Dala Horse Post Cards

   I was so happy today that my dala horse post cards came back from the printer! These cards feature two of my own paintings with a blue and white dala and a pink and red dala. They are now available in my etsy shop!

Happy Valentine's Day!

source

May your day be filled with romance!

Glad Alla hjärtans dag!

Artist Spotlight: Woodland Jewelries

  Today I am so pleased to introduce you to a lovely young woman and talented jewelry maker, Delila of Woodland Jewelries. Originally from Finland, Delila recently moved to England to pursue her passion for plants and now works in a beautiful English garden. You can read all about her adventures in nature and jewelry making at her beautiful blog, The Acorn Gatherer. However, here on the blog she has come to visit with us and tell us about her beautiful creations, inspirations, and the things that she loves....

Name: Delila Jemaiel
Business: Woodland Jewelries
Website: acorngatherer.blogspot.com andwoodlandjewelries.etsy.com

Tell us a little about yourself: 
I am a Finnish gardener and jewelry maker living in England. At the moment i am an trainee/worker at the magical Nymans garden. For many years i dreamed that i could live in England and that happened last autumn. In my free time i love to wander in the woods, be with the trees and observe nature. Beatrix Potter, Victorian era, tea, fairy tales,... are close to my heart also.

What inspires you to create your beautiful jewelry pieces? 
   The lovely woodland and forest creatures. Fairy tales, fairies and art inspire me also. Sometimes i may see a movie like a Bright Star or Miss Potter, which inspires me. Inspiration comes in phases, at some moments i may make a collection of jewelries with a same theme, like a twilight woodland. Seasons change the colors of my work. Sometimes i may see a photograph, or a painting which inspires me. But mostly i am inspired by the surrounding nature. 

How has moving from Finland to England influenced your art?   I make my jewelry in the same way I did before, but the themes may have changed. I am able to see deer here every time i wander in to the "deer woods", so the deer appear in my work all the time. I am inspired by the local flora and fauna... i would love to make jewelry with badgers on it! Some wild plants, which do not grow in Finland's nature inspire me: mistletoe, ivy, bluebell, snowdrop. 

What are your favorite things to create jewelry from? 

  Crocheting scalloped chains, Something i began to do two years ago- I still keep crocheting these chains. I have never been able to follow patterns, so i wanted to crochet something simple, which i could use on my jewelries. Making things of my own gives a more unique touches on to my work, like making air clay acorns and birds. I do love to sew and use ragged ribbons. I try to find a real looking nature themed brass charms, like deer's, squirrels and pine cones. Different beads like Picasso, Czech glass beads, semi precious stone nuggets. 

Do you have any special projects coming up for spring or for 2013 in general?    I am trying to learn how to crochet an oak leaves which i could use on my bracelets.
A few shops have been asking to sell my jewelries here on England, which is wonderful! Making the jewelries for the shops will begin soon. 

Travelling to the Lakes in this spring to see Beatrix Potter's Hill Top once again would be wonderful. It is one of the dearests places to me.

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   Thanks so much Delila for taking the time to chat with us here about her beautiful creations! And please, take a moment to visit her blog and shop, to see what goodies you might like for yourself! All images used with the permission of Delila Jemaiel of Woodland Jewelries

The Nielsens & Olsons: Portrait of a Norwegian-American Family

Mikal Nilsen

 The following is a post written by contributor Winnie Nielsen. In it, she will trace the journey of her husband's Norwegian ancestors to America, and explore how they retained their Nowegian roots in some ways, and became American in others. She is also kind enough to share a family recipe with us! Thank you so much, Winnie!~

The Nielsens & Olsons

By Contributor Winnie Nielsen

    My husbands' Norwegian family story begins in Sandar Sondefjoprd, Norway with the marriage of Nils Andreasen and Maren Pedersdotter in 1852. They were a farming family and the 1875 record showed that the year produced 1/4 ton barley, 1 1/2 ton oats, and 3 tons of potatoes.   They had 6 children and their fifth son, Mikal Nilsen, was born in 1864.

Amunda Nilson

    Mikal Nilsen immigrated as a young man to American in March 1887 on the vessal named Thingvalla.  His passenger ticket was number 355 and they landed in April in New York City.  He worked as a laborer and went back in in 1894 and married  Amunda Anderson( born in Tonsberg, Norway in 1866).  He returned to American and she joined him one year later.  During the US census of 1910, both Mikal and Amunda were US citizens living in Brooklyn N.Y. Mikal was employed in an asbestos plant and they both could read, speak and write English.

Mikal and Amunda Nilsen and child

    Mikal and Amunda's seventh son was Arthur Nielsen.  Nilsen was changed to Nielsen when Mikal immigrated.    Arthur met and married Kathleen Olson in Brooklyn N.Y. in 1942 during World War II.

Marthilde Olson

    Kathleen, was from an immigrant Norwegian family who was also living in Brooklyn , N.Y.  Karl ( Haukas) Olson, born 1881, married Marthilde Gabrielle and they immigrated to Brooklyn N.Y. in 1905.  Karl named himself Charles (Charlie for short) here in the US.  He worked as a high skilled ship mechanic on boats in the New York Port.  Marthilda worked as a domestic for a wealthy  family.  Together they had two children: Kathleen and Oweida Ethel.

Charles Olson

Charles and Marthilde

    Kathleen and Arthur had two children : Warren Charles and Susan Lynn.  Arthur served in the US Navy in the Pacific during WWI and was a career enlisted man residing most of their married life in Norfolk, Virginia.  Kathleen stayed at home while her children were small but eventually entered the workforce in office support roles.

    Like many Norwegian immigrant families, the Nilsens and the Olsons, came here to seek a better life with the many work and life opportunities that were not available to them in Norway.  They were regarded in the US as  hard working and highly skilled. They  banded together in the Brooklyn ,N.Y,  Norwegian community supporting one another and helping new family members come and get established. They worked hard to learn the language and American way of life.     

      By the time Kathleen and Arthur grew up, they did not speak Norwegian and were fully   westernized with friends and life in American public schools.  They saw themselves as Americans first and Norwegian second.  Warren's family grew up on the naval base in Virginia and the traditions of the Old Country became more faint as the years passed.  But true to many second and third generation Norwegians, what did survive were favorite recipes.  Marthilda was known for her delicious waffles, which were made with lots of eggs and fresh ground cardamon.  Kathleen carried on that tradition with her grandchildren and whenever she visited, she made Nana Olson's waffles.  My children loved them as well as their cousins. 

Kathleen and Arthur with their children

Nana Olson's Waffle recipe here:

2 C regular flour

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp ground cardamon

1/4 C melted butter

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 - 3/4 cup milk or enough for a thick batter depending on the size of your eggs.

Mix all ingredients together and cook in a waffle maker till golden brown.  Serve immediately with butter and warm syrup. Delicious!!

   America was the melting pot for so many countries.  Scandinavian immigrants took many pathways to a new life here.  Some went west to homestead on the prairie while others congregated in cities and applied their skills to the labor force.  Today, they look back with pride at what their great grandfathers and grandmothers did to make life better for themselves and their children.  The joined the many other immigrants who helped build this nation and shared their love of their homeland with neighbors and friends.  For the third generation family of these Norwegian immigrants, I would say they sweetened the effort one delicious waffle at a time!

Art on Display

  Hello there, my friends!~
   Just wanted to pop by and let you know that I have many pieces of my original art plus some prints now on display and ready to buy at Shades of Brown Coffee and Art in Tulsa, Okla. This includes many of my Scandinavian themed pieces such as The Norwegian Bride, Lars, and Deep in the Winter Wood. If you're in the area, I'd love for you to stop by! And get one of their amazing coffees while you're at it!