Evening star., 1950-10-10
MAKING ROSE BEADS

(Frona Miss H. J. L., Washington. J
In answer to Mrs. A. D. j., An
nandale: In reference to the rose
beads, I wonder if she means the
rose beads that could be nodded
to any form. I am inclosing
directions for making them. ]
still have long string of them ]
made years ago.
Directions: Gather the roses as
soon as they burst into full bloom
A peck will make 10 ordinary
chains. Pull off the petals, dis
carding the yellow centers and
run them three times through a
food chopper using the finest
blade, the one used for peanut
butter is the best.
Be careful to save every drop OF
the juice as it gives the beads
their delightful odor. Pour it
over the dough. Then spread the
dough on rusty tin pans, the
rustier the better. Do not have
the dough more than 1s-inch
thick. Let it stand for four or
five hours, then turn carefully
with a knife and let stand over
night.
If the pans were rusty enough,
the dough will be ready to work in
the morning, but if not, a good
black, let it stand longer. Now,
run through the food chopper four
times, if you have the peanut
butter blade; if not, it will be
necessary to run it through about
8 or 10 times. The dough should
now be a rich black and very fine
like mud.
Add four or five drops of altar
of rose. If you wish and it is then
ready to be nodded into balls.
This Is where one might use
originality to shape.
A small thimble should be used
as measure so that the beads
will be uniform in size. Place the
dough in the center of the hands
and roll perfectly round, being
careful to leave no creases. A
little water may be used on the
hands if necessary to make the
balls smooth. Make each bead
twice the size you wish it to be
when finished as it will shrink
about half in drying. If desired
each one may be carved with a
pen knife, but they are usually
left smooth. Run hat pin through
the center of the bead and stick
it into a pin cushion or a board
especially prepared for this pur-
pose. I remember using the old
fashioned long hat pins and put
several on each pin, being careful
that they did not touch each
other.
Let the bead remain on the pins
until perfectly dry, which will
probably be two days. Be careful
to keep them out of the sun, or
they will crack. It Is best not to
make them during rainy weather,
as they are likely to mold. II
they show signs of molding place
them in a slightly warmed oven,
being careful not to have it too
warm.
When dry the beads are ready
to be strung on linen thread
They are usually strung alternate
ly with little gold beads. A pretty
way to string them is to use two
sizes of rose beads, then string
one large rose bead. then two
gold beads, then a small rose
bead. next two gold beads, ther
a large rose bead, etc.
If they seem to lose their odor
put them into a tightly closed boz
or jar for short time and they
will again smell as sweet as ever
These instructions are quite
long but if followed will make
very satisfactory products.
| If F. A. j., Washington, refer.
to cloudiness produced only or
the outer surface of her mirror
vinegar or few drops of kerosen;
added to the water used for wash.
ing should give results. Never use
soap, as it tends to make mirror.
or windows hard to polish, leaving
a cloudy film.
| X T.