Getting Started:

• Create a list of the key elements that are going to remain in your room, ie. furniture and accessories.
• Determine your budget – spend your money on the changes that will have the most impact – whether that be paint, slip covers or fresh accessories.
• What is the room’s purpose and how do you want it to feel when you are in it.
• Determine your own personal color preferences – whether it be warm, cool or the neutrals.
• Collect color & fabric swatches and images from magazines, websites or ideas from your vacations that will give you inspiration and allow you to plan ahead.

Create A Palette:

• Look at items you have collected and determine which design will work in your space – which elements and colors stand out.
• Group your colors for personal appeal.
• View the samples in the space where they will be used with all the existing elements and lighting. This will allow you to see the change of color during the day.
• Consider the size and scale of items being brought into the space – remember the concept of harmony and balance.

The Color Wheel:

• There are 12 colors divided into three categories:

Primary – the three main colors – pure red, yellow and blue

Secondary – the combinations of to primary colors

•  
  • • orange (red & yellow)
    • green (blue & yellow
    • violet (blue & red)

Tertiary – the combination of a primary and secondary color

•  
  • • red & orange
    • yellow & orange
    • blue & green
    • blue & violet

Color Schemes: combinations and pairings of color that create an aesthetic look and feel for the space  

• Monochromatic- tints and shades of the same color. Can be subtle & subdued using a soft color or by using a rich tone can create a dramatic and daring look
• Complimentary – two colors that are opposite each other on the color wheel, can be very pleasing to the eye
• Analogous – adjacent colors on the color wheel, using one color more prominently
• Triad – 3 colors equally spaced on the color wheel, one dominant, one secondary and one just for accent
• Neutrals – grey, beige and white

Color Speak:

• Intensity – the brightness or dullness of the color
• Value – the lightness or darkness of the color
• Add white to create a tint
• Add black to create a shade

Choose the Right Finish: This will determine the sheen level and the amount of light that is reflected from the painted surface.

• Flat or Matte – non-reflective – ideal for less that perfect surfaces and the preferred for ceilings.
• Eggshell – softly polished glow – ideal for easy to clean and perfect for high traffic areas.
• Pearl or Satin – low sheen – easy to clean – perfect for trim and walls
• Semi-Gloss – medium sheen – very durable – perfect for molding and trim, provides a touch of reflective light
• Gloss – high sheen – highly durable, easy to clean preferred use in kitchens and baths

When planning to remodel your next room give Joan Brown of JB Decorating & The Design Coach to guide you through the remodeling maze. She will work with your budget and time to create the space perfect for you!

Joan Brown * JB Decorating & The Design Coach * 303.399.6208 * joancbrownqcom

Today our second speaker was Maki DeLaet of EduCyber in Wheat Ridge Colorado. Maki talked today about a new technology tool for marketing called QR code. QR code is short for Quick Response code and it was originally developed and widely used in Japan. In order to use QR code, you will need to download and install a QR code reader (many of them are free) on your smartphone. QR code can be a very powerful tool as it can contain a lot of information – such as URL, phone number, geo coordinates and even text. Generating code is very easy using a site like www.kaiwa.com.

Currently, if you have a QR code on your web site, the search engines will see that you have a new image and will index it accordingly. In near future, the search engines will probably be able to read the QR codes and index the content. 

Asides from the effects of the SEO, the use of the QR codes can offer many possibilities. Your business may be able to use them to give your customers a quick and convenient way to get the directions to your store, offer special coupons, details on your products and/or events – the possibilities are limitless.

While the telephone survey shows (http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/Smartphones.aspx) that there are only 35% of all adults who use smartphones, the number continues to increase. It is definitely an option worth exploring to promote your business. 

Some of EduCyber client sites that use QR code:

http://www.westchamber.org/

http://www.shepherdhills-school.org/

http://www.wrfire.org/

Maki DeLaet * EduCyber, Inc. * 303.268.2245 * www.educyber.com * makieducybercom  (makieducybercom)  

Maki DeLaet * Educyber * 303.268.2245 * www.educyber .com

Today’s second speaker was Dottie J. Johnson – our massage therapist, located in Massage Haven in Lakewood, Colorado. Dottie spoke about how aging affects your body and bone joints. She started us off with three questions: 1) Can you bend over to tie your shoes without sitting down?  2) Can you put your pants without sitting down? 3) Can you stand on one foot with your eyes closed? If all three of these items are difficult for you need to strengthen your balance reflex, which comes through stretching and some simple basic yoga moves. Pick an exercise and just do it – it really doesn’t matter how same you start as long as it gets your heart going. If you start small, it will motivate you to do more and more over time. Dottie also spoke to us about our skeleton and what it does for us, providing structure and support allowing us free and easy movement. Our bones do get thinner as we lose calcium as we age. We need to eat more fruits and vegetables – reducing our meat intake. Calcium is in more than just milk and it is best to get your calcium from different sources. Dottie gave us a list of other sources of calcium and those highest in calcium were sea vegetables, such as Hijiki, Kombu, Agar-Agar and Nori – all which are available in whole food stores. Other places to look for calcium are dried wheat grass or barley grass which have high values – also nuts, such as almonds and hazelnuts. The items on the that surprised me were, black and pinto beans, sardines (which have almost as much as the grasses), Chinese cabbage and brown rice (pretty low on the list). Definitely some items to keep in mind when looking for alternative ways to get your daily calcium! So when looking for a Massage Therapist who cares for your whole body – trust Dottie!

Dottie J. Johnson, CMT * Massage Haven* 303.229.7220

Dr. Erin Foley Kruse * Mountain Lifestyles Chiropractic and Acupuncture Center * 303.271.1701 * krusedcyahoocom  (krusedcyahoocom)  

Our second speaker was Mary Walewski, standing in for Maki Delaet, of Educyber, your technology parter. Mary started her talk with a few fact or crap questions about social media, questions like does Dick Cheney have more Twitter followers than Ashton Kutcher – which is crap, or are the more employees on Linkdin than managers – crap, how about there are more people under 25 than those over 25 on Facebook – that is crap too. The opportunities of the new world of social network marketing have become things that we as business owners are looking into. Businesses are using Twitter to drive people to their business at just the right moment – such as a bakery tweeting that the bread is fresh out of the oven or a barbeque shop tweeting were their truck will be and followers show up to buy barbeque. When posting on Facebook, Linkedin or Twitter be yourself and don’t sell, just let the people see you as you are, the referrals will come in from second and third hand referrals. Such examples of this are Stephanie Meyer of the Twilight series – she started with a MySpace page and her blog, as people read it they created forums and fan pages that eventually got her a three book deal. Another example is the basis of Julie & Julia, this also came from a blog, people reading the blog started to send emails for more information – then CBS Morning News set up an interview  and now she has a second book in the works.  So using a blog to increase your sales with tips of your trade or posting ideas on your Facebook page is something that most businesses need to look into. There is also a business section on Facebook, although you have to personal to set one up. Keep it simple for both business and personal – and don’t post anything on your Facebook or Linkedin that you wouldn’t want your mom to see. Keep Maki and Educyber in mind when setting up your web page, or if you need help learning the new world of social networking for your business.

Maki DeLaet * Educyber * 303.268.2245 * www.educyber.com

Maki DeLaet   *  Educyber  *  www.educyber.com  *  303-268-2245

The second speaker today was Terry Gore of Homemade Gourmet. She set prior to our meeting a couple of new bread dips that Homemade Gourmet has created for the fall season. They were Garlic & Parmesan Bread Dip and Italian Red Pepper Bread Dippin’ Mix. At the beginning of her talk she asked what we all thought – we all loved the Italian Red Pepper Mix and a couple of mentions for the Garlic & Parmesan was a tad to salty. Terry took her time to discuss the new fall food products, which include the Gusty Garlic Pesto Cheese Ball, Jalapeno Ole Soup mix (which is not hot), and the Skillet Chicken and Biscuit mix or Skillet Beef with corn bread mix. Homemade Gourmet is also offering a Tea Party Trio which includes three different teas and the names are Cinnamon Spice Makes Everything Nice, Zentastic Blackberry Jasmine Green Tea & Mojito Mint Tea. You can purchase these either separately or in the trio-each packet makes 3 gallons of tea and can be served hot or cold. Homemade Gourmet also have brought back the Spiced Cider Mix – which you can add to either apple cider or cranberry juice and serve hot, perfect for those cold winter evenings. Some of the other fall/winter collection are the Skillet Tex Mex Dinner, which used to be just the Spanish Rice – was created into a full entre, the Country Style Gravy Mix – which has only 30 calories and no fat per serving, and the Velvety Creations Sauce mix – a versatile sauce base that can be used with everything from pasta to fish. Homemade Gourmet also has two new deserts that we are looking forward to taste test for Terry some time in the future – Bodacious Butterscotch Pie Mx and Cinnamon Pecan Streusel Cake Mix – both sound yummy!

Terry Gore  *  Homemade Gourmet * www.homemadegourmet.com/TERRYLGORE  *  303.278.7985

They have four divisions in the company:

Web Design- They don’t use templates, so all web pages are unique to the client. You will get a Free Consultation to determine your specific needs, whether that be E-Commerce-pay on-line and a shopping basket or just a simple order on-line page and usability testing.

Web Hosting- “If you by a car you need a place to park it.” Through the web hosting you get 30 minutes a month of updating, search engine optimization, key statistics updates, keyword search and external links checks to make sure the people you want to find you – do. A couple things to keep in mind on search sites such as Google – the top searches are paid ads and the ones one the right hand side are pay per click. You want your site to come up right under the paid searches.

Social Media Marketing- Using Facebook, Linkden and blogging to draw people to your website. This shows your personality to you potential client. Since so much is done on-line these days using these tools allows you to show your authenticity to the world.

Computer Networking and Network Management - EduCyber will come to your office and set up your network from three to as many computers as you need to work together and manage that system if you encounter problems or need updating.

The team at EduCyber are now offering Seminars and Webinarsto further assist their clients to work with the internet. The upcoming events are:

Webinar-Aug 18th, 11:30-1:00pm  -  “Using Social Media to Create a Circle of Raving Fans for Your Business”

Seminars-Aug 27th, 11:30-1:00pm – “Web 2.0 Tools and Tricks for Your Business’ Success” and Sept 24th,11:30-1:00pm – “The New Rules of Social Media Marketing”

Maki Delaet – EduCyber “Your Technology Partner”  303.268.2245