Nicole Chin

shh...don't make a sound...

I have snuck into my scrapbooking room, and so far I have been successful! No-one is yelling for me to come and help with this or that, or I can't find....where did you put....? Add a mobile phone to this equation, and you could seriously get no peace ever! I had to go to the dentist to get a small window of time without being phoned with the usual questions...where is this? can you pick up that? this morning. Sad really...if only the dentist knew my dilemma he would be suggesting major crown work LOL...at this point I would jump at the chance...

So I have been painting and getting the pool area to a point where it is looking really nice, just some paving, deck lights and a roof over the pavillion would be nice...not to mention the outdoor kitchen I spied at BBQ's galore on the weekend...it was only $16,000!!!! we are busy saving for that one...

So here are some photos of the decking details....The pavillion still needs another coat of white paint, and the wire ballustrading to be threaded through the railing posts. I spent a lot of time on sunday, pencil and steel ruler in hand, measuring the drill points for the wire to feed through the posts. We also had a trap door put into the deck with a removable plastic tub so I can empty the pool skimmer box into it, without dripping water and leaves all over the deck...I also potted up a yukka into our old urn as a feature plant on the deck.

Damn I have been found...bye for now..

N

xx

Been a while....

since I updated my blog. Bit sad really, I must be one of those people who shouldn't have a blog, LOL...as I just don't have the time to update it regularly. I have found that I am slowly removing things from my life that take up time, like Yahoo groups, I was a member of about 20 groups...I mean really...I didn't go cold turkey, I went no mail on a few for a while, then went back and checked what was happening there, ok, not much, so I unsubbed...I feel free-er than I have in a long time...its great to have a few special yahoo groups to touch base with, the rest well...*chow*

I have also been de-cluttering my life and surrounds, and am finding this so nice on a daily basis, I am addicted to throwing things away now...

There are a few areas that have been taking up my time

1. scrapbooking

2.de-cluttering

3.garden renovating

4. Mitchell's Baseball and Mini Bike club

On the scrapbooking side, I have been scrapping intermittently, here are a few of my recent pages...  one was inspired by a clean up in Amy's wardrobe...one by her attitude, and one by Mitchell's love of Dad's job! On the decluttering section, I cleaned and sorted the pantry, and it is so organised now...very scary! We have also been for a trip down to tassie to visit Gav's parents, so it's been a busy first quarter of the year! We are also full on into the pool area revamp, that we have been trying to get started since last year! It is coming along nicely now...just some paving, paint and finishing touches to go...   

well, I think thats enough rambling for now...

xx N

History Lessons in Kiama

We spent the APEC weekend in Kiama, escaping the city and the public Holiday by going down the coast, to re-discover Gav's Family roots. The Chin Family settled in Kiama after federation, and were quite prolific in the area. We visited the Kiama Family History Centre and found out some fascinating things about the Chins, and also explored the graveyard to find some very old Chin Family headstones. We also did the touristy things like the Blow-hole and the historic town of Berry. The kids really loved the Olde lolly shoppe there! I am getting into this geneology thing, it certainly gets you in.... pics are of the kids at the blow-hole, one of the Chin Headstones, and the historic house attached to the Kiama Blue Resort where we stayed...

till next time,

N

Some Mustard Moon pages

Hi gals, just thought I would update my blog with some of my latest pages.

Enjoy!

Where have I been?

You ask....well, you know that thing called life? It just ran away with me, and I can tell you all, I was in a dark place for a while. I can thank a very skilled acupuncturist and a lot of positive thinking for my return from the dark side. I am really at a emotional and creative crossroads...I want to scrapbook, but my mind has been so consumed by the financial burden of keeping ahead of the trends and trying to be cutting edge, that I kinda lost myself in the process. I am now able to think more clearly than I have in ages, thanks to some stress relieving acupuncture I am able to seriously look at what I have become and say NO, this isn't the direction I want to go in. Clear as mud? Check out my signature line, it is missing something...but I am NOT missing it.

I am sitting in the midst of absolute carnage, I have ripped everything out of my drawers , cupboards, storage containers, and am for the first time am seriously decluttering my creative space. I really need this clean sweep, for my sanity as well as my scrap room's sake.

I still have catalogues from CHA 2006, samples, and bits and pieces, all over the place, I just did the unthinkable and binned the lot! I mean really, how many cutters does one person need? ONE, not 4! I figure I can get rid of a lot of stuff that is still good, but just so not necessary for one person! So I decided a SCRAPBOOKING GARAGE SALE is the way to go.

I am seriously thinking about re-organising my entire scraproom, as it just isn't working at the moment! I think though I will wait till I have finished de-cluttering so I can take stock of how much space I really have.

I have also been busy designing and sewing bedding packages for a couple of boats which will be on show at the SYDNEY Boat Show this weekend. Check out the Caribbean Stand for two boats I decked out in sumptuous bedlinen!

xx N

A long time Love of Mustard Moon

I used to be a plain cardstock girl, wayyyyyy back when I first started scrapbooking, you know the Creative memories coloured cardstock, that cost the earth and wasn't 12x 12?

I used to do such intricate paper piecings to try and get some dimension to my pages, then I discovered brads and eyelets! Much to the horror of my very conservative CM lady!

then I was bored, and needed something new...this was when I discovered the beauty of pattertned papers! I found the Mustard moon ranges were all co-ordinating, very new for back then, and were subtle enough to mix well! I was hooked! I became very good friends with the old owners of mustard moon, and subsequently the NEW owners, and have always used MuMO (my abbreviation for Mustard Moon) right throughout my scrapping life!

So it is with great pride and excitement that I announce my addition to the MuMo Design Team! I am looking forward to officially promoting their awesome products to aussies and the world!

Thanks Karen and Vicki (the new owners of Mumo) for this wonderful opportunity!

so here are a few then and now pages, to whet your appetite...

Look how much my little man has grown! *sob*

Stella Rocks!!

Well insanity ruled yesterday when I lined up at the Target Castle Hill store at 7.30am, to get in first for the launch of Stella McCartney's Target designer range!

   It was so nice to get NICE carry bags and tissue wrapping in Target!!

 

And how much did all this cost? I bought 4 items including a trenchcoat, skinny jeans, silk scarf, and longline jumper dress for a shade under $500!

I did catch a glimpse of myself in the 4.30pm news yesterday, that was one brave cameraman, setting up his tripod in front of the masses of stampeding women!

Ok, back to your regular programming!

Don't you just love...

Newborn babies... ? Ask Mitchell (aka 9 year old cool dude) and he will say NO!!! His statement is ..."I HATE BABIES!!!!" So what's a mum to do?? Take the offender to visit a (you guessed it) baby!!!! LOL

But not just any baby, his nephew! This is the first time Mitch has been related to a baby!! He is trying to be a nice Uncle, but the baby bit gets in the way! His question yesterday was quite funny, as Mitch is a mad keen baseballer, was is Corbin left or right handed?? Hmmmm...at 5 weeks old that might be a bit difficult to tell...

Ask the same question to Amy, and you will see a totally different response, she wants Corbin to come and visit, and she was most upset when I asked for a cuddle, as she had been hogging him, the entire visit!

One proud Auntie! Ok back to your regular christmas programming..

Hugs N

Look what I bought today!

Ok, I know Christmas is not for 10 days, but this is my present to myself...Yes I am being very indulgent,  but I sold my sizzix machine and dies to make this happen...I am having a lot of fun playing with the fonts I bought, and the machine itself. Very hi-tech indeed! It is surprisingly easy to use, and does a great job of cutting all those fiddly hand cut titles I love so much! Now you won't know if I cut it myself, or the cricut did it for me ;)

I am a little puzzled by the USB connection in the back of the machine....can you cut stuff from your fonts of your computer too? This I can't find anywhere in the user's manual, and there is no cable supplied, but it looks familiar, like a printer cable would at the machine end. I might have to troll the internet to figure that one out, that would be awesome if you could cut your own fonts...

Well I'll leave you guys to go play with my new toy...

Merry Xmas everyone!

N

Ready Set, XMAS!!

Well, it's been a while, since I poked my head in to say hello. The presents are all organised and collected from the stores, and wrapped ready for the mad panic on Xmas day to begin. I even wrapped a soccer ball for Mitchell, he has figured that one out and is kicking the wrapped sphere around the room! The kids have finished School for the year, and we are officially on holidays as of tomorrow morning! Don't try to phone early, as we will all be in the land of nod! LOL. Amy thinks a large box shaped present for her is a Lap-top, sorry Amy, that ain't gonna happen...Hopefully she will be happy with the lesser present in the box...if anyone is getting a lap-top it will be me..

All the kids uniforms are washed and put away for the next two months Yay!! I am not looking forward to having to replace them all at the start of the year though...kids tend to grow over the xmas holidays, a bit like the hulk and his clothes...they are suddenly incredibly tiny when the new year rolls around, so I am bracing myself now for the possibility of all new uniforms next year! Mitchell's are all paint splattered and grass stained anyway, so they will need replacing! Start saving now, I think, as the uniform shop is going to be listed on the stock market soon, they seem to be making a motza out of me...LOL

Well enough of the Christmas cheer NOT, Merry Xmas to you all...May the next two months sail by without any arguments or upsets...

Love N