The Old Fashioned Touch: Envelope Seals

What are envelope seals?  In this day of email, text messaging and instant messaging, real mail can be something of an anomaly, a special surprise in the mail. If that mail is from a friend or family member, complete with an old fashioned envelope seal, it can be even more spectacular. While these kinds of things are normally reserved for special and formal occasions such as weddings and graduations, there are no rules saying that you cannot use them for quick notes or letters.

In the old days, every envelope was sealed with a small bit of wax. There were no adhesive strips on them during those days, so to keep the contents inside you melted a little bit of wax, adding a design that could be a symbol or initial to the wax before it set. The wax could be colored or not, depending on who you were or who was the intended recipient.

After the newly designed envelopes came about, however, the wax seals fell out of favor. Mail has decreased steadily over the years- with most people relying on other means of communication. It is faster and cheaper, for instance, to email invitations than it is to send them through the mail. But for certain events, especially events that are going to be more formal or may involve a bunch of people who do not have email, real mail may be the only solution. The envelope seal is just a way to dress up the envelopes and make them look even more dramatic.

You can use special kits for your own seals or you can make your own. All that you need is a candle of your favorite color and something to press into it for the design before it cools. The advantage of the candles is not only getting to use your own choice of colors but also the scent that you can add to your mail. That is something that people might not expect when they get a letter from you. You can use things such as a button or a raised ring to make a design when you are creating your seal.

Wedding invitations may use wax seals that are the same color as the wedding colors. The same can be done for graduation invitations and announcements too - the seal should be the school colors and can include the insignia as well. Sometimes you can order these pre-made and stuck to little sheets. You just transfer them to the back of the envelope as you need. Though they are not something you think of every day, envelope seals are an interesting thing for special occasions.