Crafts in the Name of the Rose

by Diana Rajchel

Perhaps it’s a bit cheesy, but my favorite flower is the rose. Everything about it delights me, from the flower’s history to its fragrance. Learning ways to extend the life of this enjoyment led me from easy-to-make beauty products to arts and crafts. The following crafts are all suggestions for ways to continue the joy of the rose—whether it’s the scent, the texture, or simply a reminder of a beautiful day. Not all are simple, but all are well worth the effort if you love roses.

Rose Beads

Most Catholics know about the rosary, a beaded string with a crucifix that is both an expression of faith and a tool of prayer. The earliest of these prayer chains came from beads made of rose petals, crafted by devoted nuns. The original process for making the beads was arduous—after the petals were dried, nuns ground the petals into clay by hand. Now, thankfully, we have blenders and stovetops to ease the process. You will need:

1 cup rose petals

Pot

Frying pan (optional)

Strainer

Blender

Wooden spoon

Cheese cloth or coffee filter

Rose fragrance oil if you wish for the beads to retain the rose scent (optional)

Toothpicks

Parchment paper or wax paper

Cookie sheet

Metal cooling rack in grid form, slightly smaller than the cookie sheet

White glue

Small paintbrush

Place the rose petals in a pot and pour enough water over them to cover them. Gently simmer over low heat until the petals appear translucent. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature. Once cooled, strain the roses (you may wish to set aside the resulting tea for home beauty or fragrance products) and transfer the petals to the blender. Blend into a paste, adding water if needed. The resulting mixture will appear runny. To form beads, it needs a clay-like consistency. You can speed the drying process a small amount by lightly frying the rose petal mix over low heat to encourage evaporation. Even after this, it can still take about a day for enough water to dissipate from the rose petal mix.

When ready to leave the mix to dry, place a coffee filter over your strainer, and place the strainer inside the cooled pan used to boil rose petals. Pour the mixture over the filter. Leave to dry overnight. The remaining water should have dripped to the bottom. The mixture should feel and behave like clay.

Rose petals lose their fragrance in the cooking process—if you want fragrant beads, at this point you may wish to add a few drops of a rose-scented oil or spray.

Preheat your oven to the lowest setting (usually 200°F).

Set the drying rack on top of the cookie sheet and lay the parchment paper on top of the rack.

Also, grab a dish towel for your hands, as this process gets messy. Take a dime-size amount of clay and roll it into a ball. If it can’t hold its shape, it needs longer to dry. Slide this ball onto the toothpick. Place the toothpick with the shaped bead onto the rack, piercing the parchment paper. Repeat, placing beads about two or three grid squares apart.

Place the filled rack in your oven at the lowest heat setting and allow to dry for four to six hours. When you remove the beads, they may still feel soft. You can reshape them slightly so that they are rounder or more the desired shape. Allow them to air dry overnight, under a fan if possible.

The new beads can still melt in water, so it’s good practice to add an element of water resistance. When firm to the touch and still on the toothpick, paint each bead with white glue. Standard Elmer’s glue dries clear. You may also want to mix a few drops of scented oil into the glue for extra fragrance. When finished, leave the beads to dry overnight again.

When the rose beads are fully dry, gently remove them from the toothpicks. If a hole feels too small, you can poke around with the toothpick to widen the pathway for any string. They are ready for your next bead project!

Rose Petal Potpourri Vacuum Powder

Aromatherapy methods such as candles and incense have long since usurped potpourri and sachets. Even so, none of them do what a good powder can do: eliminate bad odors while leaving a nice one behind. You can enjoy the lovely fragrance of rose petals and more while removing that smelly dust and dirt. Once you stir your ingredients, all you need do is shake it on the carpet or couch and vacuum it along with the debris. Both your carpet and your vacuum end up smelling better because of it! You will need:

1 cup dried rose petals

Coffee grinder

Glass bowl

½ cup cornstarch or arrowroot powder

½ cup baking soda

Essential oil (optional)

Old spice jar with a shaker top

Make sure your coffee grinder is clean and dry. Pack in as many dried rose petals as possible; grind them into a fine powder. You may need to dump out the petals and regrind a few times periodically, adding further petals. When powdered, pour the rose petal powder in the glass bowl and mix thoroughly with cornstarch and baking soda. If desired, add up to 5 drops of your favorite essential oil. Do not exceed 5 drops—you do not want oil stains on your carpet! Scoop or funnel the mixture into the old spice jar and close the lid tight. Make sure you label the jar. When ready to use, sprinkle this on carpets and furniture before vacuuming, or even toss a pinch on your mattress when you change the sheets on your bed.

Pressing Flowers

The following crafts combine the art of pressed flowers, the art of decoupage, and the love of books into one. Whether you simply want to beautify a reading experience—or you need a way to prove the copies of Sandman comics your sibling always borrows belong to you—this simple craft adds a bit of Victorian delight to one of the most pleasurable of introvert experiences.

To press the roses, strip the petals from the rose. Place a wax sheet inside the book and spread the rose petals evenly over the page in one layer. Place a second wax sheet on top of the petals and close the book. You can do this over several pages. While usually the weight of the book is enough to press the petals flat, you may wish to stack a few books on top of the first. Leave the book in a cool, dry place for a week. At the end of the week, you can remove the sheets and flowers. It’s recommended you use the pressing book as storage until ready to apply the flowers in the next medium.

Pressed Flower Book Plates

2 × 2-inch or larger square adhesive blank labels

Calligraphy pen or marker

Dried pressed rose petals

Scissors or pen knife

To make the book plates, write your book dedication on the label using the calligraphy pen or marker. Place the rose petals around the text. You may want to trace the border with stick glue to hold them in place. Apply the packing tape over top of the label—you may need to use one or two strips. When you’re ready to place the book plate in your book, take scissors or the pen knife and cut around the edges of the packing tape. Peel the label and stick it inside your book!

Pressed Flower Bookmarks

Dried pressed rose petals

Blank index cards cut in half longways

Packing tape

Scissors or a pen knife

Arrange a few of the flattened rose petals on the cardstock strips. Measure out the packing tape so that it extends about ¼ inch beyond the edge of the index card. Place the tape over top of the petals and run your fingers down the length of the card to further flatten the petals.

Carefully fold the tape back over the back edges of the bookmark and use the scissors or pen knife to trim away any excess.

Preserved Roses

Often people want to save wedding bouquets or other flowers as mementos of special occasions. You can do more than just make a rose to keep in a box; preserved roses make wonderful Christmas ornaments, additions to door wreaths, or focal points in shadow boxes.

Traditionally, flowers are air-dried and then sprayed with a preservative or dipped in wax. In modern times, glycerin and silica gel are also popular preserving options. A lesser known option—because it is trickier—is crystalizing roses by suspending the flowers in a borax solution.

Of these options, the traditional wax preservation is probably the best. You do not need to use petroleum-made paraffin wax—any white-colored wax can work as a rose preservative, and soy wax or beeswax is recommended. You will need the following:

Parchment paper

Cookie sheet

Double boiler fashioned from a deep pot and a coffee can

Wax

Candy thermometer

Fresh or dried roses (fresh is easiest)

Lay the parchment paper over the cookie sheet and set them next to the double boiler on your stove.

Pour water in the base pot and place the wax in the coffee can. Clip the candy thermometer in the wax. Melt enough wax to cover the entire flower bloom when dipped. Do not allow the wax temperature to exceed 150°F. Dip the bloom into the wax and immediately remove it; allow the wax to drip back into the wax pot. Gently lay the rose on the parchment paper and move on to the next flower. When finished, allow the waxed flowers to dry and cool. Then, holding by the blossom (or using tongs if you prefer), dip the stem end into the wax. You may need to trim the stems to fit the pot. When finished, lay the rose back on the parchment paper and allow to dry.

When cooled and ready, pack them in boxes in between cotton batting and wax paper until ready for display.

A dozen roses are a dozen opportunities to make more beauty. Whether you want to grind up the petals and scatter them on your carpets or dip them in wax and give them away as keepsakes, you now have both a generous gift of love—and new methods of continuing to share that love.

[contents]