Written by BCHA professional member and director Krista Poulton, RHT Medical Herbalist
To view entire article with additional information, please visit: http://kristadawnpoulton.com/2017/01/rose-petal-rosary-beads/
The ~ Earth and Bone ~ & ~ Earth and Stone ~ Rosary Series
made with 100% Rose Petals, Rose Quartz and Antler
I love creating jewelry, and when I learned that the traditional rosary was made from 100% rose petals I knew that I would someday make them. I was inspired by my three-year-old niece, whose middle name is Rose, to make her a necklace this Christmas from rose petals and well, it turned into all of my Christmas presents to friends, family and co-workers. If I wasn’t already in love with my career as a herbalist, I would probably quit my day job and just make these beads as the experience and the beauty of these beads are beyond profound.
NOW I know this is a Herbal Blog but what I LOVE about the idea of making rose petal beads is the connection to the rose, to love, whether that is love for yourself, love for your community, love for your partner. It is about embracing love, in its entirety, in its complexity and well sometimes we need to embrace love for ourselves when we are going through hard moments. I am so excited about the idea of carrying the plant energetics with you, whether its a pair of earrings or a necklace, that I am going to make a whole series of these malas, earrings and necklaces for my patients and my community. Next herb on the list to try is Mugwort!
Rosary Bead Recipe
Many people ask me how I created these beads when I tell them they are made from just rose petals. It is so simple but takes time to roll the beads and of course make them into jewelry. My ‘recipe’ makes about 500 beads which took about 3-5 hours to roll (I rolled them too large initially, so had to re-roll them). But each bead is hand-rolled, hand-pierced with a wire and then designed into a piece that is so individual that each bead is worth more with the intention of this practice. And really this is a practice, not just a piece of jewelry.
Ingredients:
Rose Petals & Water ~ really that is all!
To begin you are going to make a paste as below. In my original recipe I pureed the rose petals AFTER cooking for a short period of time on low heat. In the future, I think I will powder the rose petals, add the water to cook down and then simmer to reduce as I think this will be a smoother paste. After pureeing, you are simply cooking down the paste in a cast iron pan until the paste is firm. It took probably 5 hours on very low heat to reduce down to a paste that was hard enough to make into a ball. I would turn it on low when I was home and stir every 1/2 hour or so. The key is very low heat to keep the smell of the rose!
Note: You just need a little bit of water to make the rose into a paste, so there is not really exact quantities with my recipe. The more water you add, the more you have to reduce it to be able to roll into small beads. The more you reduce the more likely the size of the beads will be more ‘true’ to size when rolled BUT they will always shrink. I did a few test beads overnight to see how small the beads would dehydrate to. If they were quite wet (I could squeeze water out of the bead as I pressed), then it would shrink quite a bit and get distorted. I reduced my paste until it was almost ‘charcoal’, and barely any water could be squeezed out of the paste.
Photo Credit: Krista Poulton
NOW how did the rose petal paste turn black?
The cast-iron pan chemically reacts with the acidity of the rose petals and turns the paste black! If you want brownish pink beads, then do not cook in a cast iron. I wanted the black beads, so I went for the cast iron but I have never done it without, so results may vary in color.
Photo Credit: Krista Poulton
After reducing the paste to a specific consistency, I was able to make the paste into a ball after cooling and then individually roll the bead sized. After rolling through a few movies, I then let them air dry overnight or a bit longer (this will depend on the heat of your house). I then pierced them with a wire and let them finish their curing on this. The bead will shrink to half its size, so its important to leave it on the wire (moving it around while its drying carefully) as if you take it off, the hole you made may shrink considerably.
Photo Credit: Krista Poulton
The bead is quite strong, even when squeezed with my fingers, so I am not worried about anything breaking the bead BUT if you get the bead wet over a long period of time (shower or bath) the bead will dissolve as there is nothing ‘glueing’ the bead together. I live in Victoria, BC where it does rain (just a little) and I have no issue with a little bit of moisture from rain.
Also you may have noticed my hands were black from rolling the beads. Once the beads hardened, the colour did not stain my clothes or skin BUT if you got it wet, it may stain clothes. (I never wear white, so I won’t have any issues, but I would be careful with white articles of clothing).
NOW the creation!
I chose to make a 108 bead mala, one with a Rose quartz stone, one with antler (found on my farm, hand-cut by my papa) hence the name “The ~ Earth and Bone ~ & ~ Earth and Stone ~ Series” as well as a few necklaces and earrings with rose quartz. I wear my malas everyday and YES they smell amazing!
Photo Credit: Krista Poulton
Photo Credit: Krista Poulton
About the Author:
Education, medicine-making, and herb growing along with women’s health are strong passions for Krista, and she brings this into a consultation with educational components for patients, an on-site herbal medicine dispensary 50% grown and tinctured almost entirely by Krista Dawn, and offering connections with plants with plant starts and seeds.
She has completed a three-year Herbal Medicine diploma program with Pacific Rim College in Victoria, BC, consisting of over 500 hours of practical clinical training, over 500 hours of biomedical training, and roughly 1000 hours of Therapeutic Herbalism including herbal, supplementation and nutritional training. Additionally she has studied with Nadine Ijaz, learning Traditional Chinese Medicine theory with western herbs along with pulse and tongue diagnosis.
Krista has focused her continuing education within women’s health with herbal mentors such as Aviva Romm, as well as Fertility Symposiums and Women’s Health conferences. Krista had offered over the course of two years a popular women’s health workshop series titled “Moon Goddess – Women’s Knowledge of Menstruation and Ovulation” teaching over 75 women about their menstrual cycles and how to incorporate Herbal Medicine to address common reproductive pathologies. Krista has spoken at the Kootenay Herb Conference in 2016 and will be speaking at the Vancouver Island Herb Gathering in the summer of 2017 on Menstrual Cycle Charting and Herbal Medicine and is planning to offer a combined workshop with her inspiring mentor Bev Maya in the Fall of 2017 at Pacific Rim College..
Krista maintains a professional membership with the BCHA and is actively involved with this organization as a member of the Board of Directors. She is also actively involved in the People’s Apothecary, a community Herbal Medicine garden located in Quadra Village.
Krista currently practices in Victoria, BC with her clinical practice located in Fernwood Square and teaches medicine-making, herbal medicine courses and is a clinical supervisor at Pacific Rim College, an complementary and integrative health college.
