Decorating with Momentos

Posted On July 23, 2020

Regardless of your decorating style, displaying favorite momentos is always in fashion!

My mom started painting china when I was around 11. She and her cousin, Verna, took lessons at Verna’s house taught by Inez, a teacher from Kansas City. Verna, who was already an accomplished oil and water color painter, learned rapidly and started teaching others how to china paint. Mother had less self confidence in her abilities but, with help from Verna and lots of practice, she painted many things for gifts and also sold some.

Mother enjoyed painting china for a number of years. She met with others on a regular basis for china painting days at Vernas and belonged to a china painting club. She made many lasting friends through that club.

I especially remember china painting days when she would paint all day at Verna’s and I would have to get off the school bus at her house. Verna had a son, Joe, who is a year older than me. He was at the age where he didn’t want to hang out with his young girl cousin. I remember him trying to teach me how to kick a football and getting disgusted with the poor results. He would usually disappear after a few minutes. However, his dad was super nice to me and would often teach me how to play pool after the painting was done. He died several years later but I will always remember him with great fondness and how kind he was.

By the time I got engaged, Mother’s painting was greatly improved. As our wedding present, she presented us with a complete set of china for 8 that she had painted. It included plates, cups and saucers, a creamer & sugar, platter and serving bowl. That is my most cherished gift from her. They feature wild roses, her favorite subject to paint.

I used to keep these dishes stacked away in one of my china hutches and rarely used them. I’m glad I finally decided to display them every day.

In my experience, there are three things to remember when displaying pretty glassware.

1 – Use “fillers” to make display more attractive

My friend, Terry, has a beautiful home with many items on display. She does a fabulous job decorating. One day, I had her to my house to give me advice on how to make my home prettier. Among her valued advice, she said to buy some “picks” to fill in places. I had no idea what she was talking about. Picks apparently are artificial flowers, vines, etc. She also said to include other smaller fillers among my china. She advised me that when I have groupings, to have at least three (or an odd number). I did that with the pitchers on top. She also suggested hanging a cross above so that not everything is centered.

2 – Keep the items clean – especially glassware

In my opinion, nothing is more important than keeping the items in your display clean. Grime and dirt are not pretty. I normally wash my display items about every six weeks. I can wash, dry and set up everything in this display in 15 minutes. I normally do it when I’m dusting so I can completely dust the hutch. Other times, I just swish a duster around the items.

3 – Take a picture of your display

I am a seasonal decorator so my displays change for winter, summer, fall and Christmas. When I get a display set the way I like it, I always snap a picture. That way, I can look at the picture to quickly put everything back after washing them or set up the same display when that season comes around again. This saves me lots of time when decorating.

Do you display your keepsakes? If you keep them packed away, get them out and display them. Walking by them will give you joy and rekindle fond memories. And, in case you are wondering, I have always kept my display items clean, even when I had little kids running around. It takes very little time and the result is worth it.