Wax Spoon Furnace
4. Champagne Gold Wax Sticks
5. Sealing Wax Bead Starter Set
6. Dandelion Wax Stamp Set

Want to see how I addressed the envelopes above? I used my Cricut machine and Cricut’s iOS SnapMat feature. Here’s the full tutorial.