Cha... Cha... Cha... Changes!

Goodbye Network for a Healthy California (Network) and the Department of Public Health, it has been a great 6.5 years! Over the years I would occasionally think about what it would be like to not work at the Network and soon I will know what that's actually like. I have spent at least 80% of my professional career within the walls of the California Department of Public Health's building on Capitol Avenue. I feel fortunate to have gained a wide variety of experiences with the Network from a complete organizational re-brand, television advertising shoots, food and cookbook photo shoots, focus groups with real California Moms struggling to feed their families healthy and affordable foods, production of award winning publications and educational materials, and so much more. I watched the Network grow over the years and developed a strong bond with my Communications and Media Unit. I will leave with a life long passion for healthy eating and active living and I want to continue to do what I can to help people get and eat healthy, fresh, and affordable fruits and vegetables in one way or another.

Here are a few embarrassing moments at the Network!

Oh, don't worry, that's just me with pigtails in my hair.... forced to try and look like a teen.... thanks Kristy.... I let them do that to me and all I can say is WOW. It got even worse when a friend actually saw the poster in her local grocery store!

There is a lot at the Network that I won't miss but I will miss the people. Barbara, Becky, Kristy, Loren, Sarita, Iain, Carmen, Mary, and Kathryn. There are a handful of others that I have thoroughly enjoyed working with and respect their passion, dedication, and skills they are devoting to making California a healthier place!

It's now my time to move on and I couldn't be happier to be moving to a place where I already feel welcome! I start a new job on Monday with 3fold Communications as an Account Manager. 3fold is a fun, creative, and community focused communications and marketing agency located in the heart of midtown Sacramento. They were awarded the Sacramento Metro Chamber's Small Business of the Year Award for 2011 and are widely respected in the local Sacramento community. 3fold represents private and non-profit clients so I will be able to experience working with both sides of the business.

I look forward to this new chapter in my life. There are big changes happening and I am ready to meet them head on with energy and determination to do great things. Definitely check out the Web site, like the Facebook page, follow them on Twitter, keep up with their blog, and contact me if you think there is an opportunity to work together in the future! Just a few more days and I will officially be a 3folder!

Happy Valentines Day!

Happy Valentines Day to you all! I got a very pleasant surprise from Gino yesterday, a sewing machine! Now that I have a sewing machine, I need to learn how to use it and I just know I will add 50 more projects to my "want to do list". Oh well, at least there is Pinterest to look to for projects and tutorials!

I also had another realization this morning. I didn't think to bring Luke's teachers or classmates a valentine. Luke sent a few valentines out to a few special people but I completely forgot about daycare until I walked in this morning to find another kid with cards for the teachers. I know he's still young so it isn't a big deal but I guess that is another thing to think about down the road.

Tonight we plan on a nice evening at home with a healthy dinner of ahi tuna steaks, little man cuddles, and day 2 of P90X! Exciting I know.

Primo Landscape + Design

Happy Monday everyone!

Many of you know that Gino, my husband, has a passion and talent for landscape design. Over the summer he worked really hard to pass the California contractors license exam to become a licensed landscape contractor. Of course we had to make new business cards to showcase his new number. After I adamantly shot down the name "Primo" for our son, Gino decided that it was a perfect name for his landscape business and Primo Lanscape + Design was born.

Gino wanted a simple and clean logo with no icons or symbols but something that would look good on a yard or truck sign. I created this logo for him with a sketched style name and a shining light effect on the words PRIMO.









Over the next few months we will be putting together his Web site which will include a bio, before and after pictures of previous and current jobs, and a list of the various services he offers. If you need help with landscape design and would like to talk with Gino, send me a message or give him a call.

Gino, I am so proud of all of your hard work!

DIY: Faux Hardwood Floors

Two years ago I posted about my studio basement. After being pregnant, moving my invitation and design materials down into the basement from the spare bedroom to make room for the nursery, and having a baby, we finally got around to finishing the basement floors! You will see from the before photos that the floors were a dingy gray with paint splatters. I looked all over the Internet and Pinterest for inspiration and found something that caught my eye. I stumbled upon this cement floor painted to look like dark hardwood floors from TwentySixFiftyEight.

Our house was built in 1930 so the basement floor is very uneven and we wanted to do a paint technique that covered up the flaws of the floor. It is so uneven that another type of floor covering wouldn't work. We decided tot try the technique from above but with lighter brown colors. On a Friday night in January, Gino and I rolled up our sleeves when Luke went to bed, got some Corona Lights, and got down to floor painting business! It took us about 4 hours to complete and it really wasn't as hard as we expected. I am so happy with the results and we now have a clean, organized basement that we can actually spend some time working in. There are a lot of additional things to finish like covering the area under the stairs, repainting the stairs, touching up the walls, painting the celling, finishing the top shelf above the desk, and more random finishing touches. For now, we are very pleased with the outcome and it was just under $80 for the whole project. 

Here is the cost breakdown and step-by-step instructions. 

Tools

• 2 Cans Valspar Latex Floor & Porch Satin Paint (2 colors, dark & light) = 2@$25.98
• Purdy Wall Weaver Brush = @$12.48 
• 6" Stucco Decks & Masonry Paint Roller = $5.28

Total = $69.72 + tax

You will notice a Graining Tool in the picture above and we got the idea to use this tool from the blog inspiration in the beginning of the post but it DID NOT WORK! I was a little disappointed but I think the Purdy Wall Weaver Brush actually create a better effect in the end. It might work on a very smooth and flat surface but this tool didn't work at all on our floor. 

Step 1: 

•  Clean the floor thoroughly. We swept a few times because our basement is very dusty from underneath the house.
• Some floors may need sanding or priming but we were going for a naturally flawed effect and didn't mind if any of the gray floor showed through so we didn't do any other prep work. 

Step 2:

• Start in one corner of the room and roll a 6" wide "plank" with the darker base color to the desired length. We made all our "planks" different lengths so that we had flexibility and so that the floor looked a little more organic and rustic. The reason we used a thick nap stucco roller was so that the paint would get into all the little cracks and crevasses on our floor. If you have a smooth floor, any roller would do.

Step 3: 

• Dip the 6" Purdy Wall Weaver Brush lightly in the lighter color paint and gently brush the top of the "plank" blending the colors to the desired effect. We had a few planks were we blended too much and it looked like a very blended light brown color, so be careful not to over brush.

Step 4: 

• For the second row, make the next plank a different length than the first row so that the floor boards look alternating. We didn't outline anything or draw any type of pattern, we just continued to make different lengths as we went along.
• The lines between the planks are an effect created by brushing mainly in the center of the plank and not blending the top color all the way to the edge of the 6" plank. When you start the brushing, just keep a little space at the top and sides of each plank.

Step 5: 

• Repeat. We were lucky enough to end with an almost exact 6" plank on the other side of the room so it worked out well for our space. It might be worth measuring before you begin. The finished room without touch up on the side base wall. 

Details

Still have a place for our family silhouettes but need to add one more for Luke!

Recent Projects

If you have any questions about this project or any of the studio items, feel free to send me an email!