Blog | Ciera Design Studio

That’s A Wrap: August + September

September 30, 2014 by Ciera Holzenthal

I know, I know I totally missed August’s recap post, oops, so I am combining both months here! September has been quite a month, trying my hardest to get back into a normal schedule and my computer decides to totally crap out on me. Can’t get much done without a computer for two weeks… but luckily I have awesome friends, and friends with extra computers, yay! On a fun note, I got to show the lovely Joanna Waterfall and her hubby some of New Orleans when they were in town! Zander got to stop home in between Iceland and South Korea and now on the way to Mexico so that’s exciting, even if it is only for a week at a time, I’ll take it! AND lot’s of great stuff happened in the studio, on the blog and around the web:

That's A Wrap August and September

On The Blog

– I wrapped up my Spain photos including Madrid, Barcelona and Segovia, France coming soon!
– Updated my portfolio with the packaging for local cosmetics company, Kismet
– Shared a new favorite font, Garden
– Shared a recap of Made In Mind’s Letterpress demo event
– Getting back on track with new fitness goals
– Photographs of styled mementos from each of the main cities I traveled to
– Dreaming about a bathroom upgrade
– Shared some of my favorite stock photo sites

In The Studio

– New client alert! I’m now the art director for a business magazine that just launched in New Orleans, got the first issue in the mail today!
– I’m hiring a local, part-time designer! Find details here.
– Designed the marketing materials for The Green Project’s Salvations for the 4th year, wow!
– Launched my second Darby Smart DIY kit, Gold Animal Toppers
– If you missed my first kit (the studded tote) you can vote it back!
– Updated my shop page, what do you think?
– Customizing tons of these bad boys from my Etsy shop

Salvations Gala Invitation

Elsewhere

– Honored to be included in Regina’s The 5 (Blog Reader) Love Languages post!
– Backyard Tin Can Fence Garden was featured on Good Housekeeping
– Humbled to be mentioned along side these awesome Inspiring Designers
– Designed a desktop freebie for Lovely Indeed, go brab it!
– Listed as one of Autumn Leaves Useful Sites for New and Established Blogger
– Friendship Bracelet DIY featured on Brit + Co

Favorite Fonts

– Galea Display
– Magma II
– Aina
– Festivo Letters

Fitness: Getting Back On Track with Healthy Choices

September 22, 2014 by Ciera Holzenthal

This story about making healthy choices has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. But as always, all opinions are mine alone. #BalanceRewards #CollectiveBias

sports bra, apple, wedding magazine for fitness

A few months ago I was finally back into a good health and wellness routine, I was going to the gym at least twice a week (better than nothing) and doing pretty good at eating healthy. All of that went right out the window when I started traveling, oy! We did a ton of walking, but we also did a ton of eating! So now that I am home, settling back in, it’s time for me to get back on track. I’m in the process of planning my wedding and besides the venue, music, flowers, invitations, etc, I want my health to be a priority on that list as well. When I’m eating bad and not exercising I feel sluggish, I want planning my wedding to be an enjoyable experience and I want to be in great shape and healthy for the big day! It’s time for me to start making healthy choices again.

healthy food, new fitness gear and iphone app

I don’t know about you, but being able to track my health goals and getting a little reward every now and then really helps to keep me going. This is where the Walgreens app comes into play. I have always been a Walgreens customer for my toiletries and use their app to refill my prescriptions. I also have a Balance Rewards card. For every 5,000 points you earn $5 to spend at Walgreens. If I’m going to be buying stuff, I might as well get rewards for it right?!

sports bra, tennis shoes, capris, iphone, water bottle

But what I didn’t know until recently is that you can also earn rewards just by making healthy choices throughout the day with their Balance Rewards for healthy choices feature. You can track your steps, weight and blood pressure each day. Every time you track one of those items you earn Balance Rewards. You can even sync some devices (like a Fitbit) straight to your account so go register today and start tracking your progress!

wedding magazine apple and sports bra

Another way I like to reward myself is with some new workout gear every once in a while! I just got these Victoria’s Secret Sport items and adore them, I want to go get more in all of their fun patterns!

sports bra, tennis shoes, capris and walgreens app

Thank you for supporting this blog by allowing me to post occasional sponsored content. All sponsored posts feature products or services that I truly feel would be of interest to you. #BalanceRewards #CollectiveBias

Garden Font by Los Andes

September 19, 2014 by Ciera Holzenthal

It’s been a while since I shared a favorite font but I want to get back into it so today I’m sharing a font designed by Mendoza Vergara, from the Los Andes foundry. Garden is a serif display handmade font with a playful and spontaneous feel inspired by Brazil’s cheerful and warm people. The Garden family offers a font with a set of original catchwords (‘Garden Catchwords’, based on brush calligraphy), floral dingbats and botanical ornaments. It’s well-suited for text composition, posters, headlines, label design and handmade-style items. Garden has a special 60% off introductory offer right now through September 25, so if you like it, grab it now!

Garden Font by Los Andes

Type samples from MyFonts.com. Affiliate links used.

Barcelona Spain Travel Guide

September 16, 2014 by Ciera Holzenthal

Continuing the sprancing recaps with a Barcelona Spain travel guide! We stayed at this apartment in the historic El Barri Gòtic area. The streets were tiny alleyways and our building looked like it was going to collapse at any moment, but it was an amazing location and experience. The last photo is a view from our window, the one morning we woke up earlier enough to see the street cleaning patrol. I really didn’t know what to expect from Barcelona but it ended up being one of my favorite cities! There are so many different areas, the mountains, the port, the beach, the parks, the old squares and gothic quarter and I loved it all! Use this link for $25 off your first Airbnb booking!

Barcelona Spain Travel Guide

Food + Drink in Barcelona

La Deliciosa (on the beach)
Kiosko Burger • Instagrammed
Rosa del Raval
Restaurant Elche for paella • Instagrammed

Things to do in Barcelona

Playa Sant Sebastia – Barceloneta
Santa Maria del Mar Church • Instagrammed
Barcelona Cathedral • Instagrammed 1 • Instagrammed 2
Plaça Reial
Casa Batlló • Instagrammed
Montjuïc Mountain (gondola ride, Montjuïc Castle, Piscina olimpica)
La Sagrada Familia
Picasso Museum
Port Vell
Arco de Triunfo de Barcelona
La Rambla
Gothic Quarter

Gold Animal Topper DIY Kit + Giveaway

September 10, 2014 by Ciera Holzenthal

Gold-Animals-Toppers-DIY-Kit-2

Remember the gold safari themed shower that I had for my bestie back in May? I showed you guys the invitations, the mimosa bar and even how to DIY some of the decor! And now, I’m excited to announce that this party inspired me to create another DIY kit with Darby Smart, Gold Animal Toppers! I originally made them as drink stirrers, but they can also be used as cake toppers. The kit includes everything you need, and is only $9 including shipping, so go grab one now! ~~Darby Smart was also nice enough to offer a kit giveaway! It closes in 7 days so go enter!~~ ended.

Gold-Animals-Toppers-DIY-Kit-3

CLICK HERE TO ORDER THE ANIMAL TOPPER KIT

Gold-Animals-Toppers-DIY-Kit-1

P.S. My studded tote DIY kit is still also available!

Travel Memorabilia

August 28, 2014 by Ciera Holzenthal

Memorabilia from Marseille France

Today is the day that I head home from seven weeks of travel. I don’t really know how to feel. I’m totally ready for my own bed, washing machine, comfort food, friends and family, but I’m going to miss getting to explore something new everyday. I’m going to miss Zander (who is still traveling for work through November) and my best friend (who lives in NYC).

Memorabilia from Paris France

I didn’t really know what to expect when I left for these adventures. I had a flight scheduled home for about three weeks in but decided to ride the trip out with my friends and THEN meet up with Zander since we hadn’t seen each other for the two months after our engagement. This spontaneity is NOT like me at all. A million things ran through my mind, I should be saving up for the wedding, my clients will hate my weird schedule, I really want to renovate the bathroom, what are you thinking?! But in my heart, I felt like it was something I couldn’t pass up.

Memorabilia from Barcelona Spain

Before we left on our trip, Megan and I knew we wanted to collaborate on an ongoing creative project while we traveled together. We decided to photograph mementos from each of the main cities we traveled to, Marseille, Paris, Barcelona, Nice and Madrid.

Memorabilia from Nice France

I am SO glad we did it, it was sort of like a meditation at the end of each city to remember what was important during our time there. It also meant we could capture these items in a photo and didn’t have to be weighed down by them for the rest of our journey (of course we still kept a few favorites). These photos will help me to remember this amazing trip forever! Much better than a bathroom renovation, eh?

Memorabilia from Madrid Spain

Travel guides: Madrid | Barcelona | Segovia | Marseille | Nice

Design Portfolio: Kismet Cosmetics Lipstick Packaging

August 21, 2014 by Ciera Holzenthal

One of my favorite things as a designer is being able to help out small businesses and local companies. When Louisiana local, Caitlin of Kismet Cosmetics, came to me asking if I’d be interested in creating the packaging for a lipstick line she was releasing, I was pumped. I have always wanted to get into packaging design and this amazing local company was the perfect chance. Kismet already had an art deco influence and we needed to build a cohesive brand with the already established packaging and website.

Kismet Cosmetics Lipstick Packaging by Ciera Design

The box design needed to be used across various lipstick colors, stand out on a boutique shelf by itself or with multiple shades and Caitlin also wanted a package that created a pattern when they were lined up next to one another. It was a challenge to meet all of the criteria but I’m so happy with how it turned out. It’s been so fun seeing the packaging on Style Me Pretty, fashion blogs and Instagram. It makes me really proud that I can help a local business, even if it’s in a small way.

Kismet Cosmetics Lipstick Packaging by Ciera Design 1 Kismet-Cosmetics-Lipstick-Boxes

Fellow LSU graphic design alum, Krystal of A Pinch of Lovely, designed the bronzing lotion bottle and I did the lipstick boxes. Kismet is set to release some new shaded this Fall and I can’t wait to try them out! Photos via Southern Flair Blog, Kaela Rodehorst Photography for Haute Off The Rack and Kismet Cosmetics.

Segovia Spain

August 18, 2014 by Ciera Holzenthal

While in Madrid we decided to take a day trip to Segovia which is just a short train ride away. Once we got there we basically just wandered the small streets and followed the signs around the city to the Aqueduct, Alcázar (rumored to have inspired the castle in Disney’s Sleeping Beauty), Cathedral and Casa de los Picos House. It’s an amazing little town with the most charming paths and views of the country side. If you are ever in Madrid and have an extra day, I would definitely take the trip!

Segovia Spain Madrid Day Trip 1