Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Wax Seals

BooBoo Bear got it into his head that he needed to make a wax seal for a letter he was planning to write. He ate a couple of Baby Bell mini-cheeses so he could use the wax covers for his project. He had already wadded up the wax and stuck it on a metal skewer when he came and asked me if he could borrow my wedding ring. I, naturally, asked "why", and he explained his project. I, naturally, said "no, you can't use my wedding ring for that, but let's see what else we can use." I found a lapel pin in my jewelry box and a lighter on the mantel, he grabbed some construction paper, and we got started.


Wad of wax on skewer, and lapel pin.
Wax melting technique.

Set lapel pin into soft wax.


A completed seal.


Brother Bear's seal using my bracelet.
..
We tried a variety of pressing materials, including LEGOs, and found that metal is best. It takes a fairly steady hand to get a nice pool of melted wax, and it's best to let it set for about 15 seconds before pressing. We let the pin set in the wax for about 10 seconds before removing.
That's about it. BooBoo proves on a daily basis to be somewhat of a challenge to keep up with. That little noggin of his must be a really interesting place to live...

3 comments:

  1. Now that is a cool thing to do!

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  2. Kez, I used to worry about not being "creative" enough to homeschool. Now, all I gotta do is hang on and roll with it. The kids come up with the creative part on their own :)

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  3. Oh yeah, my kids drag me into the most amazing adventures...!

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