You will need a small mountain of rose petals — the more scented the better. Collect them when the dew has dried. The traditional method was to put the petals a little at a time into a mortar and grind them to a paste. In this day and age you can put them in a blender. Then you need to put the paste in a cast-iron saucepan. It is the reaction of the rose-petal paste with the iron that will make the beads black. Pour in just enough water (or even better, rose water) to cover the paste and gently heat it for about an hour. Don’t let it boil. Allow it to cool then heat for another hour.
Put the paste back into the mortar and grind again. If your patience has run out and your paste is quite thick, you can try making the beads now. For a really top-class job, however, grind the paste a little every day for another week, or even two.
Now for the fun bit. Spread a little rose oil on your hands for extra fragrance and, taking a small amount of the rose-clay, roll it into a bead about twice the size of the bead you want to end up with. Push a large needle through the bead to make a hole (heat the needle if necessary) and string it on to fishing line or florist’s wire. Repeat the process over and over again until you have used up all the rose-clay.
Then hang up the florist’s wire or fishing line so the beads can dry. Turn them every day so they don’t stick. In about two weeks they will have shrunk to half their original size and be ready for finishing.
Take a soft cloth and polish the beads until they look like old ebony. You can then string them on to a necklace in whatever way you like. When worn against the skin they will release the most beautiful captured scent of your roses.
These two recipes are for you to experiment with. Soon you will be making up your own.
Rosemary incense
20 parts dried rosemary leaf powder
1 part saltpetre powder
5 parts essential oil of rosemary
5 parts essential oil of myrrh
Gum arabic as needed
Spicy Welsh incense
3 parts saltpetre
4 parts ground cinnamon
1 part myrrh powder
Gum arabic as needed
Use any essential oils you feel might go well with your chosen herbs and resins. Don’t be afraid to experiment.
Fragrant herbs to choose from
Angelica seeds
Bay leaves ‘Cinnamon Cloves
Juniper leaves
Lavender ,flowers
Marjoram
Orris root
Sandalwood
Star anise Thyme leaves
Resins to add to your herbs
Angelica resin
Balsam of Peru
Benzoin
Camphor Frankincense
Myrrh
Terebinth
Go gently as resins can overwhelm the smell of everything else.
