The most beautiful roses!

My mother used to be a member of the Beta Sigma Phi sorority, a group of women who met on a weekly basis to plan fund raisers for charity, hosted the wackiest theme parties and led the ever-so-social life. And just as each of our US states has its own representative flower, each of these sorority groups did as well. The Beta Sigma Phi sorority flower was the yellow rose.

One of the ladies in this group lives around the corner from my parents house (where I grew up) and although neither her nor my mother are still active in the sorority, the symbol of the yellow rose has remained an important part of each of their lives. As the upcoming birthday of this neighbor approached, my mother contacted me regarding possibly making a piece of jewelry and incorporating the yellow rose. I had just started a huge project and quite frankly, did not have enough time to make anything, so I began my internet search for something I could purchase for my mother to give as a gift.

There it was. The most perfect and beautiful rose I had ever seen. It looked amazingly real, yet according to the website was hand crafted out of a special formula synthetic clay, produced exclusively for the artist. Items created out of it have the delicate look of unglazed china but are very light, yet strong. I purchased it and when it arrived I was even more amazed at the intricate details of this rose. The petals weren't thick like most polymer clay roses and were finely detailed including having "veins" in the petals, like a real rose. The leaves were multi-dimensional and the color was the softest yellow with hints of an even paler yellow in each petal. It was perfect. So perfect in fact, that I almost didn't want to let my mother take it.

The artists' name is Maria Gower. She owns and operates Rose Paradise in the UK. Her work is brilliant and unique and -- well -- here...

...just look at the pictures. And I must say, the pictures really do not do these pieces justice at all.







And here's the one I purchased. With shipping it was only around $18.00 and came with the silver snake chain:



Check out Maria's other unique pieces on her website at:

www.RoseParadise.co.uk