Turquoise Mermaid Amulet

 

 

 

 

The latest Mermaid Amulet containing a stunning Turquoise gemstone with a beautiful black matrix running through it :) The whole piece is meant to resemble a piece of barnacle covered piece of coral, fit for a  Mermaid on her wedding day !!

 

 

Boho Pendant Free Prize Giveaway 2015 by Samantha Braund Jewellery

Welcome to the Samantha Braund Jewellery Free Prize Giveaway Contest 2015. The Giveaway winner will receive both of these Boho Copper wirewrapped pendants, each uniquely sculpted containing a pinky - purple dyed Sea Sediment Jasper gemstone. The prize will be sent onto the winner FREE of charge via Royal mail  tracking and signed for service (for peace of mind). The winner's name will be randomly selected on 11th July 2015 (so mark your calendars!) . The contest is open worldwide as long as there is a reliable postal service where you are situated

The reason behind the giveaway this year is to celebrate that the Samantha Braund Jewellery page is  approaching 3000 likes on Facebook. It is also to celebrate the fact that 4 years ago was the first time I showed anyone in the general public my jewellery pieces for sale, before then they sat in boxes hidden away in drawers at home, and I would post the odd photo of them on Facebook and blogger for my friends to see :) We have come along way since then and it is nice to celebrate that!



COMPETITION RULES

1. LIKE  Samantha Braund Jewellery Facebook Page if you haven't already.

2. LIKE and comment on the Photo album of the Giveaway Prizes from my jewellery page

3. SHARE this album on your own Facebook page and set that post as viewable to the public .  Click HERE for details on how to do this

4. SHARE  this blog post on Twitter  and you will get your name added to the pot again !
Click HERE for details on how to do this and where to post the link on FB for me to find

5. SHARE one of the images from the Giveaway Contest 2015 on Instagram and you will get your name added to the pot again! Click HERE for details on how to do this and where to post your link to it on FB for me to find

6. The contest will end on 11th July 2015 and the winners name will be pulled out at random and shown on video. You will get the opportunity to have your name added to the pot up to 3 times maximum

7. EXTRA RULE!! - If you purchase something from the shop before 11th July 2015 you will get your name added to the draw again and thereby get an extra chance at winning!! (This only occurred to me as one of the prize draw contenders bought something today and I thought it would be a nice gesture to add their name again :) )



**IMPORTANT INFO - How I will Find Your Name To Put In The Pot
I will be going round FB and adding your names to the draw by seeing who has shared the post for the Giveaway, which is why you have to set that post to" public" , and then I will look in the comments section to see links for where you've shared the post on Twitter and Instagram

This is what your post will look like on Facebook if done correctly :)  You can either share one of the photos or the whole album

1. Share the photo or album to your page

2. Set post to Public (globe symbol)

3. Write something nice about the prizes or the Giveaway!

4. Link your Tweet about the Giveaway  in the comments

5. Link your Instagram post about the Giveaway in the comments

 

Any questions you can message me  or comment on Facebook. Good Luck everyone!!!




Samantha Braund

Giveaway Contest - Instagram Rules

You have a chance to get your name added to the pot again by posting about the Giveaway on you Instagram account. Once you have done this you will need to leave a link to it on FB for me to find. Here's how to do it

1.Use your smartphone to click on one of the Facebook photos about the Giveaway contest 2015 and save the image to your phone device. Then upload to Instagram the usual way you do using the Instagram app on your phone. Mention to go to Samantha Braund Jewellery Facebook page in the description for the image too



There are 2 methods of generating the URL for your instagram post  for the image. Via your computer or via your smartphone



Via Your Smartphone

1. Tap the 3 dot symbol on your Instagram post about the Giveaway





2. This will give you a drop down menu, click the "Copy Share URL" button see below. Your device will have copied the URL onto it's clipboard ready to paste somewhere





3. Go to your FB page, and the post about the Giveaway. Paste the URL in the comments section of the post for me to find see below








4. It should look like this on your FB page, see the red circled number 5 below








Via Your Computer

1. Go to your instagram profile page online. It will be https://instagram.com/yourprofilename/
(see below)

 

 

 

2. Click the image that you have uploaded about the Giveaway contest 2015 and copy the URL for this image from the browser (see below). Then go to your FB post about the Giveaway and paste it into the comments :)

 

 

Good Luck!! The end date for the contest is 11th July 2015 :)

 

 

 

 

 

Giveaway Contest 2015 - Tweeting Rules

You have a chance to get your name added to the pot again by Tweeting about the Giveaway. Then you need to link your Tweet on FB for me to find to count you in. Here's how to do it!!

 

 

1. Share the blog post detailing the Giveaway Contest (2015) to your Twitter account. Do this by scrolling to the bottom of the blog post and clicking the twitter symbol as shown below 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Now go to your Twitter account and click the 3 dots symbol on your tweet about the contest. This will lead to a drop down menu. Click the "Copy Link To Tweet" button, as shown below

 

 

 

 

 

3. This will generate a URL link for you to copy ( see below), then go to your Facebook post about the Giveaway, and Paste the URL in the comments. I will see it there and add your name again to the pot for the Giveaway

 

 

 

 

 

4. This is what it should look like on your Facebook page (see the number 4 circled in red, below)

 

 

Prize Draw will be on 11th July 2015 , Good Luck!!!

The Eye Of Poseidon - Mermaid Amulet

Finally after about a year of rehab and recovery following a torn shoulder tendon, I have been able to wire sculpt again!!

This piece is a Mermaid Amulet called the "Eye Of Poseidon" honouring the all powerful God of the Oceans and Tempests, which seemed particularly fitting as this piece is a veritable maelstrom of crashing waves and turbulent waters, woven loosely into my interpretation of his eye




I feel this piece fits in nicely with the rest of the pieces in the Mermaid Amulet collection - there have always been stand alone pieces such as Ariel's Voice, and Cascade but all in all I think this is one of my favourites. I won't lie it was tricky to make, as I had to take a slowly slowly approach to making it, rather than my usual 16 hour straight approach lol - but I feel she was worth it in the end :)

Ariel's Voice II

                                 
                      Cascade Mermaid Amulet

 

There are a few Mermaid Amulets still available in the shop at present including these two personal favourites of mine....anyway follow the link HERE to see them all

 

 

 

Seafoam Mermaid Amulet, the blog post on this piece can be found HERE

Yellow Aquamarine Gaudi inspired Mermaid Amulet available to purchase HERE

 

 

I do love photographing my work against natural textures such as river rocks, pebbles, wood and stone - it adds to the organic nature of the work. I hope my shoulder continues to behave from now on and allows me to create this kind of work again soon :) Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of the photos

 

 

 

Thanks for looking ...



Samantha Braund

Humble Beginnings

 

It has been a long time since I have been able to do any wire sculpting, due to a Rotator Cuff tear of my shoulder...so you cannot imagine the joy I felt today in creating this little nugget of swirls lol. It is the humble beginnings of a Mermaid Amulet :) So far the shoulder hasn't reacted badly to doing this, but we'll see...if all goes well then wire work can be officially part of my rehab too (yay)
Thanks for looking ...



Samantha Braund

Brand New Samantha Braund Arts Website

I have been pretty busy lately dealing with a flare up of my shoulder problem - which was so annoying. However it freed me up to do quite a bit of research into moulding and casting ideas for sculptures I intend to make. I also finally got round to creating a website/blog specifically for my Art shop. I have created an Etsy shop for it too, and left it in holiday mode as I am still in an experimental work phase.

The website can be found HERE , and even though I only have a few tester posts on there, it's really starting to take shape. Do have a look and let me know what you think - it's clean and bright, as opposed to artsy which I am not totally sure about, and can always add a custom picture header, or fashion a border of some kind, but I did want the work to be what stands out, so we'll see.

 

Outside of that I have been rehabbing (of course) and made a "Dreamer" themed illustration this week, which I love. I bought these permamnet ink pens with different nib thicknesses and it's made all the difference to my doodling efforts :) I will be resuming work on my shipwrecked Pirate treasure chests, and once I am sure my shoulder has calmed down, I will try to introduce some jewellery making again...which can't happen soon enough for me lol

Thanks for looking ...



Samantha Braund

Nieces Flowerpots

 

 

I made so many paper roses for Valentines (see last post) that I decided to make a couple of Spring time flower pots for my nieces, and a bouquet for my sister. I used the 80 gsm coloured copy paper to make the roses. The thinner the paper the more lovely swirls and spirals you get to create your rose...I'll probably post a quick mini tutorial on how I made the roses soon

 

I drew out a flower pot shape on a piece of paper and used it as a template to cut the pots out of thicker cardstock. I then sponged a mix of brown, black and yellow acrylic paint to create a mottled shabby flower pot

 

I had recently purchased a pretty lace border punch, which I used to create an embellishment for the pots

 

 

I used my Tim Holtz Sizzix Decorative strip dies, that contained leaves and greenery, and left the dies in place, while I sponged a random mix of greens, blue, yellow and white all over the strips. This was one of my favourite steps lol, very messy. Once dry, I pulled apart the die leaving a pleasing mass of variegated green foliage to use

 

 

 

I made a sturdy base card , painted and stamped the surface, then set about laying down the foliage into a pleasing composition. Then the pots went on next, and then the roses - I used tacky glue and permanent tape to secure everything. The base is such that it can fold down flat, making it easier for me to post, then, it will open up into a triangular easel. Matting with patterned paper strengthened the supporting structure

 

Then the cards were taken into the back garden and photographed lol... very fitting scenery for them I thought, anyway, I hope you like them (and fingers crossed, so will my nieces)

Thanks for looking ...



Samantha Braund

Valentine Paper Roses Topper

 I like to use recycled brown paper for my packaging - I just like that rustic look. This time however the present was such an awkward shape to wrap that the effect looked crumpled and not pleasing lol... I figured I needed a distraction to save them, and created a topper that can be tied around the present.

 
 
 




I was inspired by 1920's flapper headpieces! They had all those diamonte and feather pieces clustered attractively together, attached to ribbons and headbands which wrapped around the head ... so I fashioned my own roses and flourishes version which could be tied around the misshapen present lol ..... Like so!

 

 

 

I even used the extra bits and pieces left over to fashion an embellishment for the little present. I think the tiny rose is sooo cute!!

 

 

 

 

 Making these paper roses was so easy to do, and look pretty cute and effective when glued down together. I will do a How -to photo tutorial when I make my next project using these little ones. I have something in mind for my sister and nieces and these roses will be perfect for that!

 
 



As you can see I glued and mounted the roses onto a grunged up piece of cardstock and glued the ribbons to the base, so that the topper could be tied around the gift. Tim Holtz decorative strip dies (a greenery one I think) did the job in creating these delicate leaves and tendrils to embellish the paper roses

 

Hope you all have a wonderful Valentine's Day, thanks for stopping by :)

 

Thanks for looking ...



Samantha Braund

House Of Cards Doodle

 

This doodle was the result of watching the last few episodes of House of Cards (season 2)!! I believe the intense political wranglings on the screen resulted in one of my most erratic, convoluted doodles yet!!

 I cannot wait for season 3, I'm a fan of the original British series and had been reluctant to watch the US version because of that....however so many friends were raving about it, I succumbed and am now officially hooked lol!! Ooh that Frank Underwood is devious one lol... it's very Shakespearian , a cross between Richard the Third and Macbeth !!


Thanks for looking ...



Samantha Braund

Snow and St Valentine

 

We finally got some beautiful snow fall in the UK this week. Where we are it was just enough snow to make everything look pretty, but not enough to cause any real disruption, i.e. the perfect amount lol. The above shot is of the snow covered loveseat in the back garden, with a lovely view of my Art Nouveau style clock in the conservatory (isn't she elegant)

 

The romantic in me has been getting excited for Valentines Day this year... and I noted that I have such a range of colours represented in gemstones in the shop now, that I had to put together some luscious Garnets, Coppers and Carnelian reds as part of a Valentine's promotion. You can find them here . Below are some of the pieces featured...

This Garnet Gemstone Circle Necklace was purchased straight away, I am happy to say (below)...

 

Anyway thanks for stopping by, I hope you follow the link and see the Valentines themed pieces we have in store :)

Thanks for looking ...



Samantha Braund