Local mom turns jewelry-making hobby into business
By Mary Ann Price
Janice Araujo holds one of her jewelry pieces, which is also pictured below.
After the birth of her daughter, Janice Araujo wanted to find a way to work part time and to also spend time at home with her family. Now she can do both thanks to her new business, Beads of Roses, which sells handcrafted and personalized jewelry made from rose petals.
Araujo, who learned how to make the designs from a friend, uses roses that her clients have saved from weddings, funerals, the births of their children, and other special occasions to make the jewelry.
She starts by taking a dried rose and pushing the petals through a strainer. She mixes the small pieces of rose with dried paint and a clay mixture. She then adds rose oil to give them a scent and rolls them into beads. “I put them on pins and dry them for 24 hours or less,” she said. Clients can choose from a variety of paint colors.
Araujo then puts the beads on a chain to complete the item. Her products include bracelets in silver or gold finish with a charm, or in sterling silver without a charm. She needs the petals of only one rose to make a bracelet.
She also makes necklaces with sterling silver chains, rosaries, and one-decade chaplets. She can add a clasp and extra links to a chaplet so that people can hang them around the rearview mirror in their car. It takes approximately two to four weeks for each piece to be completed.
Araujo recommends that people hang the roses upside down and let them dry for as long as possible before sending them to her.
“They should be wrapped in tissue, not in bags, and sent in an envelope,” she explained. She also has flowers for customers who may not have enough for her to complete an order.
Araujo finds great satisfaction in making the jewelry. “I love to see the finished product,” she said. “When I think about the work that was put into it, it’s amazing. They’re so beautiful. I’m proud of them and I hope the customers are too.”
For ordering information or to see photos of Araujo’s handmade jewelry, go to www.beadsofroses.webs.com. She also has an Etsy account at www.etsy.com/shop/BeadsOfRoses. The business is on Facebook at Beads of Roses.
Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=417
Posted by Mary Ann Price
on Jan 20 2011. Filed under Business.
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