About a month or so ago I shared a picture of my mom’s etagere and told you I was planning on chalk painting it. Well, I finally did!

I love having Mom’s etagere. It’s one of two, actually—my brother and sister-in-law have its twin. But the brown stain didn’t go as well with my current decor, so . . . enter chalk paint!

Here’s a BEFORE picture . . .

And some AFTERS . . .

I chose Annie Sloan’s Duck Egg Blue (a color I’ve long loved) then used her dark wax that really deepens the color and brings out the distressing in the wood.

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Can you see the color difference in the image below? The left side is before the dark wax has been applied (a lighter blue/teal), and the right side is after (a deeper teal).

As you can see from pictures above, I’ve yet to fill the etagere (I still have boxes to unpack). But here are a few “sweet memory” items.

First, a little ceramic lemon tree Mom painted along with a little dog I painted at the same time (when Mom and I took a ceramic class when I was a girl).

Beside those are our white gloves that Mom and I wore to church on Sunday mornings. My gracious, haven’t times changed!? Then the little pink glass basket was Mom’s too. She loved all things delicate—and pink.

These three little glasses are from a trip to Germany my family took when I was nine years old, and when KLM Royal Dutch Airlines still used glass plates and cups and real silverware—in coach class! I’ve had my glass for years, then got Mom’s and my grandmother’s when Mom passed.

Decorating with special keepsakes is something I’m loving doing in this house that definitely has a more casual, farmhouse feel to it. I filled this tier in my kitchen with more of them . . .

See the grey glass measuring cups? Those were a gift from our own sweet Deb Raney when she came to visit. And the teaspoons inside the cups belonged to my grandmother.

The little tins are the tins I used with my Suzie Homemaker oven way back in the day. I still have the oven, too, but wasn’t able to grab a picture of that. Does anyone else remember those little ovens that baked by the heat of a light bulb? Did anyone else have one, too? Come on, fess up!

Finally, the little stack of Bibles belonged to our fathers and grandfathers. The little one on the top was the Bible my sweet Dad carried with him to Korea when he was in the Air Force back in the ’50s. (Notice Dad’s jacket pocket below <g>)

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So tell me . . .

What special keepsakes are among your favorites in your home? And what’s the story behind them? I’d love to know!

Blessings on your Tuesday and thanks for being part of this community,

Tammy