Hogwart's Letter and Sealing Wax Recipe

For 6 years I have been meaning to revisit Hogwart's Acceptance Letters.  I wanted to improve on the old design I had created here.  It would involve making my own envelopes as well as improving my wax seal.

It's strange that the version of the letter MinaLima sells as a replica print is different than the one pictured in the film.  It is suppose to be handwritten script, which is even different from the writing in the book.  :/  I went with the MinaLima version, since it was easiest to replicate when they use mostly existing graphic elements for their work.  I found a free font online that someone had made, but it is a bit pixelated looking, and missing some characters, like the hyphen.  So I attempted to trace and replace the letters and add in the missing ones.  I was also able to find a decent picture of the envelope front and back to get the logo and some of the address letters from.  I will try to get some pics of the letter soon.

But, for now,  I wanted to share the envelope and sealing wax.

I found a recipe for making DIY sealing wax melting together crayons and hot glue.  That's it.  Just these two in the right quantities works great! I then use a little gold Rub n' Buff to highlight it.

So, I made myself a sealing station using some things I found 2nd hand.  Found an cast iron candle holder (I think).  The tea light sitting in it puts off just the right amount of heat to melt, but not overcook the wax in the pots.  The pots were something I already had, but never found a use for til now.  The seals themselves are made from polymer clay, for now.  I glued them to champagne corks with E-6000 to make it easier to hold.  It helps to rub with a little cooking oil or water before pressing in the wax, to prevent it from sticking.

I melted the wax/glue into pots and poured that into tiny molds to make small melts that measure about a teaspoon, which is more than enough to make a seal.  This makes it much easier to use than the stick I originally made using tin foil as a mold.  The stick tended to catch fire and fall on the paper, singeing it.  To seal an envelope, I remelt the wax melts in a spoon over the candle (takes about 2-4 minutes) and pour onto the envelope.  I can also dip small bottles into the jars to seal the bottles.  

This is such a great use for all the old broken crayons the daughter brings home at the end of the school year.  And also use up the large gluesticks I have accumulated, but don't have a gun for.