TUDOR ROSE - Beads in Action

The classic Tudor Rose, also known as the Union Rose. This symbolic flower originates from the start of the Tudor Dynasty in 1485 and the Rule of Henry the VII of England, after the Great War of the Roses.

It is also one of my most popular beads among makers and jewelry designers, renaissance enthusiasts and SCA members.

I am in the process of making a tutorial for making these lovely floral hand painted beads but want to give you a peak into the studio as I made a batch for recent custom order.

  

It all starts with the raw bead, painted with a base coat of basic black: Then you add the details. This is a give and take process where you add some then take some away with the black or red, shaping the bead image a little at a time until you have a unified pattern that matches the other beads. 

That is the tricky part… getting all the flowers the same size on the bead!

After you get the basic shape and size set and equal among all the beads, then you start working the individual sections and bringing in the detail. 

After all that painting you are ready to dip the beads. You protect the holes and apply the special thick and shiny dip and let cure for 48-72 hours. 

The dip is very sensitive to humidity so if it is very humid inside you may want to wait until the weather changes a bit. 

The beads are tremendously sticky for the first 3-5 hours so you must keep all dust generating things including pets away from them. The dip is the most nerve wracking phase of creating my hand painted beads.

The most rewarding part of making the Tudor Rose beads is taking them off of the dowels when they are finally cured and applying the grommets and  finishing the beads

The other most rewarding part is hearing how happy my customers are with their beautiful Tudor Rose beads and seeing their unique creations made from the beads.

In the example below a creative seamstress used the Tudor rose beads to adorn the neckline of a special gown she created for a friend. Love the little dragonfly beads paired with the roses! She was quite happy with her beads:

 "The beauty of these beads took my breath away when I first opened the package. Nice attention to detail! I am VERY pleased." 

 The Tudor Rose beads are a favorite of beaders and makers and they are also enjoyable to make. Coming this fall look for a tutorial where I walk through every step in designing and painting this regal flower and design from the drawing of the design to the finishing with the grommet. The tutorial will be for either heart or rectangle bead. Beads and grommets will be available as well. I am looking forward to it! There are so many reasons for you to paint some beads!