Reddit mentions: The best craft adhesive waxing

I've started playing around with wax seals using a variety of different methods, and here are some results from today. I used this wax kit (600 wax beads, a melting/mixing spoon, and 3 tea lights for $15 on Amazon) and this sealing kit (6 seals and a handle for $19 on Amazon).

The spoon that comes with the kit is garbage in that you are likely to break it during cleaning after your first session. I don't appear to be the only one who experienced this, judging from reviews. The wax is decent: it was somewhat rubbery after cooling, which makes it well-suited for mailing. (Some waxes harden too stiffly to survive the sorting machines used by the postal service. That said, it can be peeled off paper without too much trouble. Thus, it's nice for looks and will likely make it through the mail, but don't depend on it for security and make sure it's protected if you mail it.

The sealing kit is very nice. It's cheaper on Ali Express if you don't mind the wild west of overseas ordering, but I wanted something quickly and will order more seal tips ($1-$6 each) in a while. One thing I noticed about these seals (compared to the ones you might find in the wedding section of Michael's) is that the seal patterns were cut much deeper. I was concerned that they would be too coarse, but it really brought out the detail and now I think the seals from Michael's are too fine. One way this manifested itself was when I was testing different wax bead counts. The "sweet spot" is 3-4 beads, depending on the seal. You can get away with only 2, but rather than looking like a mistake, the seal's design ended up getting filled out with the wax, yielding kind of a cool effect: the pattern extended a little beyond the circle of wax, which now appeared almost like a popout backdrop. This was repeatable. Fun stuff!

After the wax cooled, I went over the surface details with a paint pen. I had good luck with Sakura Pen-touch paint markers in 1.0 mm, but you can use whatever your local stores stock. At Walmart, for example, that's either Painters or Sharpie. I do NOT recommend Sharpie. The quality of their paint is poor, leaving you with results that are oily and transparent unless you use a lot. Painters pens are decent but are much more susceptible to leaking and making a mess than Sakura, and aren't really much cheaper if you buy a set or have a local art supply store that carries Sakura.

Sakura Pentouch paint markers are available in fine (1.0mm) and medium (1.8mm but often sold as 2.0mm), in a wide range of colors: copper, black, white, red, yellow, green, blue, and purple, and kits are available for gold/silver/copper and black/white/red/yellow/green/blue/purple. I don't know if both kits are available in 2.0mm as I only bought them in 1.0mm.

Note that the rubbery wax's surface didn't like to pick up the paint at first. I ended up with either too little or too much. This can likely be solved with patience: lay down a little paint, let it dry to act as a primer, then lay down a little more. Don't be impatient like I did or you'll end up with too much paint and a messy finish.

Some other options for wax sealing include wax candles (with wicks) that you can light and drip, wax sticks (no wicks) that are melted using another candle, torch, or flame, and round wax/glue sticks designed to be put through a low-temp glue gun. I've tried all types, and here is my take:

• Wax candles are the easiest to set up and use, but can be the messiest. Easy-ish to mix colors if you have hand dexterity. These are harder to find as supple/malleable wax, and if you do, it's more expensive.
  
• Wax sticks are just as messy as the sticks but lack a wick so are slightly more difficult to use but less likely to turn black with soot. Supple/malleable wax can be found under several brands, including some carried by Goulet Pens, but they're somewhat expensive.
  
• Glue gun sticks are the easiest to do large, bulk quantities, but can be boring. Again, supple/malleable wax can be found but are more expensive.
  
• Wax pellets take the longest to set up, and the clean-up takes longer since you have to wipe down a spoon. However, it can yield the nicest results, particularly if you like mixing colors. The kit I bought was pretty cheap for the amount of wax, yet was surprisingly soft and I'm confident it can go through the mail without a problem, other than possible tear-off.
  
  Wax sealing is a fun addition to card/letter-writing, doesn't have to be expensive, and can really make whatever you're sending pop. I hope this post was interesting, and that it encourages you to try out wax sealing! :-)

Some feedback about tipping paper wallets.

Value is in the eye of the beholder, the reverie of the tip need to value it to keep it. one way to ascertain if the tip will be valued is:

> U: Can I pay with BCH?

> S: No I wish.

> U: Do you have a Bitcoin Cash Wallet?

> S: No.

> U: what you you think about Bitcoin? I can give you an extra tip in BCH?

> S: I'd love to get some but its too complicated.

this conversation can go 100 different ways.

If they don't think it has value ask them if they have herd about it, and if you gave them some now, would they hold onto it and see if it increase in value.

I always ask if I can pay first, if there is interest I ascertain the level of understanding and enthusiasm and offer them an additional tip in BCH. (If I don't think it will be valued I don't give an extra BCH tip) when I do tip I give a double tip to create a positive experiences and tell them to save the BCH tip.

___

Now to get someone to hold onto the wallet it must look valuable, shitty paper wallets get thrown out with the postal fliers. paper wallets with hologram tamper proof stickers seem more valuable and important. I think they make a difference. I've just recently designed a paper wallet that folds and is sealed with a wax seal someone should seal these kits onopenbazaar with a custom stamp.

In my experiences to propagate BCH the paper wallet should be a work of art. solving the technical issue is probably the biggest task, but making it valued by the recipient is the most important.

Okay, cool!

If you have pierced ears, you might like these dragon earrings https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01IB9MRMU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_-8WACbBJEM1WK

If you like puzzles, you might appreciate either this wizard riding a dragon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XKXWJJF/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_AiXACb1X0J2R0 or this Thomas Kincaid Alice in Wonderland https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KJEF5MY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_DkXACbVJSCXYY (these are on my “Puzzles” wishlist)

If you’re interested in wax seals (you mentioned stationary, so maybe?), this one looks like a dragon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076CC35WH/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_RpXACbGB05XR3

I’m not sure if you would like the books on my wishlist; my taste is a little weird haha. But! Since you like fantasy novels, maybe you would appreciate this Lord of the Rings door mat https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00I7T9RTQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_agXACbP4CYH9D

One more! This is a complete shot in the dark; has absolutely nothing to do with any of the interests you listed. I just think this is super cool and want to show it to people! And maybe you’ll like it!

This is a clock made out of a vinyl record, with the design of a steam punk owl! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XK8N672/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_ZmXACb60Q1ZVK

Okay, so that was admittedly more than a couple haha. I hope some of them inspired you! Thanks for the contest!

Ok, let's hope the reddit gods let me format this properly on the first try.

It took me a total of 2 weekends to do this. One with my MOH making the pocket folds and gluing on the gold mats. A second to glue the invitations, insert the cards, and do the belly bands and wax seals.

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Pocket Folds

• Recollections Signature Shimmer Paper in 12x12 -- $0.69/sheet but we bought them during a 40% off sale. I forget what color I got but it's the black shimmery one usually at the end of the aisle
  
  
• Sample Pocketfold from CardsandPockets.com
  
  
• Edge Punch Stamp
  
  
• Tombow permanent and temporary glue This glue actually worked VERY well and apparently can be dried and then removable or you can glue wet an it is permanent. WARNING: it is very permanent. I used exactly 2 tubes for 75 invitations.
  
  I ordered a pocketfold sample from cardsandpockets.com and my MOH unfolded it along the glue lines to make a template. Then we traced it (backwards) onto the back of the shimmer paper. You're supposed to use a paper scorer but she used a butter knife and a ruler to score the folds on the pocket folds. Once they were folded I stamped the edge of the smaller side of the pocket fold. About 10 pockets in we realized they would look better if we stamped the inside pocket too, so we started tracing straight across the inside pocket instead of in a V shape.
  
  The most difficult part of this process (unless you're me and don't want to be trusted with drawing and folding straight lines) was that the 12x12 paper was JUST too small to have enough paper for the outside of the pocket to have a fold in it. I'm not sure I explained that well but basically you need to glue in 2 small pieces of paper so that your pocket can be an envelope and not just a flap of paper. So my MOH had cut out a ton of skinny chevron-shaped pieces of paper from the pocketfold scraps. Finally we glued the chevron pieces onto the flap and onto the card.
  
  If you've done everything right, the middle panel measures 5x7, the right panel is 4x7, and the left panel is 3x7. The 4x7 side is where the pocket is, and your cards should be 3.5" wide. Your border punch will go on the 3" side
  
  -----
  
  For the gold matting I used 12x12 open stock glitter paper from Michael's located in the same aisle as the shimmer paper. They have tons of different glitter colors and I think the one I used was champagne. These are $1.99 each but you get 4 mats (4 7/8" x 6 7/8") out of each 12x12 sheet. When you do them right you wind up with these 5" gold squares that seem like a waste to throw out but we never found any use for them. You could probably make these 4 7/8" x 7" but they need to be slightly skinnier than the 5x7 mat otherwise they won't fold properly.
  
  I placed glue in the corner and glue them into the middle of the mat.
  
  --------
  
  After we did that we sat them under text books overnight so they would flatten out nicely.
  
  -----
  
  INVITATION DESIGN!
  
  My childhood friend and awesome artist, Alyssa Bermudez, designed the invitations. I'd seen a few samples I liked and she has recently gotten into making invitation sets, so I asked her to do ours. She was so incredibly accommodating to my pickiness but was also really on target with what we wanted.
  
  If this violates the sub's rules I AM SO SORRY let me know and I will take out this plug for her but she did our set for free and I would like to thank her with some publicity.
  
  Invitation was printed on 4x6 paper so you could see more of the gold matting
  
  Travel/Registry card on 3.5 x 7 paper
  
  Weekend Events card on 3.5x6.25 paper
  
  RSVP front and back. I went double-sided post card on 3.5x5.5 paper which cut down on costs in 2 places. 1) a postcard stamp is less than a letter stamp. 2) we didn't need envelopes.
  
  I did all of our printing through CardsandPockets.com on Crystal paper. You could save money printing yourself but I didn't trust myself to cut down paper or print properly so it was worth paying for those to be done. Their proofs were $5 a piece and I could have gone without a proof for all but the invites but still worth it. ALSO they sent me like 20 more of each print than I ordered so order the exact number you need, there will be plenty of extras.
  
  -----
  
  Envelopes I also did through cards and pockets. I ordered their sand envelopes in A7 and paid for return address printing. They send you a proof of that via email. My MOH did all of the calligraphy in a sharpie which turned out better than any of the ink we tried and went faster than ink and pen calligraphy.
  
  ---
  
  Belly Bands and Gold Seals
  
  
• Recollections Signature Shimmer Paper in 12x12 I think we bought white
  
  
• Outop Vintage Retro Wooden Alphabet Letter Initial Wax Classic Sealing Wax Seal Stamp (T)
  
  
• Shappy 10 Pieces Sealing Wax Sticks Flexible Glue Gun Wax for Retro Vintage Wax Seal Stamp and Letter (Gold)
  
  
• Glue gun that will only ever be used for wax glue sticks
  
  For the belly bands I used some more of the Michael's open stock shimmer paper. I used a big paper cutter at work and made 1"x12" strips. The only problem is that the wax seal is wider than 1" so it would have sealed the belly band to the envelope and I didn't want the pocketfold being ripped after all of that work. So here's how I did the seals:
  
  I got a flat piece of aluminum foil to place the hot wax on. The stamp sat in a cup filled with ice, I dried it off on a rag, and then stamped the hot wax. The ice on the stamp made the wax cool faster and kept each subsequent stamp from being tacky. I saw this on YouTube and it made the biggest difference because the metal stamp did get really warm. Then I placed the aluminum foil in the freezer and was able to peel of the seals no problem.
  
  Each belly band got folded and glued down, and then a seal was glued onto the belly band with the same Tombow glue.

Artsy for life!!!

I'm a jewelry maker and sculptor. I work in polymer clay primarily. You can see some of my work here if you're interested. :)

I started this because I wanted to keep my hands busy and I wanted to try and use my artistic skill to help provide for my family.

I'm in a bit of a creative rut at the moment. Stress from various real life issues (mostly family stuff) and Etsy being a pain to deal with has really taken the wind out of my sails and is really throwing off my creative groove. I'd love to have some new supplies to relight my fire to start creating again.
I chose a few options:

These rhinestones are really different than the round ones I usually use and I think I could do some dynamic pieces with them. The colors I like most are ruby, peach, blue zircon, and amethyst. I love to add some sparkle to most of my work.

This bat cutter and this shell mold would both allow me to explore some new shape and design options. The bat would become Gothic/vampire necklaces and the shells would be mermaid inspired.

And this octopus wax seal is $21 and change but I REALLY want it to seal my jewelry boxes or letters with as I make a lot of octopus inspired pieces and it is my favorite animal.

Thank you for this contest. :)

A few disclaimers/additional info:

The full story is in the imgur album, for anyone who likes the narrative approach :)

My version of the deck does have some differences from the version presented in the DMG; I made a few aesthetic changes due to the art on the cards and what I felt was fitting for my campaign. For example, I felt the "Stars" card was more fitting as the Wish-granting card.

If any other DMs out there would like to replicate this, I used the Universal Golden Tarot deck for my cards. As you can see, the art is absolutely beautiful and the gold leaf really makes the cards pop when a player draws. I used the High Arcana portion of the deck, and I put together a list here of which Tarot cards correlate to the official DoMT. Please feel free to use this, or come up with your own versions!

For the Deeds associated with my "Throne" card, I used a variety pack of premade parchment paper from Staples. The official seals were made using wrapping ribbon and a traditional wax seal. You cannot use standard candle wax for this, use a basic kit like this one and then whatever sort of stamp you would like. I used a Crown from smartbargain on Amazon.

It was a huge joy to bring this to my table, and the reaction from the player in question really just made my week. Moments like these make DMing so worth-while.

Thanks!

Vellum

Navy envelopes
The envelopes were high quality. They are very matte and tended to show fingerprints, so I got in the habit of washing my hands before handling. Problem was solved!

Wax stamp
This was a custom order, the seller was great in accommodating the changes I wanted.

First wax purchased
This wax was really easy to use and foolproof. The gold wasn’t very metallic or pretty though. When I ran out I ordered a different brand and the color was absolutely gorgeous. Kind of bummed I didn’t use from the beginning. I will say that it did smudge more easily and there was more of a learning curve.

Hope this helps!

It took me about 3 days, to read the whole series. Lol. My favorite characters would have to be Luna Lovegood and Sirius Black!

I love how much of a free spirit Luna is. And I love how Sirius is so mysterious. I'm sad he dies. And I would have loved to see more of Luna.

This is the most awesome Harry Potter fan accessory!

Mischief managed!

It is a pretty easy thing. You just get yourself one of those wax sticks with a candle wick inside. Then you light it just like a candle, let the wax on the envelope, press your stamp into the still somewhat soft wax (it is usually softer than it looks) and tadaaaaaaaah: A wax seal.

There are two kinds of sealing wax: Flexible and brittle. No idea though how you would call the brittle one on Amazon. Flexible is good and easy to transport (even via mail, I sometimes send personal letters sealed for the fun) but you need the more brittle one for creating that moment of "breaking the seal".

More to read at the /r/WaxSealers information link: History and How to

Edit: An amazing job with the invitation OP. Looks really nice!

The easiest thing is to get parchment style printer paper, like this:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01L2OMUHS/

Then just use a simple word processing program, like Microsoft Word, or Google Docs, to create the handout you want, using any kind of script font (just not one that is hard to see) to create whatever letter/handout you want.

Then you can stain it a bit with coffee, burn the edges a bit with a lighter, and/or crumble it up into a ball then unfold it a few times, to make it look old.

I also go this:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07F3XG9VW

and some wax so I could do real wax seals on envelopes and things.

These make great thematic hand outs. You could use the same paper to print out your modifications to races/classes, just skip the stuff to make it look dirty/old.

Anastasia, with the Argetlahm!

Wild Arms 3 is similarly amazing, I played both games near release!

I WILL HELP YOU GET THIS STAMP.

Here's the Amazon link.

And here's the image to send to them. That was six hours in GIMP with the Japanese cover. XD

I have a few awesome teen gift ideas, I will post some links to for you. Im sort of know as giver of random awesome things to my neice and nephews. If you can give me some ideas of what he likes I can try to track down more specific things.

These will all be through amazon because its easiest but they can be found elsewhere.

Wacky Waving Inflatable Tube Guy (RP Minis) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0762462876/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_T6EXDbE0R87ZK

Ravensburger Disney Villainous Strategy Board Game for Age 10 & Up - 2019 Toty Game of The Year Award Winner https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DLGD9K6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_x7EXDb180973A

Acrylic Dragon Ball Set Z Shenron Action Figure Statue with 7pcs 3.5cm balls and stand https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0793S17T5/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_68EXDb2DE13K5

WOWOSS Hogwarts Magic School Badge Wax Seal Stamp Kit Retro Wax Sealing Set Party Invitation Stamps https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07LBN1722/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_h.EXDbXJESRC3

Cyxus Blue Light Blocking Glasses for Computer Use, women/men UV Filter Eyewear, Square Eyeglasses Frame, Anti EyeStrain Headache(8082T01, Lightweight Black) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01GNO3G48/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_HbFXDbZP51PSZ

FH and I are doing them right now! Yeah they are a pain... But it ties in so well with what we are doing "theme wise" I think. Not to mention it is cool as hell! There is a small learning curve at first but you get the hang of it pretty fast!

We just bought a letter seal stamp and waxes off amazon! I think the stamp was $10? Maybe? And the wax sticks, for 15, were like $4.

Let me know if you have any questions!

Stamp I purchased


wax!

Do you send out a lot of cards or letters? I saw this fancy shmancy wax seal set and thought it'd be a cool touch to the mail that I send to my friends. I just think it'd be fun to get a piece of mail with a wax seal on it. lol

Haha, the peer pressure is real =)!!
We got a set of multicoloured wax beads from amazon and mixed 2-3 colours for each seal. Some of the colour-combos turned out nicer than others ;). We ordered from German amazon, but it was something very similar to this: https://www.amazon.ca/Luropa-Rainbow-Colorful-Sealing-Melting/dp/B077VNCYXJ/. It was actually a lot of fun to work on the seals =)!!

I use one of these and like it fine. Wax kit.

The spoon is small but it's the perfect amount for the stamp when almost full. Just wipe out while still warm and any scorching and wax comes right off.

It was pretty easy actually. Found some parchment style envelopes and letters and a Hogwarts seal wax kit. Both on amazon. Then just wrote up the invitations along with custom character sheets.

​

If you ever end up doing this I recommend practicing fixing the seals with the other colored wax that's included first before sealing the actual envelopes, and get more red wax if you're making out more than 8-9 letters!

Parchment Kit:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07B4V21TZ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Sealing wax set:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07LBN1722/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I use a wax seal for every letter or card I write. I have never had issues with them in the mail and they are fun to do. I use these wax seal sticks. You can light them like a birthday candle and just drip a little on the envelope. I have never used the spoon method but it looks a little messy to me. I recommend you get a stamp with deep impressions. If the pattern isn't carved in very deep it doesn't show up very well in the wax.

Thanks!! I got the wax beads that you melt in the little spoon. It was 230 wax pieces that came with a little metal spoon and two tea lights for $12 linked here

I bought two packs for 70 ish invites but could have maybe gotten away with 1 but two was more comfortable.

Just a cheap one on Amazon (linky). If they're going to be cheaply made handles, I figured I might as well find one that's cheap. Paying $25 for a crudely made part isn't my idea of a wise expenditure, even though I do like the screw-type system that J Herbin's brass seals have. Maybe I'll find someone who can turn wood and get them to make one for me someday.

This.

Also, if I can find it, the original version of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, since she's never read the original.

Barring permanent seals with epoxy or even machine threading the bore for a screw with a safety head to be inserted (this will only make it more interesting to me, YMMV) when I think of the industry solutions the words "warranty voiding seal" come to mind.

A respectable looking anti tamper sticker with warnings should do. You could also hide them with normal looking stickers or decals with equipment or manufacturer names, warnings, or even "intel inside" type of crap. The sneakiest I can think of is to put a sticker with service information which is all but guaranteed to be left unscathed by the user.

Older equipment used service tags attached with wire to a wax seal that looked pretty intimidating to the young umibozu (and a "what a hassle" deterrent to the older one)