How to make rosary beads
December 9, 2008 by Cyndi Lavin
Filed under Beading, Other Bead & Jewelry Sites, Tutorials & Techniques
Guest author: Kathy Mary
Website: http://kathymary.multiply.com
To make beads for a rosary:
Gather the roses one dry day and chop the petals very finely. Put them in a saucepan and barely cover with water. Heat for about an hour but do not let the mixture boil. Repeat this process for three days and if necessary add more water. The deep black beads made from rose petals are made this rich color by warming in a rusty pan (I.E.Iron) It is important never to let the mixture boil but each day to warm it to a moderate heat. Make the beads by working the pulp with the fingers into balls. When thoroughly well worked and the fairly dry press on to a bodkin to make the holes in the centres of the beads. Until they are perfectly dry the beads have to be moved frequently on the bodkin or they will be difficult to remove without breaking them. Held for a few moments in a warm hand these heads give out a pleasing fragrance.
19th. century recipe
—from Rose recipes from Olden times
Eleanour Sinclair Rohde
Some notes: I think I saw another recipe in my life because this one doesn’t mention the water being rose water (available at Middle Eastern & Far East Indian stores in USA.) or rolling the beads in Rose Attar or oil at the end of the process of making them. Rose Attar is the most precious rose oil there is & very expensive. In a whole life I’ve only owned one teaspoon of it!
WOW! That sounds like it would be an interesting process to make those beads. I make have to plant some rose bushes in the spring just so I can try this.
Do you know if different colored rose petals will produce different colored beads? Or do they all just turn out dark?
I have very limited experience with them, Amanda, but I think all the ones I’ve seen have been dark unless they were dyed.
I only know that if you use an iron pan you will get black beads. Iron reacts chemically with the mixture. I wonder what copper would do? Green, perhaps?
I would suggest experimenting with food dyes, that is what I would do. I found a web page about the process and she had pale brown, nearly camel colored beads; she also used a food processor to shred the roses petals before cooking them. (her site is one of the links)
Just a quick list of sites I just googled:
http://www.thebeadsite.com/BMM-ROSE.htm
http://www.covingtoninnovations.com/cathy/rosebeads/
http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~mukluk/rose.html
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/rose-petal-beads.html
http://craftastica.blogspot.com/2008/01/rose-petal-bead-rosary.html
I’ve owned the book I quoted for decades. I’ve been practicing herbalism since my teens. Sometimes, I do a lot sometimes I just make teas and extracts – meat rubs, etc. matters on my time and mood.
A great deal of this kind of herbalism is experimentation, don’t be afraid of it. Working with things, doing real research and using your imagination will sooner or later get you the results you want. Herbalism is art, craft and science in one neat practice.
If you want to buy roses particularly for herbalism and scent the Ancient line of Damask roses is a perfect choice. Some rose sellers specialize in ancient, or old roses. No, I don’t own any.. not a great gardener, maybe someday. I am not sure about prices, sorry, friends.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Rose
Just like our vegetables, it’s so interesting how roses have changed over the decades. Hybrid Teas are pretty, but their faint odor is not to my taste at all. Plus, it’s kind of hard to grow them well in the frozen tundra of New England
I love the heirloom varieties much more, including their fragrance.
Yes, Heirlooms! perfect word, Cyndi! So much that is modern, even in food, is created to look good but not a treat for any other sense. The old roses may not be magnificent visually but their scent is said to be deep, long lasting and profound.
When I was going through menopause I gave up the garden because I didn’t have the energy, now that I am on the other side, well, I am thinking it is time again to open the soil up and make the effort.
I am wondering. Has anyone heard of making beads out of whole dried petals and then softening them with oil then rolling the petals into beads? I cannot find anything that discribes this process.
I want to make a special keepsake for a family member who heard this is they way it is done. I want to be sure I do not disapoint.
Kat, I’ve looked all over the internet, and all the information I find talks about cooking them. I’m sorry that I can’t be more help.