Author Archives: Krista Salmon

05.11.11

Intaglios.

Last week I received the latest Ballard Designs Catalog and my jaw almost dropped when I saw this wall of cameos.  These little pictures are selling for $299 PER picture!  The timing couldn’t have been more perfect because I just finished a wall of 18 for under $200.  And here’s how….
I am notorious for buying items for my next big project and storing them for months if not years before I get to it.  But let’s be honest, with two kids, a full time job and this little blog– I don’t get a lot of spare time for crafting.   That being said, I bought these intaglios over a year ago for the wall in my dining room.  Well, bit by bit, I worked on this project and was able to finish just in time before Lou’s party.  Here are the results:

Here’s the cost break down:

Here’s the how-to:

18 Frames…..
I actually made mine without the glass.  The intaglios were thicker than I expected, so the frames weren’t thick enough for the glass.
 Some spray paint….
 Presto-chango:
I bought this fabric at G-Street Fabrics thinking I’d use the velvet side… but I couldn’t get rid of these darn lines…
So, I decided to use the reverse side, which I now love… it looks like linen, but it’s much more substantial.
 I traced all 18 backboards (fabric backside up) and cut them out.
I used my little craft glue gun to glue the fabric to the cardboard.  One note– make sure to pull the fabric tight to each corner and cut off the excess.  The fabric will stretch.
Then I glued on the intaglios and voila!
Now, with all of that procrastination, the hardest part was actually hanging them.  Thanks to my Pops, who painstakingly hung all 18.  Because the frames were incredibly cheap, the hooks were not evenly attached, so we used double sided velcro tape, which allows me to rearrange them as I choose.
I am so happy with the results!
 
Tutorials are not my thing– but I hope you enjoyed it… Please send me pictures if any of you decide to do your own wall of intaglios!
UPDATE:
Intaglios | Kiki's List
See how we updated our dining room here + here.

05.06.11

A Pixie Preview.

Tomorrow is Lou’s party!  Because of my own procrastination, I have been crafting like a mad woman all week.  I successfully burned the tip of every finger with hot glue and have more glitter on me than a stripper at the Crazy Horse… but in the end, it will all be worth it.

Here is a preview of what’s to come (My apologies for the picture quality, these were taken with my iPhone.)

05.01.11

Happy Birthday to My Baby Girl.

Today my little Anna Lou turns three.  I cannot believe it.  Where did the time go?  On Friday I told her that I was going to cry at her birthday party because she’s not a baby anymore.  She stopped what she was doing, came over and took my face in her hands and said “Don’t cry, Mommy, I have to be a big girl now, it’s ok.”  Seriously, now I really AM going to cry.
Anna Louise was born on May 1, 2008.  She was named after my mom, Anita Louise.. who was named after her grandmother, Anna Louise.  An old Italian tradition is to name your children after their paternal grandparents, therefore all of my mother’s cousins were already named Anna by the time she came along. My Nanny tried to switch it up and name her Anita…  Well, that went over like a lead balloon.  In stubborn-old-Italian-grandmother tradition, she never spoke to my mother.  Before Neets died, I told her that if we ever had another girl, we would name in her honor.  (She died two weeks before Elizabeth was born, but we had already picked E’s name.) However, (as I also told her) I could not do Anita, so we would revert to Anna.  And the rest is history.
She was a big girl, so I had a scheduled C-Section.  That being said, on April 30 at 11:00 pm, my water broke.  As you may have read about my belief in the significance of dates, I was thrilled that she was picking her own birthday.  I believe that this has a lot to do with a person’s make-up.  Well, luckily I was able to hold on through the night, but because three other women’s water broke that night who were also scheduled, I had to wait. (Must have been a full moon.)  Luckily we were still in time for a C-Section because at one week early, this turkey weighed in at  9 lbs. 14 oz.  We brought her home and Elizabeth said that she “wanted to put her baby sister in the trash can.”
Go figure- she won her over.
We are so lucky to have her.  She has brought our family so much joy.
She is the sweetest, kindest, most sensitive little girl in the world.
Sometimes a little mischievous…
And certainly taking advantage of the terrible twos….
 
But she’ll always be our Lou Lou Bug.
We love you Lou.
Happy Birthday!

04.29.11

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today my mother would have been 66 years old.    Ironic that the Royal Wedding falls on her birthday, as she passed away on the Anniversary of Princess Diana’s death (which coincidentally was also our Wedding Anniversary.)

I believe in the significance of numbers.  It is so strange to me that so many events fall on the same day.  For instance– August 31— the anniversary of our engagement, wedding and Mom’s death.  Yes, the first two of those events were totally within our control– but I still think that there is something symbolic here.   As Mike likes to tell me-  “You are the only one I know who has an astrologer and a clairvoyant…”  Yes, I am weird that way.

Whatever the significance–Happy Birthday Mom!