Zetta's Cupboard!

Elizabeth's Cupboard
Before I tell you about Grandma Zetta's Cupboard, I want to show you Elizabeth's.  Elizabeth has two blogs one called Creative Breathing,  creativebreathing.blogspot.com and the other, E's Craft Room Creations:  bluebirdpapercrafts.blogspot.com. When I first saw this painted cupboard...I thought "Mary Engelbreit is undercover in Ohio."  Elizabeth's creations are like everything I ever loved about ME and the Home Companion.  I wanted my own painted cupboard, and then I realized...I had one downstairs in the basement kitchen...Zetta's Cupboard.

Zetta's Cupboard
We talked about how Zetta didn't have a laundry room or even a bathroom in her little Alpine, Utah home.  Grandpa Mel finally got around to building a kind of lean-to addition to the back of the house, creating a utility room and a very utilitarian bathroom.  This cupboard took up one wall of the utility room and was used to store cleaning supplies and Grandpa's collection of mining memorabilia from his days in the mines of American Fork Canyon.  The cupboard was cobbled together from an old hutch top and a dresser, then painted white.  I loved poking about in the drawers and looking at the chunks of iron pyrite that Grandpa called "Fool's Gold."  I thought the old cupboard was a treasure in itself.  Many years later, after Grandpa Mel passed away and Zetta moved in with her daughter, Jane, I took the old cupboard home.

 Dutch Kitchen Kitsch
Once I got my treasure home, I asked my dear friend Denise to paint it for me.  She had handpainted many of her own chairs and other furniture.  She gave it some subtle, but lovely Pennsylvania Dutch hearts and flourishes.  I value it even more because of her work. 

Now the cupboard is home to my kitschy Dutch figurines and Blue Delft collection.  We lived in Germany in the late 70's in a city not too far from the Dutch border.  The Nieder-Sachsen countryside looked just like Holland with its canals and windmills.  The mayor of our town even had a windmill at his hunting lodge.

Because we were only an hour or two away, we often traveled to Holland to see the Tulip Festival and maybe take our little girls to the beach.  It's a lovely country.

What's Next?

I don't know if I will keep all these little Dutch pieces.  I may put them aside for my granddaughters and use the space to display new treasures.  I've cleaned out the drawers and lined them with colorful floral scrapbook papers.  I intend to use the drawers to store my collections of potholders and handkerchiefs.  I'm trying to re-organize my sewing room. 

This blog has been a blessing to me.  I've stopped wasting so much time and I'm much more productive and creative.  This has been kind of like writing my personal history in a way that is lot closer to who I really am.  I'm glad my daughters and nieces are reading this and learning about their great-grandmother Zetta.

And Finally...

A Sweet Little Handkerchief Girl

She was a gift from another dear friend.  The tag says "Made in Switzerland."

Have a Lovely Tuesday, Dear Friends,