7th Bead Soup Party - The Big Reveal

Today is the 3rd and final reveal of the 7th Bead Soup Blog Party organized by Lori Anderson. With each passing year, the party is getting bigger and the number of participants is increasing a lot. With over 500  jewelry makers across the world participating this time, the party had three reveals with amazing work displayed by very talented artists.

Originally me and my partner Lena Adams were a part of first reveal but with lots going on for both of us, we  asked Lori to put us in the third reveal and Lori being her, always helpful and supportive, agreed and accommodated our request.

Lena had sent me a very delicious soup. I have never used silk and leather before so I knew it will be interesting to play and design with them.

When I started thinking of the design the first thing on my mind was Mosaic Aqua Jasper focal and I was so fascinated by the silk that I knew it has to be a necklace with it for sure.  I created a dangle with a silver bead and green yellow glass beads over the focal and extended it with two flat silver ovals. 

As it was my first time to use the silk, I was not sure whether to use one strand or two and ended up almost tearing it when the necklace was in very last phases. I guess using two strands is better. I kept the original unfinished look of the dark green silk and wire wrapped four pairs of dangles to keep it simple. I was happy with the look of the necklace when I wore it and can't wait to show it off.

Lena sent me two focal beads so with the second focal I came up with this necklace with spring colors. For this one, I used the silver toggle clasp and Jasper Turquoise beads from the soup and added few Carnelian, Agate and snowflake beads from my stash.

 And here is the pair of earrings I made which can go with both the necklaces.

 I still have to come up with a design using the suede. Hopefully soon, I will share it with you.

God has been testing Lori and Lena lately with illness/surgeries and many other difficult happenings in their lives. I really hope and pray that things get much better for both of them soon. Its my pleasure that I got to know them through these bead soup parties and I wish them good health and happiness always.

Now its time for me to start blog hopping...will you come with me?
I can't wait to see what Lena designed with the bead soup I sent her so let's start with her blog and then hop to the other participants.

Adlinah Kamsir	www.dreamstruckdesigns.blogspot.com
Agi Kiss	http://moonsafaribeads.blogspot.com
Alenka Obid	www.pepita-handmade.blogspot.com
Alison Sachs	www.beadsbyearthtones.blogspot.com
Amanda Tibbetts	http://www.amandamade.com/blog
Amy Sims	www.amysimsdesigns.com
Ana Cravidao	http://acbeads.blogspot.com
Andra Marasteanu	http://bijouxdemonange.blogspot.com
Andria Poole	www.Jewelleryartiste.blogspot.com
Angela Perkins	http://jeweledinspirations.blogspot.com
Anja Schultz	http://anjas-perlenwelt.blogspot.de/
Ann Sherwood	http://ann-sherwood.blogspot.com/
Anna Nordeman	http://annas-adornments.blogspot.com
Annita Wilson	http://awjewelryandbeadwork.blogspot.com/
Arlene Dean	http://aglassbash.blogspot.com/
Astrid Boyce	http://astridboyce.blogspot.com/
Barb Fernald	http://barbarasfernald.com/
Betty James Hoppensteadt	www.tybetastidbits.blogspot.com
Birgit Klughardt	www.gitesbeads-gite.blogspot.com
Bonnie Coursolle	http://jaspersgems.blogspot.ca/
Brandy Thomason McNair	www.bellavitajewelry.blogspot.com
Brenda Sigafoos	http://brenda-sigafoos.blogspot.com
Carmen Lau	http://littlemake.blogspot.com/
Carol Wilson	http://jetadorn.blogspot.com/
Caroline Dewison	http://www.blueberribeads.co.uk
Cassie Donlen	www.cassiedonlen.blogspot.com
Catharine Temaluru	http://ienmaginationsjewelry.wordpress.com
Catherine Turrell	http://fairysketches.blogspot.co.uk
Cheri Reed	www.creativedesignsbycheri.blogspot.com
Cherrie Warzocha	http://colorsofshae.blogspot.com/
Christa Murphy	http://adventuresofwonebeadywoman.blogspot.com/
Christina Hickman	http://vintagetreasuresjewelry.blogspot.com/
Christina Stofmeel	www.fengbeads.com
Christine Hansen	http://intuitivesparks.blogspot.com
Christine Stonefield	www.sweetgirldesign.blogspot.com
Cilla Watkins	www.tellyourgirlfriends.com
Cindy Cima Edwards	www.cindycima.com
Claire Lockwood	www.somethingtodowithyourhands.com
Colleen Vinthagen	http://www.thewireworkshop.com/blog/
Dagmar Liebisch	http://kokopellidesign.blogspot.de/
Dana Fowler	www.blogjunepur.blogspot.com
Danielle Kelley	http://imbuethemuse.blogspot.com/
Deb Fortin	www.studiok24.blogspot.ca
Dee Elgie	http://cherryobsidia.blogspot.co.uk
Denise Milward	http://milwardstorysofar.wordpress.com/
Diah Anggreni	http://pernik-manik.blogspot.com/
Diana Gonzalez	www.arteypoemas.com
Diane Valasek	http://dragonflyclose.blogspot.com/
Dita Basu	http://www.alankarshilpa.blogspot.com
Donetta Farrington	http://simplygorgeous-donetta.blogspot.com/
Doris Stumpf	http://glaszwerg.blogspot.de/
Elizabeth Bunn	http://elizabethbeads.blogspot.com
Elizabeth Drake	http://mutteringsofacrone.wordpress.com/
Elizabeth Jones	http://www.eyekandyjewellery.com
Elizabeth Stolarczyk	http://elizabethsart.blogspot.co.uk/
Ema Kilroy	http://www.emakdesigns.com/blog
Erin Kenny	http://beadifultherapy.blogspot.ca/
Evelyn Duberry	Www.ShebaMakeda.com
Fay Wolfenden	www.torchfairy.blogspot.com
Francesca Watson	http://francescawatson.com/
Gen Smith	http://gennysworld.blogspot.com/
Ginger Davis Allman	www.thebluebottletree.com
Giorgia Rossini	www.joyblonde.blogspot.com
Hannah Annear	www.quirkyhannah.wordpress.com
Heather Otto	http://www.thecrafthopper.com
Heidi Kingman	www.Heidikingman.blogspot.com
Ildiko Jarai	www.sviroalkotasai.blogspot.hu
Inge von Roos	http://ingetraud.wordpress.com/
Iveth Caruso	www.CreativeAtelier.net
Jackie Locantore	http://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/blog/MorningStarSanctuaryStudio
Jacqueline Keller	www.creartelier.blogspot.com
Jane Pranata Lim	http://cherryeve.blogspot.com
Jennifer Davis	http://jennifersjewelsandjunk.blogspot.com/
Jennifer Tough	http://jenniferbeads.blogspot.ca
Jenny Vidberg	http://shymessmycken.blogspot.se/
Jessica Klaaren	Http://cellardoorjewelry.blogspot.com
Joanna Matuszczyk	http://filcowe.blogspot.com
Joyce Becker	www.joycesjoyfulgems.blogspot.com
Judith Johnston	http://www.lampworkbeadlounge.com/
Judy Riley	www.threeredbeads.blogspot.com
JuLee Wolfe	www.thepolymerpenguin.blogspot.com
June Butt	http://www.onewhiteswan.blogspot.co.nz/
Karen Mitchell	http://www.overthemoon-design.com
Kari Asbury	http://hippiechickdesign.blogspot.com/
Karin King	www.maverickbeads.blogspot.ca
Karin von Hoeren	www.creativeideen.de
Karla Morgan	http://texaspepperjams.blogspot.com/
Kathrin Lembke	http://allesperle.blogspot.de/
Kathy Stemke	http://vintagememoriesjewelry.blogspot.com
Katja Benevol Gabrijelcic	http://slovoni.blogspot.com
Katy Heider	http://onthepondcreations.blogspot.com/
Kay Thomerson	http://KayzKreationz.blogspot.com
Kelley Fogle	www.mylifeonebeadatatime.blogspot.com
Keren Panthaki	https://vasdea.wordpress.com
Kimberly Idalski	http://www.Kimisjewelryandgifts.blogspot.com
Kirsi Loponen	http://peikkonen.blogspot.com
Klaudia Tóth	http://www.klaudiabizsu.hu/
Krista Quantrill	www.cornucopiaofcrafts.blogspot.ca
Kristina Hahn Eleniak	www.peacockandlime.wordpress.com
Kristina Johansson	www.wildrosesandblackberries.blogspot.com
Laney Mead	http://laney-izzybeads.blogspot.co.uk/
Lara Lutrick	http://www.lutrick.blogspot.com/
Laura Guenther	www.blueantiquities.blogspot.com
Lauren Potts	www.lpsjewelry.blogspot.com
Laurie Vyselaar	www.Lefthandjewelry.wordpress.com
Leah Tees	www.mybeadylittleeyes.blogspot.ca
Lena Adams	http://mommaslilbirdiesblog.blogspot.com
Lesley Watt	www.thegossipinggoddess.blogspot.com
Leslie Wayment	www.aabeadsonline.com/blog/
LiliKrist	http://pcbylik.blogspot.com/
Linda Kropp	http://lindasartbarn.blogspot.com/
Linda Newnham	http://www.earth-shine.co.uk/
Linda Younkman	www.lindysdesigns.blogspot.com
Lisa Boucher	http://lisasclayhappenings.blogspot.com/
Lizzie Clarke	www.theneedtobead.blogspot.com
Lora Bright	http://fandangling.wordpress.com/
Lorelle McIntyre	http://beadyart.blogspot.com.au
Lori Anderson	www.PrettyThingsBlog.com
Lori Finney	http://lori-finney.blogspot.ca/
Lucie Bouvier	http://www.carlosbeadstore.com/blog/
Malin de Koning	http://beadingbymalindekoning.blogspot.se
Marina Dobrynina	http://savonfeutre.blogspot.fr/
Marina Kosovic	http://machoopko-design.blogspot.com/
Marion Simmons	http://www.shadetreejewelry.com/blog.html
Marita Suominen	http://momentofjewelry.blogspot.fi/
Marjolein Trewavas	http://roomforchangemeuk.blogspot.co.uk/
Marsela Schroth	www.marselita.de
Martha Aleo	www.ornamento.wordpress.com
Mary Govaars	www.mlhjewelrydesigns.com
Mary K McGraw	http://mkaymac.blogspot.com/
Maybeline Tay	http://thejewelrylarder.blogspot.sg/
Mea-B. Uebler	www.glasorakel.blogspot.com
Melissa Trudinger	www.beadrecipes.wordpress.com
Menka Gupta	http://menkag.blogspot.com
Merja Sundström	http://suntsan.blogspot.fi/
Merja Syrjämäki	http://helmiriippuvuus.blogspot.fi/
Michelle Buettner	http://www.MiShelDesigns.blogspot.com
Mischelle Fanucchi	http://micheladasmusings.blogspot.com/
Michelle Escano	www.cabbycraft.blogspot.com
Michelle Wigginton	http://adornedonadelaide.blogspot.ca/
Milla Hope	www.Lbcreativeart.com
Miranda Ackerely	www.mirandack.com
Mowse Doyle	http://mowsemadethis.blogspot.com/
Mrs M Makes	www.mrsmmakes.wordpress.com
Nan Smith	www.wirednan.blogspot.com
Natalie Davidson	http://northshoredays.blogspot.co.nz/
Natalie Moten	http://runningoutofthread.blogspot.com/
Natascha Marty	www.sommerlicht.ch
Nikki Banham-Hall	http://jewellerymakingblog.blogspot.co.uk/
Noemi Baena	http://blog.noemibaena.com/
Norma Turvey	http://moonlitfantaseas.blogspot.com
Pam DeBoer	http://pamelas-studio.blogspot.com/
Pam Hurst	www.pamhurst.blogspot.com
Patti Pruhs	http://threebeadsandastring.blogspot.com/
Penny Houghton	http://www.smellynelly.blogspot.com.au/
Penny Mills	www.cobblestone-lane.blogspot.com
Rachel Van-Walsh	www.balancedcrafts.com/blog
Rebecca Sirevaag	www.godsartistinresidence.blogspot.com
Regina Santerre	http://reginaswritings.blogspot.com/
Regina Wood	http://www.gina-design.blogspot.com
Roberta Fauntroy	www.thevirtualbeadsociety.wordpress.com
Rosanagh Watson	http://ring-a-ring-a-rosie.blogspot.co.uk
Rose Johnson	http://swtrosethorn.blogspot.com
Rosemary Cheslock	www.glasseyebutterfly.tumblr.com
Rossana De Gaspari	http://rdegas.blogspot.com
Sabine Dittrich	www.perlendschungel.blogspot.com
Sam Waghorn	http://palemooncreations.tumblr.com/
Sandi James	http://www.dobedobeaddo.blogspot.com/
Sandra McGriff	http://skyescreativechaos.blogspot.ca
Sandra Wollberg	http://city-of-brass-stories.blogspot.com/
Sandra Young	http://gypsyroadbeads.blogspot.ca/
Shai Williams	http://shaihasramblings.blogspot.com/
Sharon Palac	www.sharonsjewelrygarden.blogspot.com
Sierra Barrett	http://giraffecanhas.wordpress.com/
Silke Gröber	http://just-beads.blogspot.com
Siobhán Keogh	http://vovsjewellery.blogspot.ie/
Stefanie Teufel	http://stefaniessammelsurium.blogspot.com
Stephanie Stamper	www.Skwds.blogspot.com
Sue Hamel	http://cardandjewelrycorner.blogspot.com/
Sue Rennie	http://moonandsevenstars.blogspot.co.uk/
Susan Kennedy	www.suebeads.blogspot.com
Susan McClelland	http://mistheword12.wordpress.com
Susanna Lehto	http://othellehto.blogspot.fi/
Suse Stelljes	www.pearlify.blogspot.de
Susie Hibdon	http://vintagesusieandwings.blogspot.com
Suzann Sladcik Wilson	www.BeadphoriaBlog.com
Tara Plote	http://newbiebeader.blogspot.com/
Terri G.	http://terrisbloomingideas.blogspot.com/
Terry Carter	http://tappingflamingo.blogspot.com/
Terry Matuszyk	http://pinkchapeau.wordpress.com/
Theresa Frank	http://www.theresestreasures59.blogspot.com/
Tina Bosh	http://bookbug-somanybookssolittletime.blogspot.com/
Tina Noonan	www.wingedimp.blogspot.com
Toltec Jewels	www.JewelSchoolFriends.com
Facebook Participants
Audrey Allen	https://www.facebook.com/adallen07
Cindy Wimmer Muse	https://www.facebook.com/mritech813
Cynthia O'Toole	https://www.facebook.com/cynthia.otoole
Deb Floros	https://www.facebook.com/deb.floros
Debbie Jensen	https://www.facebook.com/debbie.jensen.984
Erin Honeycutt	https://www.facebook.com/erin.honeycutt1
Kaushambi Shah	https://www.facebook.com/kaushambi.shah
Lisa Lloyd Harrison	https://www.facebook.com/lisa.lloydharrison
Mary Jane Tanner	https://www.facebook.com/mary.j.tanner
Valerie Tilghman	https://www.facebook.com/valerie.tilghman

7th Bead Soup Blog Party - The Soup that made it

As the bead soup that I sent to my partner Lena Adams got lost, I decided to send her a new soup.

This time I included a green oval Agate focal, African Opal, clear Agate, yellow Jasper and various shapes and colors of Carnelian along with lots of Pewter findings and clasp. To make it more interesting, I added a key and a bookmark hook.

The good news is that Lena got the soup in total this time and I can't wait to see what she designs with it.

We both were in the first reveal of the 7th Bead Soup Blog Party but as other things popped up on our plates that we had to take care of, we asked Lori to move us into third reveal. Lori herself is also fighting her illness so she had pushed the second and third reveals by one week. So now, our reveal date is April 20th.
Looking forward to the creative designs from every participant!

Learning Java with my 10 yr old Minecraft style

Being the better half of one of the best Java Evangelist out there, many times people had asked me how much Java I know and I have always joked that I am holding my data warehouse fort until recently when we started talking about Java being one of the must have skills for Hadoop and Big Data efforts in my organization @ Intel. I started brushing up my Java skills and things got interesting when my husband and 10 yr old son started planning for a kids workshop for teaching Java using Minecraft at the same time.

For those who don't know...Minecraft is a very popular game among gamers, is written in Java and has a trial version which can run as an applet in a browser or can be downloaded as a JAR file for the desktop. The interesting part is that it allows the players to create modifications (or mods as they are generally called) to alter the game as per their choice and have more control over the game. My son has been playing it for around a year and few months’ back he got interested in creating his own mods. He started discussing the game with his dad who in turn started teaching him basic programming concepts using Java. As they played around and made some mods themselves, they thought of sharing the knowledge with my son's Minecrafter friends. Trying to get a better hang of Minecraft, I got equally interested in their discussions. 

We invited 10 kids of age range 10-14 yrs old. Both kids and parents were equally excited and looking forward to attend the workshop. As we planned the material, the challenge was how to explain Java programming concepts using real life examples making it simple for kids to understand. We used cars, its features, capabilities & types, and car dealers to explain the concepts of a class, its properties, methods & instances, and packages. Fruits and different methods of peeling, eating, and planting were used to introduce the concept of Interface in Java and what can be done with the fruits was used to explain the concept of Exceptions in Java. The kids built and executed their first Hello World Java application using NetBeans.

We had a five hour session where the kids created an entire framework for making a mod. Minecraft consists of a client and a server. Multiple mods can run on the server at a time but there is no official API available to create these mods. There are many third-party vendor APIs like Bukkit that one can use to create their own mod. For the workshop, we used Maven archetype to create a template java project and avoided hand coding the complex code. The plugin (as called in Bukkit term) or mod (as known in Minecraft) allowed the attendees to create a new server-side command and printed a trivial message.  Kids could open this mod as any other java project in NetBeans and made further modifications to add more functionality to the mod.

Both kids and parent volunteers had total blast and they thoroughly enjoyed their first experience with programming. If you are interested or know someone who might be interested, all the instructions followed in the workshop are available at java4kids.java.net/minecraft-workshop. 

Turning 4 today

Happy 4th Birthday my dear blog!!
With each passing year, you reach more and more readers and continue to connect me with very talented jewelry makers and other crafty folks around the world. You have given expression to my thoughts and made me a better writer. You are a wonderful showcase of my handmade jewelry and help me tell the story behind each piece. You are a true companion and a great friend. Happy Birthday once again and wish you a fun year ahead!

7th Bead Soup Blog Party - The Lost Soup

For my 7th BSBP partner Lena Adams, I very excitedly choose a bead soup with ingredients like Amethyst, Sandstone, freshwater pearls, her favorite Carnelian along with Pewter findings. 

As a BSBP bead soup should have a focal bead and a clasp which each participant has to use for sure, I choose a Silver pendant with Sandstone and a matching Silver clasp.

Packed and labeled everything and sent it to Lena, eagerly waiting to know how she likes it.

And all she received was the greeting card that I sent along with the soup :(

The packet was open and the bead soup was gone. Unfortunately someone took out the bead soup before it could reach Lena. Both me and Lena were really sad and disappointed. She told me that she will use her own beads as a soup for the BSBP but I decided to send her another soup. Its her first BSBP and I wanted her to have a great experience. I know how eagerly I wait for my partner to send a soup to me and make me explore options out of my regular style of jewelry making. Thinking on those lines, I sent Lena another soup and I am glad that she received it fine this time.

Stay tuned for another post on the second soup.

7th Bead Soup Blog Party - Soup from Elena Adams

For the 7th Bead Soup Blog Party, the hostess Lori Anderson assigned Elena(Lena) Adams as my partner. To start with, I didn't realize that Lena is the daughter of Lori's friend Marianna in whose memory she recently hosted the Memories and Thanks Blog Hop. I feel really humbled and emotional to connect with Lena and hoping that we will have lot of fun together on this party.

After getting connected, Lena and myself started exchanging emails to get to know each other more - our like/dislikes for colors, gemstones, beading style etc and also things beyond beads. Through these emails I realized that Lena is a very sweet young lady and a very caring sister. As this is her first ever bead soup party, Lena is very excited and little anxious at the same time. She was very quick in preparing my soup and sending it across to me.

Lena sent me two bags of goodies. The green bag above had my soup and the ping bag had my favorite gemstone Carnelian which happens to be one of Lena's favorites too. But she asked me not to open the pink bag till I ran out of ideas for my soup. So here I am, not opening it till the mood strikes :)

The green bag had nine small bags with 2 focal beads - Heather Powers focal & Mosaic Aqua Jasper, silver toggle, light green glass round beads, Jasper Turquoise beads from Magpie Gems, round metal spacers, lamp work spacer beads my Michelle from TheSpacerShop, sari silks and suede in green and gray mix and green round beads.

I must say that I am in love with this soup and can't wait to create new designs with the beads. I haven't used sari silk and suede ever so I am looking forward to the challenge to be creative and think out of box here.

Aren't these focal beads so beautiful! I am hoping to use them in two different designs, one with suede and one with silk if I can.

A big thanks Lena for the delicious soup and heartfelt thanks to Lori for organizing this huge party.

7th Bead Soup Blog Party - Are you cooking a soup?

Bead Soup Blog Parties organized by Lori Anderson are getting bigger and bigger every year.
This year the sign ups were during January 25-27th and over 500 people across the world have signed up including me. There will be three reveal dates in March and April. I can imagine what an enormous effort it is for Lori to visit everybody's blog, categorize them for national and international and as per the reveal dates, pair them up and then send individual emails to notify them of their partners.

Hats off to Lori for all the hard work she puts in for organizing these parties. I am looking forward to have a great party as always and can't wait to hear about my partner.

Meanwhile, you can check out previous parties that I have attended.

6th Bead Soup Blog Party
5th Bead Soup Blog party
3rd Bead Soup Blog Party