Pretty Purple Necklace

I was playing with purple and blue beads and here is what I ended up designing.


The necklace has purple pearls as the base accompanied by purple Swarovski and blue Lapiz Lazuli. The three danglers in the pendant reminds me of dancing puppet dolls and the use of Silver beads added the shine.

Bead Soup Necklace Set

Though I missed participating at the Bead Soup Party this time, but I got a delicious bead soup from the organizer Lori Anderson herself. Going by the tradition of the Bead Soup Blog Party, I knew I will be using the focal and the clasp for sure. Also, I really liked the orange color in the Chinook pendant and decided to use Carnelian chips with brown hint in them along with faceted grey Agate and gold beads. Length of the pendant was little challenging and after few tries, I got it right.

This is what I designed.





Here are the earrings I came up with using a Russian gold circle finding.



What do you say about the set?

Bead Soup from Lori Anderson

When I missed signing up for the September 2011 Bead Soup Blog Party organized by extremely talented and creative jewelry artist Lori Anderson, I was very disappointment with myself to have forgotten to put a reminder. I wrote to Lori to include me to future parties and guess what she replied with...a package in the mail.



I couldn't believe my luck when I opened the package. Inside was a bead soup beautifully packed in a Lori Anderson Designs jewelry box with a personalized note from Lori...what else I could wish for after missing the sign up!





The bead soup included a handmade Chinook pendant, gold filled clasp and beads, purple pearls, Czech glass beads and oval wooden beads.



Thanks a ton Lori for the wonderful gift. Now my challenge is to come up with a beautiful design with the lovely beads I got.

Chicken Soup for the Soul

My husband loves to read Chicken Soup for the Soul series of books and lately my elder son has started to enjoy them too. The series consists of more than 300 books with vast variety of titles. Each book comprise of short stories and can be calming read for the bed time. Though we have different titles at home, our favorite one is Chicken Soup for the Soul - 101 Stories To Open The Heart And Rekindle The Spirit. Few days back we read a very touching poem written by famous writer and family counselor Dorothy L. Nolte. I am sharing it here and hopefully you will relate to it too.


Children Learn What They Live

If children live with criticism,
they learn to condemn.

If children live with hostility,
they learn to fight.

If children live with fear,
they learn to be apprehensive.

If children live with pity,
they learn to feel sorry for themselves.

If children live with ridicule,
they learn to be shy.

If children live with jealousy,
they learn what envy is.

If children live with shame,
they learn to feel guilty.

If children live with tolerance,
they learn to be patient.

If children live with encouragement,
they learn to be confident.

If children live with praise,
they learn to appreciate.

If children live with approval,
they learn to like themselves.

If children live with acceptance,
they learn to find love in the world.

If children live with recognition,
they learn to have a goal.

If children live with sharing,
they learn to be generous.

If children live with honesty and fairness,
they learn what truth and justice are.

If children live with security,
they learn to have faith in themselves and in those around them.

If children live with friendliness,
they learn that the world is a nice place in which to live.

If children live with serenity,
they learn to have peace of mind.

With what are your children living?


Photograph courtesy dreamtime.com

My first 5K run - Girls on the Run 2011

This Saturday, I participated for the first time in a 5K run as a runner. Till now, I was a walker and Zumba enthusiast but running was far away from me though my husband is a marathon runner and has been a regular runner for many years now. For few months, he and my health coach at work were advising me to sign up for a 5K to get into a regular exercise routine. Their point was if I have a goal in front of me, I will definitely take out time to prepare for it no matter how busy my regular schedule would be. And that's what actually happened and I am so glad that I listened to them :)

Early this year, I signed up for my first 5K run - Girls on the Run Silicon Valley as a birthday gift to my dear husband. He was more than thrilled and was all determined to help me train for the run.

Girls on the Run Silicon Valley, in their 10th year of inception encourages preteen girls to develop self respect and healthy lifestyle through running. The 5K run is a non-competitive family-friendly fun run/walk event and all GOTR participants, their family members, friends or community members could join to celebrate healthy living.

Initially I started running on the treadmill and didn't find it very difficult to prepare for the 5K (3.1 miles) but the day I ran on the track outside, I knew I had a long way to go. My husband told me about Runkeeper, a wonderful website to track your exercising routine. I opened an account on the site and also downloaded their iphone app. With the Runkeeper on the phone, I would track all my runs and walks and see how the preparation was coming along. I was able to motivate one of my close friend to sign up too. We did couple of runs together and it felt great to motivated each other for a common goal.




With the preparation I had, I knew I will be able to do it but the question was whether I will be able to keep my target of completing the run in less than 35 min non-stop. It was a strange but an amazing feeling to stand behind the start line with my friend and ~2500 other runners. So far I have gone to many marathons supporting my husband and this was the first time the roles had reversed. It was very motivating to run with girls of all ages, their parents/coaches and other family members. Throughout the run, I had the goal in my mind which kept me going. I was on the top of the world, when I crossed the finish line with my son who joined me few yards before, with 0:33:35 showing on the Runkeeper.




I have heard and experienced through my husband, first run is the icebreaker and then you are hooked on to it. I was wondering the same on my way back when I was talking to my friend about our next run already !!

Girls on the Run Logo - Courtesy Girls on the Run

Happy Mother's Day

Since I became a mom around 9 years back, I don't remember how many times I have told my mom how much I appreciate what she had done for her children and how much I understand now what it takes for a mom to raise a kid.

On this day to celebrate the epitome of creativity, love and care - a MOTHER, I wish my mom a very Happy Mother's day and thank her for bringing me to this beautiful world, fulfilling all my needs, giving me her ears when I had to share something and at the same time pulling my ears when needed, being my pillar of strength and teaching me how to be a good human being.

Below is the picture of a mother's day gift from my almost 9 year old son. I found it very creative as he has used different eatables to make the wood art and my kitchen will be blessed to have it on its wall.


I wish my mother in-law a very Happy Mother's day and thank her for helping me recognize my talent, encouraging me to follow my dreams and work towards full filling them. I wish all my sisters in-law and cousins a very Happy Mother's day and thank them for showering so much love on their sister and standing by her in life's ups and downs. I wish all my friends a very Happy Mother's day and thank them for being very supporting and encouraging, for sharing their experiences to raise kids and otherwise, and for being such a wonderful extended family.

Happy Mother's Day to All!!

7000 Bracelets of Hope

When I came to know about the 7000 Bracelets of Hope blog hop from Lori Anderson's blog, it was late to participate in the blog hop but I realized that the campaign is on till December 2011.


The Global Genes Project, working for children's rare disease awareness is collecting blue bracelets to show support and love to 7000 such families. Any jewelry designer, artist, crafter, scouting group, school group, church group, etc. can donate a bracelet along with a personal note of support and encouragement.

This is what I made.


I hope the bracelet brings smile to the family who receives it.

Pravasvani - Business Networking Conference

I got the privilege to attend the first business networking conference organized by Pravasvani Radio on Saturday, April 30th and I must say that it was a wonderful experience and totally worth it.

For those who don't know about Pravasvani, its the largest Indian Radio in North America serving the South Asian community in San Francisco bay area and beyond. You can listen to their programs on KLOK 1170 AM.

Pravasvani - a Hindi word which is a combination of 'Pravas' meaning immigrants and 'Vani' meaning voice. So Pravasvani essentially means Voice of immigrants. I was really inspired to know what started with just a fun program of one hour - Shyam ka Safar with RJ Din Mani in the first year, expanded to 10-17 hrs of programming in the next year and then by the end of second year Pravasvani took over the ownership of this radio and was broadcasting fun and informational programs 24 X 7 with 25 RJs on board. Local businesses who sponsor the radio programs and advertise on the radio have been instrumental in Pravasvani's journey of growth and success.

This networking conference was a great opportunity for the local business owners to connect with the radio company's management team and other business owners in the area, and of course, meet the very talented RJs in person whose voice we have got so used to. All local businesses - big or small, established or getting started, were invited to take part at the conference and based on the applications submitted, a personal invitation was sent to the business owners. Menka's Jewelry was one of them and I attended the conference with my husband Arun.

We got to meet the Pravasvani management - Raghu Malladi (President & CEO), Dr. Atul Tandon (COO) and Raj Kumar(CFO) (L to R in the image below) and their team of RJs.

From Pravasvani-Apr2011

Some of the RJs from my favorite programs are Din Mani and Shreeja of 'Chai Time Shaam ka Safar', Khushkhush​al Khyati of 'Morning Masala', Jagruti Shah of "Khatta Meetha", Dr. Shobha Tandon of 'Health Hour', Bunty and Babli of 'Weekend Live'.

Me with Din Mani and Shreeja

From Pravasvani-Apr2011

We networked with many entrepreneurial local business owners. To name a few, Dinesh Gupta from Jewel of India Mall - first exclusive Indian mall in bay area, Srini Saripalli a Hypnosis expert, Dr. Rita Mitbavkar from UniSmile Dental, Deepak & Mudita Sharma from Fixtroniks, Jyoti Saboo a physical therapist from Pros In Rehab, Sangeeta Shukla a life coach from Polaris Life Essentials, Nathan Notary from Nathan Notary, Pushpa Pathak an expert real estate agent from Los Gatos Realty & Mtg Lenders Financial and Harjit Bhasin from Quick Alternations.

It was very encouraging and inspirational to know every body's story how they started their business, its current state and what they are doing to make it big or expand it further. I look forward to connect with more such business owners in future.

A big thanks to Pravasvani for organizing this conference and I hope to be on radio one day :)

Here's the complete photo album

A jewelry order close to my heart

Few months back when I heard the good news of my best friend's pregnancy, I was extremely happy and excited for her. I knew that the baby will be special for all of us as first of all she will be our special friend's baby and secondly the youngest of all so we can look forward to lots of pampering and fun with her. At that time I didn't even dream that the baby will bring me my biggest jewelry order till date.

When we started planning for the baby shower few weeks back, my friend called me and told me that she wanted to give a personalized baby shower favor to all the friends coming and I was to make it. For a moment I didn't know how to react. I felt so happy and touched by my friend's gesture that it brought tears to my eyes.
I sketched few designs the same night and sent it to her. She liked a simple but elegant design with a faceted gemstone hanging inside a silver oval in a silver chain to be made with a baby pink rose quartz as she is carrying a baby girl. I shopped around for different shapes and sizes of rose quartz and now I have more pink that any other color in my stash :)

Yesterday I delivered the completed pieces to my friend and she packed them nicely in personalized boxes.





Today was the baby shower. I felt on top of the world when my friend announced that the favors were made by me and extremely satisfied when our friends appreciated it. The icing on the cake was that one of the friends wore it right away...can't tell you how jubilant I felt. And you know, I got my own favor too. It will be one of my precious gifts which I will cherish for long. I wish my friend all the happiness in her life with the new baby and thank her from bottom of my heart for giving me a chance to add my personal touch to her special occasion.

Happy 2nd Birthday My Dear Blog!

My Dear Blog,
Wish you a very Happy 2nd Birthday!


Thanks a ton for giving me a chance to express myself to this world through you, to write my feelings behind my jewelry creation and beyond; and to connect with very creative people out there. You have been a loyal friend since last two years though I don't visit you that often as I should be but I know you are always there for me.

This year you have grown much bigger as compared to the first year with readers from many parts of the world. You have helped me reach more and more people as friends and followers, learn from their experiences and motivate myself to keep going with their encouraging comments.

As your birthday gift my friend, I promise to visit you at least once a week going forward. Happy Birthday once again!

Mamma can I design an earring for you?

While I was working on my computer selecting pictures for my bead soup reveal on Saturday, my 8 yr old son who was standing next to me got fascinated by a crystal separator I had used in the pendant for the soup necklace. He very innocently asked me, "Mamma, can I make an earring for you with the crystal bead you have used? Will you finish them today and wear them so that I can see how they look?" He loves to bead with me and in the past have made very nice designs for me as mothers day gift and otherwise too. It was almost 10pm and I had not started writing the blog yet. He was totally thrilled when I agreed. He ran to choose matching beads from his own stash. Yes, he has a whole collection of glass and plastic beads of his own. So he picked the multicolored glass bead from there and I let him pick few Swarovski crystals from mine. I completed the earrings and wore them right away. The happiness and satisfaction on his face was priceless.

Bead soup I cooked for my partner

Doing anything for the first time has its own flavors of excitement, enthusiasm and fear. When I was choosing the beads for my first bead soup, I was wondering what will be exciting for my partner Francy. I choose different shades of pink with a blend of Rose Quartz, Agate, coral and Swarovski along with Silver giving her variety of beads to play with. I was waiting for her reaction on the soup before I revealed it here. And as she has already received it and found it very yummy specially the Swarovski, here it is...




Eagerly waiting to see what Francy makes with her soup!

My Bead Soup has arrived

Past week I have been eagerly checking my postal mail and the package I was waiting for did arrive on Saturday...bead soup from my partner Francy Inman from 8 Second Studio.


I am so excited to see the beads I got as the bead mix looks quite interesting. I haven't used brass in my jewelry so far so it will challenge me to think out of my comfort zone and try something new. Thanks a ton Francy!!

The beautiful focal bead is made by Julianna Cannon an awesome bead maker. I really liked the color combination and pattern on the bead and looking forward to design a double strand necklace using the brass clasp.



I am so glad that Francy has received the bead soup I sent her and liked the beadie goodness of the soup :)

The bead soup blog party is only twenty days away and I can't wait to see what each participant is making. Thanks to Lori Anderson, the organizer of this party that I am getting to know all these wonderful Artists.

How to make different earrings with same beads

As changing couple of ingredients or spices can give you a new taste in the same recipe, playing with same primary bead but changing the findings or using different complimentary beads can give you new designs for your earrings (and necklaces). That's what I tried when I was playing with different shades of Amazonite recently.

The earrings below have same circular Amazonite bead as the main bead. I have used a blue Swarovski bicone, a crystal studded separator and leverback earwire in one, and small round Amazonites with silver beadcaps and flat fishhook earwire in second. As you can see in the picture, one is elegant and the second one looks more rustic.



In the earrings below, I have used Aquamarine irregular rectangles as the main beads and accentuated them with different color and shapes of Amazonite. In the first earrings, using four Aquamarine rectangles together with round Amazonite at the end gives it a shorter look but in the second earrings, separating the rectangles with small round Amazonite beads and using Amazonite briolettes give it a taller look perfect for a long neck wearer. As you can see, changing the pattern in which you use the same beads can give you a unique design.

My first Bead Soup Blog Party

Bead Soup Blog Party...interesting name, isn't it? Last week I came across a tweet about an upcoming such party. I read the blog of the organizer - a very talented bead artist Lori Anderson and found the concept very interesting. Always looking forward to connect to more and more talented beaders out there and inspired by one of my favorite artist TheBeadDreamer I signed up for the party.


This is how it works...the organizer announces the date of the party on her blog, invites sign ups, pairs the participants who then send a bead soup mainly consisting of a focal bead, some coordinating beads and a nice clasp, to each other. The participants show the beads they got on their blog, make something out of it, take a picture and post it on their blog on the party day. Every participant hops around to see as many party blogs as possible to see what everybody made on the party day. The whole purpose of the party is challenge the creativity of the participants and connect creative people together.

With more than 200 beading artists as participants, the party is sure going to be an amazing one. A big thanks to Lori for putting all the hard work to make it happen. My partner for the party is Francy Inman an Oklahoma crafter. Looking forward to have a tasty bead soup with her :)

Picture courtesy Lori Anderson