Creative Uses For Dried Rose Petals

There are quite a number of good uses for dried rose petals – some of them are very creative and others therapeutic! Everything from rose water to potpourri, don’t throw the petals away. They are too nice to do that!

Hi guys, I realize I’ve been out of circulation for awhile. I had a death in the family recently (my husband) which as you know if something like this has happened to you, you don’t need me to tell you, it’s pretty taxing.

Anyway, I had these roses from the funeral…they looked amazing at first.but they didn’t hold up very long. Now I’ll be totally honest, I’m not some kind of horticultural genius…I’m not totally ignorant either about flowers and floral care, I do know about stuff like trimming the stems, putting a little sugar or vinegar in the water, etc., etc., but these guys were very unresponsive.

And you know me, I don’t throw away anything with value like roses. I did throw the stems away, but now I’ve got the petals and they’ve lost a lot of their moisture so I’m fishing for things to do with them.

Turns out, there’s a whole slew of creative uses for dried rose petals that deserve consideration. Roses are not only beautiful and fragrant, but they have some amazing therapeutic and decorative uses too!

Drying Rose Petals

I live in a high-humidity area so time alone doesn’t make my petal collection as dry as it needs to be. If the petals are tearable but feel “soft” nevertheless, you may need to expedite matters by putting them in your conventional oven at a low temp for about 20 minutes.

I had to do this and the difference was notable – the petals afterward “crunched” between my fingers, as they should.

Dried Rose Petal Oil Infusion

Rose-infused oil has many benefits for you. Apparently it’s got many anti-inflammatory and healing properties which make it great for this. Add crushed rose petals to two parts of oil and let to set up….You can use your preferred type of oil, whether olive, almond, or sunflower.

Make sure it is two parts of oil to one part of rose petals so they are submerged completely. Use a wide mouth jar with a good fitting lid. Keep this mixture in a dark location for several weeks. Periodically shake the mixture a little.

Strain the petals carefully…The remaining oil can be used and has a shelf life of up to one year. I’m going to give this a try soon…but I’m almost tapped out with my currently bottle of olive oil and need to replenish it (I cook with it a lot)

Potpourri
Dried rose petals can be combined with other floral ingredients to make a great potpourri scent. Place them along with your other ingredients in a decorative bowl in an open area like the living room or foyer for a simple and elegant touch, and fragrant one too!

Need some ideas for making a good potpourri recipe here? This will help you get started!

Rose Petal Sachets

Dried rose petals make great sachets too! Following the method for creating potpourri as in the section above, you can divvy it up in small amounts and put them in cute little pouches for their fragrant effect. You can combine them with other compatible floral or herbal ingredients for a nice pick me up or aromatic treat and filling up little muslin pouches with it.

Put them in your closet, under your pillow, in drawers, wherever you want to give a nice scent to.

Using Dried Rose Petals To Make Bath Salts

Remember my bath salt concoction from this post? Well you can do that easily with dried rose petals. You may have to grind them down a little, perhaps using a mortar and pestle instrument or similar. Combine them with some Epsom salt or dead sea salt, a small amount of sea salt (like our table salt – only it’s got bigger crystals) and add a few drops of essential oil to make the scent even better.

Combine all ingredients thoroughly. As per my basic directions, store the bath salt mixture in a cute jar with a snug fitting lid.

As an optional gift-giving idea, you can wrap it with a raffia tie or ribbon before packaging it .

Don’t forget that roses have a good bit of anti-inflammatory, antiseptic and anti bacterial properties so it’s a no brainer to keep them in your beauty regimen!

Rose Water

There are many health and beauty related benefits from the use of rose water….This article on FragranceX talks about that topic in greater depth..It does wonders for your skin, for one thing.

And you can DIY it to reap all of them! Use spring or distilled water and let it set up with the petals included for a couple weeks.

Before use strain petals with a sieve and like the oil infusion your rose water should last up to a year.

 

Making Beads From Your Dried Rose Petals
Did you know that back in the olden times rose petals were made into beads that went into the formation of jewelry? Cool, right? In fact that’s how the rosary beads of the Catholic religion got started. If your petals are dry with a slight twinge of moisture they can be used to be formed into pretty handmade beads.

You’ll need to use a tool to mash them up enough to be shaped into actual beads and skewer sticks with which to pierce them. This article will walk you through this technique. Not only will the resulting beads be strong and stringable, but they’ll be fragrant smelling too!

Closing Thoughts
I hope some of these ideas get you started in the right direction:) Can you think of any others to add that you’ve discovered? Let’s get crafty and make our lives a little more “rosy” today!