Make Your Own Sealing Wax for that Old-Timey Postal Security

There’s one thing everyone needs when they fall in love AND during the zombie apocalypse: safe, secure communication. Whether your undead-filled love story is set in modern times or Jane Austen’s England, a hand written letter is only as secure as the wax it’s sealed with. But who has time to run to the stationery store when there’s an undead horde outside? Make your own sealing wax with these instructions and crayons in all your favorite colors.

You will need:

• Crayons
• Craft scissors (to cut crayons)
• Craft wicks (waxed undyed cotton string will work in a pinch)
• Baking-safe silicone mold ($2 at Ikea, thought you can use any silicon mold long enough for a wick)
• Cookie/baking sheet (optional, makes the mold easier to handle)
• Oven and oven mitts
• Toothpick

Instructions

1. Choose your crayons carefully! For this mold 3 crayons with a few shavings of accent colors was just the right amount. You can experiment with color blending – just remember that when applied to an envelope, more of the colors will blur together.

2. Remove the paper from your crayons and cut them into small pieces – roughly 1/8 of an inch – and mix the pieces together.

3. If you choose to add shavings of an accent color, now is the time! For these examples I added silver shavings to the blue wax and gold shavings to the green wax for a hint of sparkle.

4. Pour wax into the mold, filling each mold about halfway up. For molds like these that are closely arranged, I recommend filling only every-other mold with wax. This will help you extract your finished sealing wax without breaking it.

5. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit. Place your filled mold on the baking sheet and leave in the oven for 10 minutes, or until wax is fully liquid. Remove from oven and allow the mold to cool on a clean, level area.

6. Once the half-filled molds have cooled and are solid, place a wick in the center of each. This wick should run the full-length of the mold in a straight line, like a candle on its side. Once the wick is in place, carefully pour the remaining un-melted wax on top of it into the mold, making sure to keep the wick in place.

7. Return the mold to the oven at 250 degrees Fahrenheit, and allow the new wax to melt on top of the wick. After the wax is fully liquid, remove the mold from the oven. Place the mold in a clean, level area to cool, and use a toothpick to adjust the position of the wicks if necessary.

8. Allow the molds to cool for 1-2 hours, then gently push the hardened sealing wax out of the molds. Remove the metal bases from the wicks, and trim any excess wax along the edges (with some crayon brands it has a whitish appearance).

Your sealing was is now ready to use! To apply it to your letter, light the wick and hold the sealing wax sideways, allowing the melted drops of wax to fall on the page. You can use it plain or stamp it with an emblem to give it an extra  personal touch! Once you’ve used the mold for crafting, you won’t want to use it for food again. But you can use it to make another batch of sealing wax whenever you need a refill or have broken-up crayons laying around.