Folk art inspired

The article about traditions in "Świat Kobiety" magazine.

It all started with my mom sending to me a magazine.
I read about the store that sells Polish folk art and folk art inspired items, and since then I am hooked!
I LOVE decorative items inspired by Polish folk art. I just want them all :)
Few years ago, I wouldn't even care about folk art.
It seemed old fashioned to me, especially when there was a trend for modern, convenient and simple things
(I am a youth fascinated with IKEA style - "simple, put it together").
It is pretty amazing how the items inspired by Polish folk art can be easily implemented to any home decor. I love the ideas!
The website introduces us to Łowicz  folk art that is famous for its colorful costumes (velvet dresses, vests, shirts, belts, hats, purses), but also jewelry, paper cut-outs, dolls, embroidered (hand or machine) pillowcases, throws and tablecloths.
There are lots of items inspired by Łowicz  folk art, such as plates, mugs, t-shirts and even cute socks!
My favorite of all time are pillows with roosters (inspired by paper cut-outs), a clock with paper cut-out design and black & white mugs.
Check out all the colors of the rainbow and tell me how not to fall in love with this stuff ?? :O)
The link:
http://www.sklep.folkstar.pl/

Amber - Part 2 (video)

This is a very informative video, that I found on You Tube.

Check it out, if you would like to learn more about amber

and see some great amber jewelry collections.

Amber - Gold of the Baltic Sea

Amber (in Polish: "bursztyn") is a popular souvenir from Poland and makes the best gift ever!

Polish amber is unique and known all over the world. It comes in different colors: orange, brown, green and white. Bursztyn can be found all over the south coast of the Baltic Sea.
Fall and spring storms are the best time for amber collectors who take walks on the beach after the storm, looking for a "gold of the Baltic Sea". One of the popular methods is searching the beach at night by using flashlights. The light helps to spot amber that shines under the water and can be seen from a long distance.

Polish name bursztyn comes from German "bernstein" which means "burning stone". Burning amber produces an intensive aroma, and even Egyptian queen Cleopatra used it as an incense :)

The Baltic amber is a harden resin which originated 40 million years ago. The resin was produced most likely by pine trees which were located in the region where the Baltic Sea is today. This explains why there is lots of amber with insects in it. The resin became hard under cold water temperatures.

Polish legend

Our great grandfathers believed that there was a gold, amber palace on the bottom of the Baltic Sea, that belonged to the beautiful princess Jurata. She felt very lonely in her palace, and one day took a trip to the coast where she met a poor and handsome fisherman. Jurata fell in love with him. When the king of the Baltic Sea found out about it, he got very upset, threw lightning on the fisherman's boat and killed him. Seeing princess Jurata crying, the king threw another lightning on the amber palace and killed her. The amber palace broke into a million pieces. The storms would throw gold amber onto the beach to remind us of the tragic love and the anger of the king.


Natural medicine and amber

Amber has been also used in the natural medicine. It creates "friendly" negative ions and brings balance into our stressful life. Amber liquor is known for being a remedy for almost anything - flu, fever, migraines, stomachaches, heartaches, rheumatic pains, asthma, bronchitis and more... (yes, more!)

My favorite bracelet with amber

Amber jewelry makes a great gift and I am a huge fan of it myself. Besides jewelry, there many other souvenirs made of amber that are sold in the galleries, jewelry shops and gift shops across the country.

Some items might be pricey, but once you fall for amber your love will never end!





Fall and its best



Source: google.com/search, website for this image: dobra-rada.pl
I try to do my best not to borrow pictures from anyone,
unless I can provide information about the author or the source.
I could not resist this picture... I liked it the most!
Complements to the author.

This is a precious memory from my childhood that I want to share today.
Each fall, I used to pick chestnuts and acorns, and make little creatures out of them using matches.
When I was very little, my dad would drill the holes in chestnuts to help me out. We would make people, horses, birds, giraffes, hedgehogs, you name it! And my little creatures would wear hats like the ones in the picture above. They would have shoes too! :D
The tradition of making chestnut and acorn creatures was passed from my parents generation, and it used to be a very popular art project at school.

I used to love picking chestnuts and loved how cold they were. My dad would put a few of them in his pocket each year. They are suppose to help for rheumatism pains... And he knows something about it...

Another fall activity that I remember is making beads from rowan berries :) I was impatiently waiting for them to dry, so I could wear them. The most beautiful thing about fall in Poland are the colors: all shades of yellow, orange, red, brown and purple... I would bring loads of fall leaves for my mom and give her colorful bouquets. She would keep them in a vase and dry them before tossing them away :) Just to make me happy... Great memories...

VOCABULARY:
fall - jesień
chestnuts - kasztany
acorns - żołędzie
chestnut creatures - kasztanowe ludziki
rowan - jarzębina
rowan beads - korale z jarzębiny
leaf bouquet - bukiet z liści