Die cutting · Tutorial · Wax Seals

18 Tips and Tricks for Making Wax Seals | Spellbinders

18 Tips and Tricks for Making Cards with Wax Seals.

My Husband gave me Spellbinders Wax Seal Starter Kit for Christmas, and I have been having SO much fun! I also received a Platinum 6 Die Cutting Machine and I have to say I loved the results!

In today’s post, I used three beautiful new wax bead colors: Pistachio, Velvet Rose and Ink.

Tutorial + 18 Tips and Tricks for Making Wax Seals:

  • With a Sharpie marker, I put a dot on my seal so it was easy to keep track of where the top of the design is.
  • I read that it helps reduce soot if you trim your tea candle wick, so I did this.
  • I put 4 beads in the warming spoon and it took 2 minutes to melt.
  • I poured the wax and found it is easy to make a circle pattern, but I do like seals that aren’t perfectly round.
  • Don’t press the seal into the wax, just gently position and allow gravity to work.
  • After experimenting, I found that if I wanted a thicker, more button like seal you should pour the wax and then wait 15-30 seconds before gently dropping the seal into the wax. The card with the pink seal was done this way.
  • If you like a thinner seal with a higher rim then place the seal immediately after pouring.
  • I found if I used just my thumb and pinky or middle finger that I was better able to center the seal more precisely. 
  • I left the seal in the wax anywhere from 15 to 90 seconds. The time didn’t seem to matter and no wax was ever left on the seal itself.
  • I also found it helps to move your pours around on the silicone mat so you don’t get warm spots on your work surface.
  • I also let my seal cool in between pours.
  • If you don’t like a seal, you can remelt it.
  • You can mix colors for a lovely marbled look. I really love the blue and green combination that I made which is shown in the upper left of the first photo. I also love blue and gold together and you can see two with that combination in the upper right corner on the blue card.
  • You can add flakes, glitter or pearls to the melted wax.
  • I used a paper towel to clean the spoon when changing wax colors.
  • I used a Decocolor marker on some of my seals (see the card with the green seal). I have Gold but wish I had bought silver too. Just lightly go over the raised ridges.
  • I experimented using Posca Pens too. They work, but I did like the result of the Decocolor markers better. The navy wax seal was highlighted with a silver Posca.
  • I love the Sealed Twine Die for a perfect twine look every time!
Quick and Easy Die Cut Card with Custom Handmade Wax Seal.

Each seal is so beautiful and unique!

Floral card with blue and purple flowers and Ink Navy blue Wax Seal Element.

Once, my seals were made, I got out two favorite die sets – Sealed Wildflower, and Autumn Sealed Sprigs – and started creating my floral designs. I also used the Sealed Twine die on all of my cards.

How to use wax seals on handmade greeting cards.

For two of my cards I embossed a background panel for added interest.

I’ve enjoyed my Wax Seal Kit so much that I signed up for the Wax Seal of the Month Kit.

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

cardmaking · Die cutting · papercrafting

Spellbinders New Serenade of Autumn | Colorful Die Cut Cards

Colorful Die Cut Autumn Cards using Spellbinders Serenade of Autumn Collection

Hello papercrafters, I am back with some lovely seasonal die-cut cards for Fall! I chose some traditional autumn colors and then added beautiful pops of blue. Spellbinders just released this fun collection called Autumn Serenade and I used the Autumn Sealed Sprigs dies along with the coordinating Chipboard Stickers and pre-printed Die Cut Shapes for my cards. I found the stickers and shapes to be real time savers when assembling my cards.

I just got back from a trip to Colorado, and I found the changing folliage was so inspirational for these projects.

Using Pre-Printed Stickers and Die Cut Shapes for Quicker DIY Cards

For my first card I used the Sprigs die kit and then added a sentiment plus heart die-cuts to finish my card. This Die Cut Shapes Kit includes 138 pre-printed pieces with lots of sentiments, botanicals, pumpkins, butterflies etc.

Seasonal Thinking of You Card with die cut leaves, Wheat and flowers.

For card #2 I used this showy Chipboard Hello Banner Sticker to complete my fall bouquet. The Chipboard set includes 27 chipboard stickers pre-printed with a variety of sentiments, gold embellishments, butterflies, birds, pumpkins, leaves and flowers. I love this little package and will be using it on future projects.

This Sealed Sprigs Collection reminds me of one of my 2022 Favorite Die Sets called Floral Reflections and you can see that Blog Post HERE.

Using Pre-printed Chipboard stickers for Quick Seasonal die cut cards.

My Process:

  • I started by selecting colors for my two cards. I used colored paper from two different sampler packs (listed below).
  • Next, I die cut my leaves and botanicals. I played around with layouts and then used the Press and Seal Method to keep my arrangement in place as I flipped it over and added foam adhessive squares to the back.
  • I knew I wanted a banner across the “crossed stems” on each card. The HELLO is a lovely chipboard sticker and the “Thinking of You” is a preprinted die cut. The gold accents add a nice bit of shine to the cards.

Products Used:

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