Rose Beads
First thing to do is collect the rose petals in a
brown paper bag so they don't get crushed. Optimum
time is in the morning just after the dew has
dried. I guess early evening wouldn't hurt either
but I don't know about that. You can use petals
that have dropped on the ground, i.e. after a rose
has 'exploded' as my kids say, but don't use any
brown edges of the petals. I just snip these off
with scissors.
Second, The way I used to do this was with motar
and pestle but now I use a mini chopper. Take the
rose petals, you can mix colors as they are all
going to turn to a dark shade of ebony anyway and
you can mix scents too it that are compatible,
and put them in the chopper dish and chop until
very fine. Take out that bunch and put in a glass
jar and continue chopping the rest of the petals
a dish full at a time. Put them all in a glass
jar and cover loosely.
Third, the next day you can chop more fresh or
slightly fresh petals then add them to what is
in the jar and process the whole bunch again.
Continue doing this for the next few days until
you get at least a cup of rose petal paste. Then
start the process over with a new jar. This takes
a lot of paste.
Fourth, once you've got the paste to the
consistancy of playdough take a small amount and
roll it in your hands to make a ball the size of
a green pea. For this step you will also need a
large sheet of cardboard, I cut up sides of
cartons from grocery store, and some rustproof
straight pins. Once you have made the 'pea' stick
a straight pin through it and stick this into the
cardboard but don't let the bead touch the
cardboard.
Fifth, put them in an out of the way place as they
have to dry until hard. This time varies depending
on the amount of humidity in the air but we have
AC in the summer so it is usually no longer than 3
or 4 days for me.
Sixth, once they have dried polish them with a
soft lintfree cloth, actualy I have found that
baby diapers work well, until they have a
lustrous shine. They will be dark, depending on
the color of the petals some are very black and
some are a little shade of black but I have
always mixed my Duets, (very pink) Don Juans,
(very red), and some smelly yellow ones that I
don't remember the name of.
Lastly, I use beading thread and a small eyed
needle and string them in long enough strands
to go over a head, as I make them for different
people, knot the thread well, put a small dab
of hot glue on the knot and you are off and
running. Every once in a while I polish them up
with another rub with a cloth, perhaps once or
twice a year, and when you wear these in the
summer months the fragrance of roses is pretty
strong, not like being doused with perfume but
you can tell they are there.
My girlfriend's grandmother got some made by her
mother when she was a girl of 7 or 8, she is now
92, and you can still smell the fragrance of the
roses. A wonderful side benefit is that as you
are making the paste your kitchen will smell
like roses for most of the day until you cook
something with a strong odor.
Submitted by Kacey Levesque
Planting For Crafting III
Leaf Prints and Patterns:
A bunch of leaves
Newspaper
Construction paper
Poster paint
Saucer and water
Paintbrush
Pencil
Mix paint and a little water keeping as dry as
possible. Paint either the smooth or rough side
of a leaf with paint depending on the affect you
want. Turn he leaf over putting the painted side
on newspaper. Pat down firmly. Put another sheet
of newspaper on top of that one. Press down
firmly. Carefully remove the top newspaper and
inspect your print. After practising a few times
on newspaper try on construction paper, using the
same technique.
Ladybugs:
Smooth pebbles
Poster paints
Felt tip markers
Varnish
Brush
Clean smooth stones with soap and water. Allow to
dry completely. Draw the design of a lady bug on
he top of one stone. Then paint the whole rock
red. Add black dots with the felt tip marker for
the eyes and circles on the lady bugs back. Once
dry you can varnish it so it is nice and shiny.
Seed Pictures:
Beans, peas, grains
Paper
Glue
Toothpick
Clear varnish
Brush
Pencil
Cardboard
Draw out a design on the piece of cardboard. Kids
love to draw faces! Place a little glue on the
cardboard around the design you have drawn. Gently
place the seeds in the glue. Keep adding glue as
necessary as well as seeds to complete your
picture. Do not move until dry. You can then paint
with varnish to preserve.
Twig mobile:
Strong but light twig with branches
Thread or twine
Scissors
Tape
Pine cones, flower heads, seed pods,
or items from the garden
Clear glue
Simply attach items tieing from the twig to the
chosen item. You can either glue or tape them
depending on the weight. Hang each at different
levels on different branches of the twig.
