You like the roses, but are unsure how to use them? Don't fret, this page is home to a growing ideas bank on how to use the roses in jewellery. If you'd like to add your idea, please email me at mail@littlecastledesigns.co.uk. I'm also working on a customer gallery, and would love to include as many examples of my beads in use as I can lay my hands on! :o)

Quick and easy rose pendant

One of the quickest and easiest ways to turn a rose into a pendant is to create a wire bail. Using the wire of your choice, leave a piece of wire standing in the middle and wrap a growing coil/spring around it. Check against the size of your rose. When the coil is big enough, add a wrapped loop on the end. Twist it so it faces the right way for a ribbon or necklace to go through. Add the rose, cut the wire prong to size (leaving a short length), and loop the wire round to hold the rose in place. The rose can now easily be incorporated into a strung design, or used on its own as a focal pendant.

 

A bit of soldering...

If you don't mind a bit of soldering, you can create a solid back to the roses by using a sterling silver disc and soldering a wire in place to be used for wiring the rose. By drilling holes into the disc, you can connect chain in any way you want. Watch out for Beads and Beyond Magazine's January issue for the necklace below, which was created that way!

  

Seed beaders

The roses are fairly easy to integrate into most designs by feeding a thread through from the back, adding a small seed bead as a stopper, then feeding the thread back through and carrying on with your design.