Things You'll Need:
- Celtic cross pendant
- St. Patrick or St. Brigid medal
- green polymer clay
- bead mold
- silver chain
- jewelry pliers
- awl
- jump rings
- oven
- baking sheet
- waxed paper
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Step 1
Begin by choosing your materials. For an Irish rosary, use a Celtic cross (see picture). Legend has it that St. Patrick was speaking to a group of pagans when they showed him a sacred stone marked with a circle. The circle symbolized the moon goddess. St. Patrick then drew a cross over the circle and blessed it, thus making it the first Celtic cross.
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Step 2
Find a medal of St. Patrick or St. Brigid. You can get a special rosary center one with holes in both ends online, but if that's not an option, get a thin medal and pierce two holes with an awl. Insert jump rings through the holes.
St. Patrick, of course, is the patron saint of Ireland. St. Brigid was a fifth-century nun who was inspired by the teachings of St. Patrick. However, there are theories that she is a Christianized version of Brigid, the Celtic goddess of fire. Either way, she and St. Patrick are very important to Irish Catholicism. -
Step 3
Open a jump ring with the pliers and slide it through the hole at the top of the cross pendant. Attach the jump ring to the end of the chain and close with the pliers.
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Step 4
Make the first bead from a very small amount of clay. Form it over the chain at about 1/4 inch from the cross. This is a Lord's Prayer bead. Flatten the top and bottom. Use a bead mold to make a perfect shape, but be sure it's a flat bead because round clay beads get flat spots when they're baked.
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Step 5
At 1/4 past the first bead, form the second. This is a Hail Mary bead. Make 2 more beads two chain links apart.
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Step 6
Make the fifth bead 1/4 inch from last three.
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Step 7
Cut the chain at 1/4 inch length from the last bead. Attach the bottom of the medal to the end of the chain. Attach the rest of the chain length to the top hole of the medal.
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Step 8
Form the next bead 1/4 inch from the medal. Make 9 more beads 2 chain links apart. These are also Hail Mary beads, but a set of ten is called a decade. Make the next bead at 1/4 inch from the last one. Like the very first bead, this is for the Lord's Prayer.
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Step 9
At 1/4 from the Lord's Prayer bead, begin the next decade. Repeat this three more times; a Lord's Prayer bead should be placed 1/4 inch from the ends of each decade except the last one. Cut the chain 1/4 inch from the end of the last decade and attach it to the top hole in the medal.
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Step 10
Carefully place the rosary on a baking sheet lined with waxed paper. Bake at the time and temperature recommended on the package of clay. Let it cool completely.
