Re: Floating Rose Petals

[Guest guest]

> I want to put floating petals in a bottle of oils, but I dont want to

> use any that may have ANY chemicles on them. Is there such a thing and

> if so, can anyone suggest a company or place who has floating petals

> with no chemicles.

wow, i have been pondering this and trying to think how this would be

done. the first part is easy. get rose petals and use a flower

dehydrating kit that you can get at any craft store. dehydrate them

according to the instructions.

then comes the hard part. you would have to seal he petals so that

they wouldn't soak up the oil or whatever you put them in, and

therefore float. i've wracked my brain, but i can't come up with

anything natural that would do that. i have sprayed them with artist

sealant before, but that's not really natural. i can't imagine that,

once dry, they would leach any chemicals into the oil, but i can't say

that for certain. perhaps there is a non toxic sealant you could use.

you could check with your craft or art store.

i've sent an email to a friend of mine who is a soaper and is also a

chemist asking him this question. i'll report back if he comes up with

anything.

hth alex

[Guest guest]

you would have to seal he petals so that they wouldn't soak up the oil

or whatever you put them in, and therefore float. i've wracked my

brain, but i can't come up with anything natural that would do that.

What about a thin coat of wax, like a soy wax. Maybe a pillar wax that

isn't so soft. It's 100% soy so it shouldn't affect the product and

wax usually floats. Not sure if it would work, just the 1st thing that

popped into my head.

April

[Guest guest]

>

> you would have to seal he petals so that they wouldn't soak up the

oil or whatever you put them in, and therefore float. i've wracked my

brain, but i can't come up with anything natural that would do that.

> What about a thin coat of wax, like a soy wax. Maybe a pillar wax

that isn't so soft. It's 100% soy so it shouldn't affect the product

and wax usually floats. Not sure if it would work, just the 1st thing

that popped into my head.

>

> April

hey april, the friend of mine (scientist) that was trying to figure

this out remembered that his mother made rose petals that were " all

natural " . and you hit the nail right on the head. here's what he

suggested to try. keep in mind, this is going to be rather time consuming!

first off, take the petals off he rose. use only fresh petals with no

brown spots or bruises. use a dehydrating medium (found at any craft

store) by the directions... the importance of this is that you need

the petals to be pliable. if you just dry them, they will crumble when

you try to " wax " them.

now, use a soy wax that is made for container candles. it is softer

and will be easier to work with. here's why... you heat the soy wax to

about 150 degrees and maintain that temperature. using tweezers, dip

the petal in the wax. moving rather quickly, wipe as much wax off of

the petal, smoothing it from one end to the other and removing as much

excess wax as possible. this will prevent your petals from having a

wax film that ill dull the color. (kind of like putting it under

frosted glass). if you work carefully, the wax will seal the rose, but

not too much excess wax will be left behind... presto, sealed rose

petals that should float!

hope that helps! alex