QuestionDear Dr. Ari,
My mother passed away recently and a frend of my sister made some necklaces for a few of my sisters. She took roses that were in the bouquets at the funeral home and made some kind of beads from the roses and attached the bead to a kind of metal angel wings. They are beautiful! I got one of them and asked the woman how to make them and she wont tell me. She only said that she "rolled" the roses but said it was a family secret. All the beads are the same size. She has made necklaces, earrings and even rosary beads. I am very crafty and would really love to be able to do this for my friends and other family members. I understand that she is selling her product and doesn't want to lose business, but I am not looking for a business, I would just like to be able to give relatives and friends momories of their own. If you could give me some idea of how to do this it would be GREATLY appreciated. Thank you in advance.
Liz
AnswerHello Liz,
AH! people like that drive me insane! It is a commonly practised art. All you need is some gum tragacanth, or gum arabic, and rose petals, and if you really want it scented, some drops of rose absolute - an essential oil available on line or through health food stores ( aura cacia brand sells a small vial of rose absolute that is worth the investment if you want the scent to last for a period of years, and a bit of plain old oil of sandal or sandalwood, but do get the pure , real natural stuff as the chemical or nature identical stuff is junk).
You simply remove all white parts from the petals and dry them to leathery hardness, not to brown powdery abyss..and then grind them in a food processor or better yet a coffee grinder to powder the petals, mix with the gum tragacanth or if you can't get it, some gum arabic, add in enough water to make it miscible and then add your oils,and about a 1/4 teaspoon of glycerine to the batch of at least a half cup of POWDERED petals. once it holds together when pressed in your fingers, start rolling, then pierce each with a large canvas type sewing needle ( the holes will shrink in drying) place them in a gdry area that has ventilation or a food dehydrator, and try a batch of say 20 beads to ensure they hold together through the drying and don't mold on you. You can store the rest of the mass in the fridge until the experiment phase is done, then proceed if all seems right..
That's the fast way to go about it..I have more detailed methods too.Let me know if this does it for you.: dry petals, whites removed, ground into powder, add in binder in the form of gum tragacanth or arabic, and water, glycerine and the essential oils, roll, pierce and dry then string on a good silk like gudenbrot brand cord, knotting betwixt each bead- you can make the beads any size you like, graduate them, or shape them and then dry..there are many possibilities once the mass holds together, you can also embed things into the stuff- form a pendant like piece and embed the thing, and ensure that some of the mass is used to hold it in place as it dries like a bezel..
happy memories! and let me know if you need more help.
Best regards,Ari
