Make rose petal beads

I lived in a rose covered world when I was a kid. Thanks to my mom's mad gardening skills we always had rose bushes bursting with colorful blossoms yielding heavenly smells. I loved the soft feel of the petals when I rubbed them between my fingers and often would spend an entire day in my front yard trying to concoct rose petal perfume from roses and water. Turns out the key ingredient I was missing was vodka. I was desperate to do something with this wonderful flower.

Then, there was my Italian Catholic grandmother who'd make us special rosaries from splendidly fragrant rose petal beads she'd craft from her own rose bushes.

I'd forgotten she'd do this until I stumbled upon this tutorial for making rose petal beads courtesy of Lisa from 5 Orange Potatoes. Now I'm desperate to share this method with my own little girl. Granted, as Lisa notes in her tutorial and I remember from my youth, the beads aren't the most pertty beads I've ever seen. However, strung together with more attractive ones what you get is a sweet-smelling and cute piece of jewelry.

And in case you're lucky to have a huge supply of petals in your own yard you might want to also check out Lisa's recipe for rose water which she suggests spraying in the shower or perhaps your hair.