A Pink Mural for the Coolest Girl on the Block

Those of you who know me personally know that I had a dreamy, colorful, creative career in events before starting Nestia amidst the pandemic. I worked as the creative director for Little Miss Party Planner, owned and founded by Seri Kertzner. Luckily for our whole team, we were less like coworkers and more like family. Seri, as our fearless leader, would do anything to see us succeed as we all moved into new careers when the events industry was decimated.

Gina, a friend of Seri’s from her building in New York City, moved to Florida with her family at the beginning of the pandemic. Seri followed suit later in the year, which brought me the opportunity to visit last month for a full week of creative bliss and productivity. Gina, was a huge supporter of Little Miss Party and we got be to friends over the years. When I told her I would be coming to town and offered to paint an accent mural in her new home, a lightbulb went off. She knew this would be something her 11-year-old daughter Eryn would be over-the-moon excited about.

Gina sent me some photos of her bedroom, complete with a beautifully open white wall, ready for me to paint. I proposed some ideas and inspiration, but Eryn came back knowing what she wanted. Blush pinks and geometric shapes was the vibe she wanted, so I designed some mock-ups.

To choose colors, I turned to my trusted paint brand, Sherwin Williams. Seri helped me connect with our former partner at the brand, who was so excited to help us collaborate on this project. With a conveniently located Sherwin Williams store right in Ponte Vedra Beach, I was able to swing by to pick up all the materials I needed:

• .5 gallon Haute Pink

• .5 gallon Lighthearted pink

• .5 gallon Childlike

• roll of plastic for protection

• 1.5in blue interior painters tape (2x rolls)

• mini rollers and handles

• mini paint trays

I completed the whole project over the course of about 7 hours, documenting the whole process on Instagram Reels and I even made a silly video on TikTok that went viral. It’s currently at 235K views and continuing to grow! Projects like this one make it so fun for my audience to watch the process, engage, and see it from start to finish.

The best part of the whole day, of course, was when Eryn finally came home and saw her room for the first time. Suddenly, she felt like the coolest girl on the block, ready to host all the slumber parties. Gina and the whole family couldn’t stop talking about the mural, how much they loved it, and how they couldn’t wait for me to come back and do more. THIS is the warm, satisfied feeling that I chase from my clients. Their happiness and excitement is what it’s all about. And guess what? I am going back… so stay tuned for more murals and home decor projects in Florida!