Naturally Scented Rose Beads

I am preparing to make some more rose beads.
I was stoked to see that Mandy Aftel mentions them in her book Essence and Alchemy. Here is what she says about them on pages 196-197 "On feast days, early Christian priests wore garlands of rosebuds or beads made from rose petals, ground and blended with fixatives into an aromatic paste, then rolled into balls and pierced with a needle. The circular form of the rosary suggested eternity and eternal devotion. And perhaps because the rose is associated with the blood of Christ and the purity of the Virgin Mary, the custom caught on. Or maybe it was simply that, warmed in the hands during prayer, the beads released a mesmerizing scent. As Baudelaire recognised, "The rosary is a medium, a vehicle; it is prayer put at everybody's disposal."

I make mine entirely from rose petals, orris root and rose hydrosol. I won't give *my* secret for making them away. Mine turn out dark maroon and are very hard. I have only 2 dozen left of the last batch I made and nearly a year later they smell rosier than ever. I have heard that in Victorian times rose bead necklaces were handed down from mother to daughter, they retained their scent for many decades.
The photo at top left is a rose bead medallion I made, I hand carved the flower design. Some of the beads I will roll in frankincense powder and some I will leave plain. The frankincense dries to a resinous seal and imparts a balsamic scent to the finished beads. I use rose hydrosol but spring water would be fine. I sometimes string tonka beans along side the beads. When I wear mine they touch off my skin and the heat from my body releases the scent.
The image of the necklace that is shown above is one that I made, the rose beads are intermingled with rose quartz beads and tonka beans. I use 100% pure silk to thread them.

I make necklaces to order which is a slow laborious process, but what I use the beads for is to decorate my purchase tags, here I'll show you...see, tied on to the corner of the miniature origami book is a little rose bead.

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