Here we are at the second installment of all the great custom designs I've been working on. I'm very slowly getting back into beading. I really having only picked up the beads twice sine LO was born. I miss it a lot, so I'm hoping posting some of the custom work I did last year will motivate me to get my butt in gear and make some more pretties.

Last time I left you with one of my favorite cuffs. It really is one my favorites I've ever worked on. I mentioned that I had made the pattern in a number of colors. Well here is that cuff in a few other colors. I think the black, white, and gold is my favorite, but it really does look beautiful in other colors as well.

On top of just beautiful cuffs, I also have been working on a series of gauntlets. These are definitely not for the shy. If you want to be seen, this is the arm candy for you. These bad boys fall just a couple inches shy of the elbow. This one has black pyramid studs running rows with faceted seed beads between. It's all done on red leather which is backed in black leather and finished with a black and red lace up tie. Like I said this is going to get some attention.

This next one doesn't have any beadwork on it at all, but it doesn't mean it was any easier. All the black pyramid studs were set by hand. There are hundreds of small studs in this one. They weight alone would make you take a step back. I had a fun time making this one and I learned a lot about leather and studs in the process.

So that's today's installment of custom work. Check back soon to see some of my favorite gauntlets I've ever made. I promise, they will be worth it.

Well I said I was going to try and post every week, but look how that has worked out. One reason was that my old computer was so slow, I couldn't stand to use it. It was slow, very slow. So it was time to order a new one. Another reason is little one is, well, if you have kids you know, a lot of work. Look at me making excuses. ;-)

But any who, let's get to some beady goodness. I have a lot of custom work that I will share so I'm going to break this up into a few parts

First off is this beauty. This is one of a series of cuffs that I made for a client. They all have a kind of Miami feel to them. This one is a combination of lines, stars, and empty space. It's hand beaded using Japanese Delicas and then attache to white leather and finished with long blue and white ties. Pink beads have a tendency to rub off, so I used the Duracoat beads on this one. I'm excited to see how they hold up with time.

The next custom cuff is a geometric design in shades of grey. It is accented with black pyramid studs. Again the beadwork is all done off loom, this one is two drop peyote and then attached to black leather and finished with black tie ups. This one is quite a large cuff. It's about 3 inches wide, so not for the person who is trying to blend into the crowd.

The last cuff for today is one of my favorites. I actually did this one in many different colors, but this color theme is my favorite. It's all hand beaded with Japanese Delicas in black, white, and 24kt gold. Again it is accented with black pyramid studs and finished on black leather. I love this design and  Ilove these colors. I'm not much of a gold girl, but for some reason this one makes me smile. Though I would love to see it in silver as well.

So there are the first few custom items I worked on last year. I'm going to be trying to update as much as possible. I'm still trying to figure out my schedule and how to balance a new baby, a family, a full time research job, teaching, and beady goodness. I'll figure out something. So don't forget to come back and see the next batch of custom items.