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

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

The Tudor King and I

 

 

It's been a lovely week for us, the highlight being attending the hubby's official PhD Graduation ceremony! As a newly anointed Doctor of Philosophy he got to wear this fab ceremonial outfit for the day. It's very Tudor-esque, especially the hat! I felt like I was with a Tudor King or at least a member of the court lol.  Anyway, I've posted some pics of us both on the day, I hope you like them - I don't normally post personal stuff here, but I wanted to document it for virtual posterity :D

 

 

 

I also made a couple of sales this week, of some special pieces - a Steampunk inspired piece containing a Purple Glass cabochon, and my beloved Bicolour Lemon-Smokey Quartz Paisely Necklace. See the pictures below :) I have also been busy working on prototypes for my Arts shop, and have come up with some interesting ideas for combining my jewellery and mixed media work to create some Gothic, Pirate themed pieces. I am pretty excited about the prospect, so watch this space :) All in all I would say it's been a pretty fab week :)

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by :)

Thanks for looking ...



Samantha Braund

Vintage Bride and Dreamcatchers

 

I saw this vintage photo of a bride to be on Pinterest (one of favourite places in cyberspace!), and had to paint her. I drew a loose outline of her in pencil first , then went in with diluted indian ink. I think I prefer drawing/ in indian ink and a brush, it's a lot more expressive than pencil. I then overlayed washes in acrylic paint and added opaque white for the highlights - because the indian ink is so dilute it accepts glazes of overlaying paint, and takes I quite well

 

 

 

I've also posted this image of the Dreamcatcher Necklace collection onto my FB jewellery page 

These pieces are inspired by the legendary Native American artefacts, I created a protective Dreamcatcher style amulet to be worn to bring peace and dispel bad dreams, like a good luck charm

They are traditionally circular hoops containing a woven web, and adorned in feathers, to hang above the bed of the person to be protected. The Dreamcatcher is meant to dispel nightmares, catching them in the web, only allowing beautiful thoughts and dreams to pass through

These necklaces are a woven myriad of golden and silver circles encircling a beautiful luminescent AAA quality faceted gemstone at the centre. You can find them here in my shop :) I am going to periodically highlight different pieces and collections I have in the store, it's a lovely way to see the ideas behind the collections and I personally love seeing all the pieces sitting together on a page lol

 

The Jewellery Shop Has Been Reopened!!

 

https://www.etsy.com/shop/SamBraundJewellery

 

I do believe that I have virtually every colour in the rainbow represented in gemstones now!! I am such a colour fiend, must be those ancestral roots calling ( The Holi Festival in particular is something I would love to witness)

Rosa Arvensis - A Fresh Hope

I am continuing to do rehab for my shoulder injury and am pleased to report that over the last couple of weeks I have been able to use my arms a lot more and have even been able to do some "art"

I would of course love to be able to take on my wire work, but as mentioned before, this would tax more torn tendon more than any other art form I do. Thank goodness I like to dabble in other media other wise I would be going crazy lol. Art therapy is a major factor in keeping me centred . I have taken to my watercolours again, which has been a surreal experience for me, as this was my only creative outlet back when I was a doctor. I haven't touched the medium in a decade - I had of course discovered the joys of acrylics and mixed media thanks to my stint on the Arts and Design course at DeMontfort Uni in 2012, but I never really thought I'd revisit this old faithful friend lol

My approach has changed though towards the medium, possibly as a result of all those mixed media influences and my love of 3D and texture, so I have taken more of an experimental approach this time. I didn't realise how much texture and vibrancy can be brought into watercolours these days, my old work could look quite washed out. The experimental painting above is of Rosa Arvensis a wild rambling white rose, that runs rampant in the English countryside...I felt it symbolised a vibrant fresh hope for me that I am turning a corner with my health and happiness in general. I have been able to reconnect with long lost family this year, and have managed to achieve significant weight loss in my efforts to address my health - so even though there has been somewhat of a creative drought and not a lot happening with the shop, I would say this has been one of my favourite years so far :) If the current trajectory holds true with my rehab, then I hope to open an Arts shop alongside the jewellery one to sell my other kinds of work , which is a lovely thought for me to hang onto as we go into the festive season



Thanks for stopping by




Samantha Braund

Cover Artists Celebration Issue Of Metal Clay Artist Magazine

The latest issue of Metal Clay Artist Magazine contained a special gallery celebrating the cover artists it had featured over the last 5 years. There have been some amazing pieces featured on those covers created by awe inspiring artisans. They featured my favourite Spider Conch Necklace as you can see, which was so  lovely of the team given that I haven't actually touched any metal clay since 2012!! I went running off to have fun messing around on the Arts and Design Course at Uni and became obsessed with painting and mixed media work.

Now I jump around between making Shipwrecked Pirate Books and making Seashore Boxes, then when I get bored I dabble in my first love wire sculpted jewellery. None of which has been happening lately due to my torn shoulder rotator cuff injury - however things are improving in that area and I am to start doing art again as part of my rehab. The irony is that I am not allowed to do extensive wire sculpted work as yet, which means I may well be heading towards playing with metal clay again. This new MCAM issue has been really inspiring and I think I really need to revisit this medium. I'll also be doing painting as part of the rehab regime, and am going to keep everything crossed that I have turned a corner and will continue to improve.

I appreciate all the lovely messages by people excited by my work. All the encouragement really helps me get into the right frame of mind to get better quicker :)  I will keep everyone updated on my progress and will show any new work on my Samantha Braund Jewellery Facebook Page . The image below is the banner for the FB page  :)




Thanks for stopping by




Samantha Braund

Meet The New Mermaid Amulet Queen!

Having been immersed in making Pirate Treasure chests for the past week, it was only natural for my strange mind to turn to making another Mermaid Amulet for the shop. This one started as a rather modest composition around the central green pearl, then it started to grow, and grow , and grow!

The piece has cascades of my signature swirls and embellishments falling from the pearl, culminating into this Art Nouveau style sculptural feature. It is a real statement piece and the new Queen of the Mermaid Amulet Collection in my mind. You can find her here in the shop . I've included plenty of views so that you can appreciate the detail and intricacy that has gone into the piece. I hope you love her as much as I do!


















Thanks for stopping by




Samantha Braund