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I am writing to a few people, the circumstances aren't important, but I'd like the letters to be classy and old fashioned.

I already have relatively calligraphic handwriting, but I'd like advice on 3 things.

Some relatively nice, readily available paper. Not just bog standard printer paper.

Some equally nice envelopes.

Wax seals.


Merci.

Hobbycraft stores (and online) do a very wide range of papers, envelopes and probably wax seals as well.

Wax seals:
Melt a candle, let it drip, jam your ring into the burning dripping hot wax.

No bingo

beetlejuiceecis wrote:No bingo

I don't want to Bingo that…

Try your local friendly art store. And by friendly I mean non-chain, since they'll probably be more likely to order stuff in for you

Most stationary shops will have a good quality cartridge paper in stock.

General tips - use a line guide (duh...), careful not to smudge, and consider typing it out or doing a rough copy first because if you're thinking as you write you'll probably mess it up at some point and have waste a load of time being careful!

most art shops should do sealing wax and seals. Another good place to look for interesting seals is occult shops, they often do medieval or gothic style ones.

If you want nice paper and envelopes, just go to any stationers. A lot of art shops will sell suitable paper too, but you should be able to get something perfectly workable in Rymans or Smiths. You can also try pen or craft shops.

Wax seals are a much more difficult topic. First, you need to get a seal. I assume you don't want one specially designed for you, so you'll either have to find a perfect off-the-shelf design, or go for an initial. You can also use a rubber stamp, in which case finding a nice design might be a bit easier.

The tougher question is the wax itself. I've tried using sticks of the stuff and, frankly, it's a pain in the backside. It never seems to melt right, drips in the wrong places and by the time you've enough to pop the seal in, the first drops have already gone cold and brittle. You're supposed to stir it, but what a palaver.

You can get wafers of sealing wax in some craft shops, and these just need to be heated, then stuck in place, before applying a seal (instructions here: http://www.hathormoon.co.uk/classic-sea ... s-66-p.asp). These are also sometimes called sealing wax dots.

Also, it's often a good idea to use some kind of pigment ink on the seal. You can either use it to make a contrast with the wax colour (for example, gold ink on burgundy wax), or the same colour (in which case, it's largely to get help ensure the seal doesn't stick in the wax).

Oh, and after all that, some numpty in the Post Office will probably drop a parcel on it.

Part-Timer wrote:Oh, and after all that, some numpty in the Post Office will probably drop a parcel on it.

Not "probably". Definitely.

I'm not bitter.

They're being hand delivered by yours truly, so no worries there!

Thanks for all the advice.

I used to work in a stationary shop. I would recommend 120g cream laid paper. I think it looks very nice. If you use dark brown ink, this works well with the cream paper.
Alternatively use ivory paper. But irovy laid can look grey. Go for a light shade. Use black or blue ink on this for the best appearance.
You can get envelopes in the same style. Cream laid envelopes look far classier than plain white envelopes.