Making Genuine Rose Petal Clay Beads

  My paternal great-grandmother taught me to make these rose clay beads when I was very small. 

She taught me the old ways to make them, along with some other things specific to rose clay. Her son had a huge rose garden just for the clay making. 

It is an ancient art that was close to lost, but now that there is internet, I see a few people who almost know the complete recipe. The way I was shown, the clay must be made from fresh rose petals, picked at certain times of the moon, and times of the day…there are energetic reasons for this.

Each petal is carefully removed and trimmed

 and then there is a process of grinding them, simmering them in a cast iron pot, with a few other ingredients.

 

 This part goes for 3 days to a week…  

Day three, grinding some more...

And back into the pot to simmer another few days. At this point our whole house smells like roses...

 Day 4...yes, more grinding, and simmering, grinding and simmering... 

 Later on day 4...still simmering and grinding, until you forget there is anything else in the world. Slowly, the petals become smooth, and darker. At this point they become a very deep burgundy... 

 Day 5...Now is the last day of simmering and grinding. I know it has reached this stage by the texture and colour. It has become what appears to be very smooth, and almost black.
Now is time to let it reduce...stirring every 15 minutes for the next 24 hours or so, until it becomes thick enough to roll (without letting it burn) 

 Day 6 or 7...The last two days, I don't get much sleep...because when it has reduced enough to become clay, it is time to begin rolling. If it is not rolled right away, it will dry out. 

 Day 6 or 7...To make the beads, I first roll out clay logs...then cut with a thread...and roll into beads. Once the beads firm up a little, then I roll them a second time and let them firm up a bit more.
For the last stage of working the clay, I string them onto wires, and put them on a drying rack. There they will stay until completely dried...about 3 days to a week. 

Once the beads are dry, I take them off the wires and sort them by mm sizes.
At this point, I can drill out the holes larger if a customer needs this for a specific project...They can be sanded smooth, or left in their natural state.
I use .040 wire to dry the beads, so they will fit most standard wire used in jewelry, and will slide over thread easily. 

 Sometimes I make longer beads... 

Or decorative beads...

In our traditions, the Rose Petal Beads are considered a Fertility bead. They are used for Dreaming, and many other things...

 A little History...for hundreds of years, back to before Christianity became spread throughout the world, these beads and other things were made. The beads were given or sold to Christian nuns, who then made Rosary Bead necklaces from them. The word Rosary actually has an old world meaning ‘from the rose garden’...My great-grandmother, who taught me to make these beads carried on this tradition of selling the beads to Catholic nuns... 

Myself, I still sometimes make and sell the beads, but I do not usually make Rosaries. I have made the beads for many, but the Rosary in the photos is one of the very few I have made. I only made it for a friend's gift to his mother.

One of the amazing things about genuine Rose Petal Beads,  is that if they are worn against the skin, or held in the hands, the warmth from the skin brings out the scent of roses for many years.   

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed...:)