u/Aboricand

Okay okay I may have encouraged a friendly challenge with u/Abalonefountainpen… and yes, I fully accept responsibility (RE: oh no! I actually have to do it myself 😮).

I'm happy to report that this session was a huge success. Nothing stuck to the stamp, every seal released cleanly from the marble, and I wasn't fighting the process. I was just making seals.

At this point, I feel like I've got the fundamentals down. Now it's all about refining the little details and chasing the artistic vision in my head.

I'm experimenting with recreating the look of a glass octopus using glitter and clear wax. It's not quite where I want it to be yet, but I can finally see the path forward, and that's a really great feeling.

Overall, I'm genuinely thrilled with today's results. It's amazing looking back at where I started just a short time ago. Now it's less about "Can I do this?" and more about "How good can I make it?"

Now, unfortunately, I have to do that pesky 9-to-5 thing for a few days before I can dive back in.

Practice continues, and I'm really happy.

I try to keep my seals in the order I make them so it's easier to see how things evolve throughout a session.

I do have one question, though. On the very first seal (bottom right), there's a break in the border. Since it was a pour-and-scrape, I would have expected the wax to fill the entire edge. What's odd is that the second seal has a perfectly clean border, so I don't think anything was blocking it. Has anyone run into this before? Any idea what might have caused it?

Also, yes, I can confirm that once the stamp gets too warm, things start getting sticky. For me, two good impressions seem to be the limit before I need to shelve the stamp. The middle two were my attempt to salvage things (unsuccessfully 😅), and the bottom two were mostly just cleaning excess wax out of the stamp.

Overall, I'm really happy with the first two. I'm definitely still using that first seal, I just can't figure out why the border came out the way it did.

I'm trying really hard not to get ahead of myself... but apparently I skipped "crawl" and went straight to "let's try a pour-and-scrape on brand-new stamps."

These octopus (and I think one is technically a kraken?) stamps were unboxed recently, and I was way too excited not to try them. The smaller octopus is proving to be a bit tricky. The fine details don't always come through the way I'd like. While the larger one is a messy beast, but I still think it looks pretty cool. I've also included one that stuck pretty badly.

Overall, I'm happy with today's progress.

(Also... tell me I'm not the only one who's looked at a slightly damaged seal and thought, "I wonder if I can fix this with just a tiny bit of glue...")

A while back I promised I wouldn't only post my successes. I wanted to share the learning process too.

Well... today was one of those days.

I can't quite put my finger on what went wrong, but I was using some brand-new stamps (literally unboxed them last night) and trying a few new techniques at the same time. Let's just say the results were... educational.

I had planned to make a fourth seal, but after wrestling with the two beach scene stamps, I decided it was probably best to call it a day.

So here's today's progress: not perfect, not a disaster, just part of the learning process.

Also, whoever designed the one beach scene stamp... we need to have a conversation. It was an absolute pain to clean out, and I'm honestly a little intimidated to give it another go.

Here's hoping tomorrow goes a little smoother 🙏🏿

I've never been entirely sure... does NSD stand for New Stamp Day or New Seal Day?

Either way, I guess today's post counts as both.

(I am just playing with molds and glitter don't mind me)

I'm definitely getting more consistent with pour and scrape. I still have some small issues to work through, and I'm sure they're temperature-related, so it's just a matter of more practice.

The dragon gave me a little trouble—the wax stuck just above the wing—but honestly, I'm still happy with how it turned out and I'm absolutely going to use it.

Day two of learning pour and scrape, and honestly... I feel like I'm getting worse.

I've made some improvements since yesterday. My palette knives are staying properly heated now, and I've been watching tutorial videos like my life depends on it. I'm trying to learn from every attempt.

That said, I'm a little discouraged.

I wasn't expecting to nail it on the first or even the tenth try, but I also wasn't expecting to feel like I'm going backward. I know this is a craft, I know it takes practice, and I'm absolutely not giving up. I'm just having one of those "why isn't this clicking?" moments.

One question I haven't really seen discussed is wax quality.

Right now I'm intentionally reusing the wax from old wax sticks by cutting them into smaller pieces. Is it possible that the wax itself is making pour and scrape more difficult, or is that generally not a factor? Most of the discussions and videos I've found don't mention the wax quality itself, so I'm curious if I'm chasing the wrong problem.

Unfortunately, I can't easily test with my bead wax right now because it's in a different location, so I figured I'd ask people with more experience before I keep troubleshooting the wrong thing.

I'm determined to make this work. My social media feeds are full of gorgeous pour-and-scrape videos, and I know those results come from practice. I just need a little reassurance that I'm working on the right things, and if I'm not, I'd love to know what you would focus on first.

Thanks again for all the help. This community has already taught me a ton, and I really appreciate everyone who's taken the time to answer my questions.

First off, thank you all for the kind comments on my last post! A lot of you mentioned the dragon stamp, and it's one of my favorites too. I'd love to get some advice on it because it's also one of the stamps I've struggled with the most.

I've never really done multi-color pours before, and after looking more closely at the product photos, I'm trying to understand how people are actually achieving results like the advertised image.

To me, it looks like this stamp would require at least five separate pours to get all the colors in the right places. Is that actually how you would approach it?

A few observations:

• The fine details (especially the rose) almost never show up cleanly
• The dragon often comes out partially undefined or inconsistent
• If the stamp is even slightly warm, the wax gets sticky and the impression degrades, even when I’m trying to cool it (ice bag, short intervals, etc.)

So I have a few process questions:

1. Cooling time:
   • If you’re doing layered or multi-step seals, how long are you actually letting the stamp cool between impressions to maintain detail? Am I just not waiting long enough?
2. Multiple pours / excess wax:
   • If you’re building a seal in multiple pours, what do you do with excess wax when colors overlap or don’t fit cleanly? Are you trimming, remelting, or planning it differently from the start?
3. Marble board transfer:
   • I’m switching to using a marble board for making seals before transferring them to envelopes. What’s the best way to remove finished seals from marble cleanly without damaging them? (Plastic putty knife, silicone tool, something else?)
4. Attaching to envelope:
   • Once transferred, what’s the best method to secure the seal to the envelope? A tiny bit of glue, double-sided adhesive, or a fresh thin layer of wax?
5. Stamp pressure:
   • Should I actually be pressing down when stamping, or is that something people generally avoid?

I'm wondering if this is simply a very advanced stamp, or if I'm approaching it completely the wrong way. I'd really appreciate hearing how you would tackle a design like this.

Thanks again!

(Wouldn't it be funny if everyone was talking about a different dragon stamp because I definitely have five of them...)

Evening. I just wanted to say thank you. I found this subreddit not too long ago, and after my first post asking for advice, you've all been incredibly helpful.

A little backstory: I started making wax seals purely for fun. Years ago I loved using Hallmark Gold Crown seal stickers, but all the Hallmark stores near me eventually closed. While looking for alternatives, I realized I could just start making actual wax seals, and I've been hooked ever since.

Based on the advice I received here, I picked up a Festool Systainer to organize everything (it's fantastic), and I bought a pair of gardening shears to cut up my wax sticks. You were all right, they work perfectly! I also don't feel guilty anymore about the wax sticks sitting unused now that I can easily turn them into smaller pieces that are much easier to work with.

All of my wax seals end up on greeting cards. We have a very card-heavy family, so every month I'm usually making quite a few of them, and everyone really enjoys the personal touch.

That said, I'd really appreciate some constructive feedback.

These are from my first session after cutting down my wax sticks, so I was still experimenting. I also spent some time figuring out the easiest way to remove the wick. For me, it seemed simplest to melt the wax, pour it, and then pull the wick out afterward.

I also know I was a bit inconsistent with the amount of wax I poured. Right now I'm still eyeballing it, so that's definitely something I'm hoping to improve with more practice.

One other question: when sharing your work, do you prefer seeing the seal by itself, or the finished seal after it's been highlighted with a metallic marker? I'm not sure which is more helpful to show.

I've included a few of my favorite seals from this batch, and I'd genuinely love to hear your thoughts. Both what you think is working and what I could improve.

Thanks again for all the advice. This community has been awesome.