Shipwrecked Valentine Amulet

Here is the latest piece, it is another Valentine themed necklace inspired this time by my Shipwreck Jewellery collection. In my mind, an ornate jewellery piece has been lost in time on a shipwrecked vessel, and is found covered with barnacles and marine life. This is the first one of my Shipwreck jewellery pieces that has contained a faceted gemstone, usually I like to use smooth tumbled gemstones for this collection. However, I was inspired by the Titanic and thought about all those precious gems and jewellery lost in the ocean depths over the years

This necklace contains a marquise cut AAA Garnet Cubic Zirconia gemstone and is sculpted in Sterling silver wire. I hope you like it. I will try to get this piece into the shop tomorrow

I'm on a bit of a jewellery making roll at the moment, but as those that know me are aware that I am incredibly faddish - so I will keep going while I am in the mood, for the benefit of the shop at least. I do feel the illness drama of last year put a dent in my progress, but nevermind, these things happen. I'll be back at uni soon enough, with more work I can handle probably! No rest for the wicked ...
















Thanks so much for stopping by xx




Samantha Braund

Valentine DreamCatcher Necklace

This is an image laden post so be warned !

This is the first piece of jewellery I've made since July 2013! After protracted illnesses and mixed media experimentation, I have returned to my beloved jewellery making lol. I chose this beautiful Rhodolite Garnet gemstone to make my comeback with.... I had bought this gemstone to make a follow up piece to my Lemon Quartz Dream catcher necklace I made last year. I love the Native American myths surrounding Dream catchers - I go into detail in my item description here

Also the hue of the gemstone is such a romantic translucent pinky red that I felt it was very in keeping with Valentine's Day. I hope you like the photos ... I actually got my act together and listed it in the shop already too (follow the link in the paragraph above)








Here is the first piece in the series made in April last year. This is also still available in the shop at present , you'll find this piece here






I am also very pleased to announce that I've made some wonderful sales over the last week or so. Necronomicon with it's rich Blue Topaz gemstone has been sold. I'm so happy about this, she is a real favourite of mine and has gone to a good home :) . Ariel's Voice III sold as well as a pretty dainty Rose Quartz necklace as seen below. I hope next week is as thrill inducing lol....











Samantha Braund

Jade Gothic Book

I had to share this new book I’ve altered for the hubby this week. He always complains that he can’t wear any of my jewellery as they’re too feminine for him lol. He particularly likes my wirewrapped art nouveau freestyle pieces – so as surprise I altered a papier mache “book drawer” and adorned it with a copper wire sculpted piece containing a variegated Serpentine Jade gemstone



It was a project of many firsts for me tbh. I had never used the papier mache before, it is incredibly sturdy, surprisingly so, and can take acrylic media well, but the drawer doesn’t pull in and out as smoothly as it did before I altered it. I didn’t seal it first though and did go straight in with the paint, so maybe it got a bit swollen? I don’t know, I’ll have to get a new one and experiment...

I’ve also had this jar of Decoart Modelling paste for about 6 months and had not dared use it before…I LOVE IT!! It’s so light and easy to manipulate around the piece. I smoothed the paste over cardstock containing an embossed Flourish (Tim Holtz Sizzix) . Another first for me was combining my wire sculpted work with my mixed media work…I think I will have to try more of these lol!









The rest of the book is embellished with aluminium foil pieces. I have been experimenting with inexpensive aluminium foil and various paint effects to develop a cool distressed effect. The cover has an industrial metal design, which gives it a masculine edge, and the spine reminds me of those ancient medieval books that I love. Overall, the gemstone, flourish and industrial metal elements are meant to evoke a Victorian Steampunky feel.

I just can’t wait for him to come home and see it, and hopefully he’ll find the drawer handy as a desk tidy (that desk really needs tidying!). I hope you love the photos, I noticed that the ones taken in daylight really look blueish compared to the ones taken inside my photo tent…so I included both lots for contrast.





I will be posting these in the following contests
Simon Says ...Emboss It (Simon Wednesday Blog Challenge)  - embossed Sizzix Flourish
Our Creative Corner Blog - No More Shopping Sins Challenge - Papier Mache Book Drawer, Decoart Modelling Paste and even the Serpentine Jade gemstone which I've had since 2010!!
Ali Craft Blog - Anything Goes Challenge




Samantha Braund

Etching and Plaster Alchemy...

I'm ever so excited about my latest mixed media experimental work. I have finally made a start on Copper and Brass etching, which has been amazing fun!

I have also come up with a way of turning plaster into antiqued gold lol! Yes, I have achieved alchemy...Ok, not really, but I have achieved some really cool results

These are my first attempts at etching. I used Copper and Brass sheeting, and Ferric Chloride, using archival ink as a resist. The results are beautiful aren't they...I cannot wait to include them in my books or mixed media artwork.


Etched Brass Sheeting with Paisely design


Etched Copper Sheet with Flourishes

The experiments with plaster came about through sheer "miserly-ness". I have no idea how everyone affords buying in metal components for each and every project they work on?

 I had purchased steampunk brass stampings and Tim Holtz metal embellishments and dreaded them running out after use...so I thought I'd make moulds of them in silicone and attempt to cast them in plaster. I do use a plaster formulation that is slightly stronger than plaster of paris, as I find plaster of paris can be quite crumbly and not strong enough for the next stage of the process

The castings turned out really well as you can see...


The next stage involved using an inexpensive alunimium metal foil to cover the plaster forms. I then burnished the foil into all the nooks and crannies to highlight as much of the detail as possible. Then using acrylic paint I set about distressing the foil to appear like antiqued gold! 

This is the skull and cross bones version I did, all ready to adorn a new pirate book or treasure chest!



I even attempted to alter a very shiny polymer flower I had made in 2009. I used the same techniques as above and transformed it into an antiqued gilded floral ornament ready for use!!




All in all, I enjoyed playing with all my metals , both faux and real !! Hope you like the pics :)



Samantha Braund

Studio PlayTime

"Forest Floor" - painted in apples and cinnamon inspired hues and values

It's been ages since I've properly reconnected with my blog or even Facebook. I think it's because I was made to feel thoroughly miserable for a while with all the health issues and I knew that would come through online. The appointments and follow ups are continuing and will do throughout November, but I am fine within myself, which is a relief to be able to say

I am going to keep the shop closed for the rest of the year now, to give myself room to relax and play...this is how I come up with my best work to be honest. I'm planning to open at least another shop next year which will be based on mixed media, altered books, paintings and such, so there is a lot of work going into that behind the scenes. The hubby is also literally heading into his final few weeks before handing in his thesis, so a calm stress free household is paramount. Christmas will be fun though!

I have really got back into my painting again recently. I have decided to accept the fact that I'm incredibly faddish when it comes to my medium of choice. All I want to do is paint at the moment, and who knows how long that impulse will last before I move onto something else. That's probably why I'll need all these different types of retail outlets to store all forms of my work lol . Anyway, I will leave you with my latest paintings, they're acrylic abstract pieces, one titled "Forest Floor" and the other playfully called "Grapelicious". They've both been painted in a negative painting style, which I am obsessed with at the moment. I hope you like them...I've included close ups of different aspects of the paintings as well as a view of them on the studio table :)
















"Grapelicious" - hues inspired by both the red and the green grapes on vines















Thanks for stopping by



Samantha Braund

Getting Back On The Horse!

I haven't blogged an update here in a long time because quite frankly it would have been too depressing to document everything! Suffice it to say, that I have been looked after very well by the wonderful Oral Maxillofacial Surgeons in hospital, and thank goodness really because there were some scary moments during the last few weeks. Swellings in the neck were compressing my windpipe and making swallowing difficult in addition to a raging infection, in my jaw bone, that the antibiotics just couldn't seem to get a handle on! I ended up on antibiotics for 6 weeks continuously - can you imagine how that has affected my system as a whole....so I am taking my recovery time seriously and at a slow pace. My energy levels are not great at the moment but everyday I get stronger, so that's good. Anyway, the drama should be over for he most part now (touch wood)

I am itching to get back to being creative and have many ideas and experiments I'd like to work on. The only pieces left to list in the shop are the Spider Conch necklaces (the Peacock freshwater pearl one is in the photo above)...I still haven't edited the photos, so that chore is still hanging over me lol. Outside of that, it should be a case of all new work, which is so exciting... I'd really love to combine my jewellery making and book making , in addition to my usual style of pieces -we'll see...for now I am just happy to be back home and on the mend :)

Thanks so much for the supportive emails and well wishes they have meant so much to me. I need to acknowledge them all, when I can, and mostly thanks for being so patient lol .

The Prize Giveaway went very well - I didn't really get a chance to appreciate that fact until now really. I loved all the interactions and excitement induced by the event, and the video was sooo much fun to do. I will definitely do more Giveaways in the future. The best part for me is how happy the Prize winners are (yay!) and all the new fans of my jewellery page. The numbers have continued to climb despite my sick leave, which is so encouraging. I definitely would suggest following my Samantha Braund Jewellery Facebook Page for special offers, previews of new collections and more frequent updates

Bye for now xx

Lemon and Cognac Quartz Holi Charm Necklace (in the shop now)

























 

Samantha Braund

Giveaway Winners Video and Dry Socket Drama!

What a crazy time of extreme highs and lows I am having right now!

I am currently going through the most awful dental pain I've ever experienced! My wisdom tooth got infected, which meant enduring 2 weeks of horrible antibiotics. The infection recurred and the dentist extracted the tooth,which was a traumatic procedure, and then the clot dislodged leaving the bone and nerves exposed!! It's a condition known as Dry Socket! Oh my, it is horrendous....so I am now on my third set of antibiotics and the whole sorry saga is entering it's fourth week, and the pain is worse than ever

Ideally, I would have closed the computer and shut the shop for the duration, but there were too many issues to deal with. First there was the sale of one of my favourite pieces in the shop, the beautiful Cognac Quartz Gemstone Circle Necklace (pictured above),went to a new owner a week or so ago, which felt wonderful! I also managed to list ALL the Holi Charm Necklaces this week. 19 luscious gemstone laden charm necklaces inspired by the Holi Hindu Festival celebrating colour. The complete collection can be seen here I am so proud of myself for enduring awful dental pain and managing to edit all the images, (which amounted to at least 100 high res photos)and proceed to list them in the shop! This time last year I would have avoided the task like the plague lol.

The other major development to have occured this week, is that the Art Nouveau Earrings Giveaway Contest has run it's course! My facebook page reached the target number of likes 1111,(a binary combination in honour of Big Bang Theory's Sheldon Cooper...my inner geek loved that!). The whole experience had been so much fun, and so many people had joined in and got into the spirit of things that I really did not want to let them down, so it meant having to procure a video showing the prize draw winners, again while unwell - but the adorable hubby lent a hand(literally lol) and helped me do the draw and edit the video. I am so pleased with the result having not really done anything like that before, and the reaction to the video and contest in general has been amazing. These are all things I wouldn't have wanted to miss inspite of the pain

Anyway, here's hoping that I recover in a timely fashion and get to have some fun in the studio soon!! Enjoy the video below






Samantha Braund