Blog | Ciera Design Studio

Design Portfolio: Sweet Tea Logo and Branding

January 6, 2014 by Ciera Holzenthal

You may remember this mood board from a few months ago. Well I recently wrapped up the branding for Sweet Tea & Co., a whimsical and unique tea party experience for little girls. The client didn’t want the bright pink and glittery look that a lot of her competitors seemed to have. She wanted it to be simple, elegant and sophisticated. The client is thrilled and I’m really excited with how it turned out. I’d love to hear what you think or let me know if you need some branding help of your own!

Sweet Tea began as a summertime ritual to entertain my own daughters. They delighted in dressing up in my vintage dresses and sipping tea under our weeping willows as I told stories of days gone by. —Shirilana Hanson, Owner

Sweet Tea Business Card Front and Back

Sweet Tea Tri Fold Brochure Design

Let’s Do This

January 3, 2014 by Ciera Holzenthal

I’m back from my blog break and I want to start the new year with total honestly. A few months ago I realized that I was in a rut. I was feeling like I didn’t get enough accomplished during the year. I had too many ideas and didn’t know what direction I wanted to go in or where I should put my time and energy. I have always felt confident in my design work but I was feeling a little lost managing everything.

I didn’t feel like I was reaching my ideal clients and I was getting worried that my site wasn’t portraying my services the best way possible. I was posting quality content to my blog but it somehow felt random and focused on the short-term. I decided that I needed help, I didn’t want to feel lost in my own business anymore.

That is where Ashley of Your Super Awesome Life came in! I told Ashley my concerns and she had me fill out a business assessment. Once I answered some questions on paper, we had a Skype session where we talked through what was working and what was not and what I really wanted for my blog and business.

I was actually a little surprised at how well she communicated and understood what I was going after even though she isn’t an insider to my business or blog. I felt totally comfortable talking to her and suddenly everything that was spinning in my head made sense again.

At the end of our first session Ashley helped me to come up with an action plan that covered the main points we discussed and mapped out all of the steps to begin making my goals a reality. We wanted to get really clear on what I wanted my business to look like moving forward. All of my goals suddenly seemed so attainable.

After our first session, I updated my services page, I still have some work to do here, but I think it’s a much more clear representation of the design services I offer. I’m currently taking on clients so feel free to reach out!
I created an end of the year reader survey to find out what y’all want to see more of here on the blog in 2014! If you haven’t taken it yet, the survey is still open. Until I take some time to review all of the responses, I’m going to take it slow and post content here very intentionally.
I’m also starting to reach out to blogs to guest post on, so let me now if you are looking for some guest contributors in 2014!

A few weeks later we had a follow-up call to make sure I was on track. I still have a lot of work to do to accomplish the actions we came up with but I feel like I’m back on the right path! It wasn’t easy for me to reach out for help but this year I really want to take my business to the next level and after Ashley’s sessions I’m ready and confident to take on 2014, so let’s do this!

2014 Let’s Do This art print available for sale on Etsy.

Happy Birthday To Me & Year In Review

December 31, 2013 by Ciera Holzenthal

Today is my birthday y’all! I’m still on a blog break but just wanted to stop in for my normal end of the month recap.

Ciera Sitting On Oak Tree With Balloons

I decided that I should recap the whole year instead of just December, so without further ado here are some of the most popular posts from the year! It was really fun to look back at all of these posts!

Ciera-Design-Year-In-Review

Ciera Design Elsewhere in December:

– Merry and Bright Freebie featured on Glitter and Bow
– Sprucing Up Your Branding featured on 8 posts for smart-working, creative-types
– Geometric Felt Coasters on Brit + Co
– The Best Memories Are Handmade freebie on Whimseybox

Thank you so much to everyone who has shared my content this year! I also want to give a special thank you to Mariah and Melissa for being amazing contributors this year!

If you haven’t yet, please fill out my 2013 reader survey!

One more note, I have simplified my sidebar ad options for 2014! One size at one very affordable price!

DIY New Year’s Eve

December 28, 2013 by Ciera Holzenthal

I know I’m supposed to be on a blogging break, but sometimes I just can’t help myself! Have you guys heard of Darby Smart? Well if not, you should know about them! They make awesome DIY kits and send them right to your house! I just received my first two kits and can’t wait to make them! I got the Chic Striped Vase Kit and the Having a Ball Cocktail Decor Kit which are both shown below along with a bunch of other DIY project that would be perfect for New Year’s Eve or any other party! They also have tons of jewelry and home decor projects, so go check out all of the awesome kits!

Make Your Own Marquee Sign DIY for New Years Eve

Having A Ball Drink Stirrers DIY

Gold White Black Tassel Chic Vase DIY

Gilded Lucite Acrylic Tray With Script Cheers

Gold Gilded Candle Votives

Chain Rhinestone Bracelet DIY

Bubbly Champagne Flute Toasters DIY

Bar Cart and Cocktail DIY

All projects show are available as DIY kits from Darby Smart!

Happy Holidays!

December 24, 2013 by Ciera Holzenthal

Wishing You Joy From Ciera Design

If you haven’t yet, please fill out my 2013 reader survey!

The survey will be open for a few weeks and I’ll be taking a little blog break for the holidays and while I review the results, so I’ll see y’all back here in 2014! This survey is anonymous unless you include contact information for a direct response.

Ciera Design Reader Survey

December 23, 2013 by Ciera Holzenthal

Ciera-Design-Reader-Survey-2013

It’s that time of year when I really start to think about the future. How do I want to push my business forward? Where do I want to take this blog? I’m constantly looking for ways to make this blog and my business better. While I’m working on these plans, I’d really like to get y’all involved! To make that happen, I’m asking you to take a short survey (only 10 questions) so that I can get to know you better.

Here is your chance to have me hear you out! This survey will give me some valuable insight to help improve the blog and my service options! I want to know what you love, don’t love, what you want to see more or less of. I want to hear your honest opinion so please do me this huge favor and fill out this survey! And if I haven’t said it enough, thank you for being awesome!

The survey will be open for a few weeks and I’ll be taking a little blog break for the holidays and while I review the results, so I’ll see y’all back here in 2014!

CLICK HERE to take the survey!

This survey is anonymous unless you include contact information for a direct response.

Dreaming of 2014 Vacations

December 22, 2013 by Ciera Holzenthal

I’ve only been to California twice in my life but have always wanted to live there. I’m a warm weather gal and love beaches so I feel like it’d be perfect for me. The first time I went to California was during college. A friend moved to Santa Barbara so I went to visit her and it was amazing. It’s a great college beach town and she lived right on the water with 6 other girls! The second time was earlier this year when I went to Palm Springs with my two best friends. Actually, it was the same two friends I went to Santa Barbara with! Palm Springs is awesome, almost like a fairy tale world.

There are so many spots I want to visit in California because lets face it, I probably won’t be moving there anytime soon. Next on my list in San Diego and San Francisco. I’ve always wanted to go to the San Diego Zoo and thanks to this awesome infographic by Marriott I just discovered that you can watch an annual migration of the gray whale right from San Diego! How cool would it be to go explore San Diego and all that the city has to offer and then jump on a boat in the Pacific Ocean to whale watch!

San Diego Whale Watching in America’s Finest City – An infographic by the team at Marriott San Diego Hotels. Marriott International is a leading hospitality company with over 3,800 properties in over 74 countries and territories around the world.

Thank you Marriott for sponsoring this post. For more vacation ideas visit Marriott on Google Plus. I was selected for this opportunity by Clever Girls Collective, however all content and opinions expressed here are my own. 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.

Meet Rekita of Her & Nicole

December 20, 2013 by Ciera Holzenthal

Hey guys, I want to introduce y’all the lovely Rekita of Her & Nicole today! Rekita is graphic designer and has an awesome lifestyle blog! Learn more about Retika in our interview below and then go say hi on her Blog, Facebook and Twitter!

Rekita link love

Sum yourself up into one sentence I am a mother of 3 (2 boys and a new girl), an Army wife, a stay-at-home mom, and a self-taught graphic and web designer.

Where were you born and where do you call home? I was born in Atlanta, Ga and home is at Fort Hood, Texas

What do you currently do for a living? Is it what you’ve always dreamed of doing? If not, what would you like to be doing? Right now I am a stay-at-home mom, but I dream of have a s successful graphic design business. It is my passion, I get so excited when I learn something new, and I wake up wanting to try out new ideas.

How and when did you start designing? I started when i was a freshman in college (about 10 years ago) when designing my own blog.

Do you design as your “day job”? I really consider taking care of my kids a day job. It is when they are napping or sleeping at night when I get to have fun designing.

What gets you excited? Designing someone’s blog or website.

What’s your setup like? Do you have an office, work from home? Do you work alone or with a team? I work from home, although I wish I had an office at home. (One day i will)

Where do you go to find inspiration, and what are you inspired by? I am inspired by other designers, so I go to their sites to se what they have done, and say to myself, “I can do that or will try that!”

If you could accomplish one BIG thing in your lifetime, what would it be? It would be to raise my kids to be respectful, loving and successful adults. That would be my greatest accomplishment before becoming a successful freelance web designer.

Sleep in or get up early? With 3 kid under the age of five, I can never sleep in.

Coffee or tea? Sweet Tea

Pet peeves? People who are so judgmental.

Favorite color? Purple

Favorite food? Lasagna with a side salad

See currently loving sources here.

The Font Feast Presents Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix

December 18, 2013 by Ciera Holzenthal

homemade hot cocoa mix with candy cane

I’ve never been particularly high-brow about my hot chocolate. Give me a box of Swiss Miss and a pot of boiling water and I’m good to go. I could drink cheap cocoa all winter long and be perfectly content. My husband, on the other hand, is a bit of a hot chocolate snob. When we were first married, he bought himself a little cookbook full of really legit, high-class hot chocolate recipes from all over the world; he loves to make “real hot chocolate” and turns his nose up at most hot cocoas. So it came as a shock to me when I made him cocoa the other night using a favorite recipe from my childhood and he said, “I love this hot chocolate!” My Nana used to make us this cocoa mix when I was little, and we’d keep it in an absolutely massive jar with a Santa face painted on the side. It makes me happy that this bit of my childhood has passed the cocoa test in our house with flying colors and gotten two enthusiastic thumbs up from everyone, even the cocoa snob!

I paired this Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix with a fun, retro font, Remachine Script. It reminds me of a Christmas party from the swinging’ 60’s, complete with ugly sweaters, turtlenecks, and cocoa!

homemade hot cocoa mix with candy cane

Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix inspired by Remachine Script

32 oz Nesquik
1 lb powdered sugar
16 oz powdered coffee creamer
25 oz powdered milk
1/2 cup natural unsweetened cocoa

Combine all ingredients in a really enormous bowl (or the largest soup pot you have) and stir until well combined. Store in an airtight container. To make hot cocoa, combine 1/2 cup hot cocoa mix with 1 cup boiling water. Stir, and top with whipped cream, mini marshmallows, or crushed candy canes!

About the author: Melissa writes about her adventures in food, family, and farming at Lulu the Baker. She develops recipes, cooks, and photographs for The Font Feast column.