One of my very favorite gifts last holiday season was this beautiful set of little plates depicting Scandinavian winter scenes. They've been packed up since then, but are now a perfect addition to my low-key winter decoration.

I hesitate to use the word "vintage" for anything younger than I am (the dates on the back of these range from 1981-1983), but these feel vintage. They are signed by A. Alariesto and each have a little vignette showing winter life of the Sami people of far northern Sweden, Norway, Finland and Russia (more information thanks to Wikipedia here). As someone of Norwegian (though not Sami to my knowledge) extraction, these plates definitely pull on my heart, though I've never been to "the North", as my grandma calls it.

Plates in this series seem to be possible to find. For example, there's a sheep-keeper plate available through The Sweden Store for $19.99, and a beautiful campfire scene for $45 and a snowy village for $29.99 through Ebay.

They each have a hole threaded with wire on the back, making for easy hanging. Long thin nails would be adequate, but in earthquake-prone San Francisco, small hooks provide more security. My wall already had wall holes from a previous project, so I was saved the agony of deciding where to hang the plates!

Images: Tess Wilson