missiecindz.com | Missie Cindz

It’s never too late to build your future.
Write down your own future in a Missie Cindz book.

Writing isn’t magic and it isn’t some kind of innate talent that one either has or doesn’t — it’s motivational, endearing and inspirational. At least for me. A simple notebook has completely changed my way of approaching work, business and life this year ~ read my blog post: Good everyday notes worth eating via #cindy365notes.

On the 3rd of each month I’m going to send one budding, current, or retired writer their very own Missie Cindz Recipes, Snap or Ready notebook in which to start your own true tale of liquor, adventure, entrepreneurship and big shot ideas, and because that first blank page is always a bit intimidating I’m going to mark it up for you with a Missie Cindz note of ‘Do It‘. No excuses, get to writing.

Even Sir Richard Branson tells the importance of having a notebook “Anyone who aspires to lead a company must develop a habit of taking notes. I carry a notebook everywhere I go.” – source

How to enter
All you need to do to be in with a chance of winning one of my notebooks is to tell me, in 30 words or less, as a kid what did you want to be when you grow up ~ perhaps it’s something you still want to do now? I’ll select one winner at random on the 3rd of each month. You can send me your answer as a comment below or by tweeting me: @MissieCindz and the hashtag #MissieNotebookGiveaway. You can comment as many times as you want but it doesn’t affect your chances of winning, your name will be entered into the competition for the rest of the year.

The competition giveaway begins today 04/05/2013 and ends 03/05/2014 ~ Winner will be announced on the 3rd of each month and is open to international readers. I will cover all postage costs.

Feel free to spread the word. Good luck everyone and I look forward to seeing a year of beautiful writings and doodles from you! ~ Missie Cindz

Notebook information: The notebooks are 52 page A5 sized 100% recycled books that are perfect for dropping in a handbag (or totebag), desk drawer or leaving in the car or beside the bed for when inspiration strikes in unusual places. On the inside front cover, there is a small tag to scribble your name. Printed in the UK on heavyweight recycled luxury paper and card. To see more of my notebooks visit my shop > here <

Say it with a card. Go on, take her out for pudding this Valentine’s Day, a posh skinny salad is soooooooo passé!

Valentine’s Day is the perfect opportunity to put pen to paper and write delicious stories and letters to your loved ones or any family members. It’s also a great way to encourage them to do the same and share in the playful happiness.

Celebrate these moments with friends, family, partners and all the special someone’s in your life – afterall it’s the little things you do that can make the biggest difference.

Happy Valentine’s Day gorgeous foodies – have a super delicious day! – Missie Cindz x

Cindy 365 Notes Challenge 2013 #Cindy365Notes

I have always loved a good challenge; whether it’s a foodie one, breakfast challenge or design-related – a good challenge always whets my appetite!

I set myself challenges, personal and professional ones, and ones that I know I can’t reach yet because I know that by stretching to meet them, I can get further than I can ever expect. Through learning, perseverance and development I can aim to take things that I am skilled in and enjoy doing to improve on them in unexpected ways.

I have always wanted to make time to do more writing but with work and social commitments getting in the way (I know it shouldn’t be an excuse), to enjoy writing has been shoved down the bottom of my ‘to enjoy’ list. Believe it or not, when I was a kid, I wanted to be a journalist. To have my written articles published, seen and read and then to channel into the path of a successful writer! but then I found an immense interest in visual communications whilst studying Graphic Design in school therefore carving my path to design especially in graphical communications.

Have you been following my #Cindy365Notes Challenge? At the start of the year I made a pledge to ‘Enjoy more of the little things‘. Yes, eating and food discovering is also one of my most pleasurable pastimes but the simplicity of cooking up a good story via pen to paper and sharing it to others also gets me excited. I like to play the role of the narrator – the storyteller :)

#Cindy365Notes are daily CinDilicious pages worth sharing every day with you. Started 1st January (first day of the rest of my life) or according to a quote from Brad Paisley, first page in a 365 page book. I really like that one. I’ve made a commitment to journal my thoughts, food discoveries, hopes and aspirations and to do more of what my book states (does that make sense?). I like to look at the filled pages, where every word constructed into sentences and paragraphs are like a little movie. I hope you enjoy following and reading my notes.

Page 13 of 365 – Be the Best Version of  YOU

Yesterday’s page {Page 13 of 365} Be the Best Version of  YOU. I love these words and believe everyone should carry this page. I tweeted and asked some our industry’s talented designers and entrepreneurs on what were their tips for being the BEST you/we can be in our field? The level of response and feedback were amazing! – many thanks to you.

These tips were all great motivator points and I didn’t want them getting lost in my twitter feed so I’ve posted them below for sharing and referencing (I’m sure everyone will find these incredibly helpful like I do):

• “Never give up; your BEST work is always just around the corner.” – Matt Kinsella (@MatthewKinsella)
• “Do what you love, love what you do and you’ll never work a day in your life.” – Jon Covey (@Jon_Covey)
• “my top tip’s this http://instagram.com/p/Ub7HN1MmEu/” – Catillest Design
•  ”Keep learning, never think you know it all because you never will – be the worst player in the band.” – Creative Boom (@Creative_Boom)
• “One of the top tips I received was this: “You don’t have to go looking for love when it is where you come from.” – Werner Erhard” – Peter Thomson (@PeterJThomson)
• “Be truthful always (learning this one) and enjoy every moment” – Neil Maycock (@OptimiseSeo)
• “Don’t let anyone drag you into their petty games.” – Conrad Frankowski (@MrFrankowski)
•  ”Enable other people to be who they want to be, & ‘pay it forward’.” – David Barrie (@DavidBarrie)
• “Do what u need to do despite the noise [noise = feeling fearful, worrying about what others think, distraction]” – Alex Mathers (@MoonApe)
• “Think it. dream it. believe it.” – Liam Swift (@LiamSwift87)
• “No matter how good you are there will always be someone better. Don’t waste time worrying about this, just be the best you can.” – Conrad Frankowski (@MrFrankowski)
• “Work hard. Focus. Work harder. Focus more” – Dale (@Dalem)

My BEST tip is, to be “passionate at what you do best. People will see it – your intentions will speak volumes!”.

It’s important to keep each other (and most importantly ourselves) motivated during times like these and especially creatives in this industry – to keep motivated and hungry are top priorities!

I hope you enjoy following and reading my 365 notebook – one thing’s for sure, it has 365 different pages in it! – Missie CinDz x

{photos by Cindy Cheung shared on Pinterest and Instagram}

Missie Cindz food column in Sheffield's Toast magazine – food worth sharing about!

Life’s One Tasty Food Adventure…

My alter ego is Cindy Cheung – a Creative Designer by day and hungry (Missie Cindz) food enthusiast and blogger at night. I enjoy writing and food because I work so hard that I don’t have time for a social life which means these two things helps me to ‘zone out’ – food helps to drive my inspiration!

I’m always inspired by trips to the food market, beauty in the simple things I stumble across and by people who do meaningful things. I am a regular contributor to Toast Magazine, a lifestyle and culture magazine covering everything from food, fashion and music, found in most independent shops in Sheffield city centre and it’s hard to believe that I have been writing for these guys for over 18 months! – just look at the colourful articles they’ve published for me. If you’re not in Sheffield and have missed out on my food articles, you can download all my food-inspired write-ups on my Scribd or Missie Cindz facebook page. Enjoy.

By writing about food and the things I like I’ve learned that you don’t have to be a fantastic writer – your narrative is just your own. To be honest, I’m not a professional writer but when you find a subject that you have real passion to talk about, you’ll find the structure and writing style comes naturally – and then writing can become rather addictive too! I know I do make typos and my grammer isn’t 100% but as long as you (the reader) understands what I am trying to get across and share with you then I’m happy. My writing style, tone of voice and added touches of Missie-ness to my graphics and photographs are all my own and that’s important to me.

Be yourself, have your own tone of voice and a reading style that readers will find easy to read.

Lately, I have never been so motivated and busy. There’s going to be a lot of changes, challenges and interesting things happening in the next couple of months (especially in 2013). I would like to tackle some larger projects which, in my efforts to update this site as frequently as possible and collaborating with talented food producers has meant me pushing aside of the other projects and things I’d like to experience as a Graphic Designer. It’s always been in my nature to be proactive and do things I can be proud of but I always feel compelled to add more and more and more to my plate (a personal quality adopted from my hard working parents).

My commitment in design projects means I won’t have time to blog as much as I would like. For the next couple of months, as I spend some extra time planning a few exciting projects, the blog might experience a bit of a quiet period, I’ve got some special Missie’s PudInn posts lined up though and I will pop in from time-to-time to say hello and will still be managing all blog updates myself.

I’ve always believed food as a metaphor for building relationships and creating new friendships. I have made some amazing foodie friends on twitter and have met many talented food producers who I have had the pleasure in collaborating with and been of support to. Everyone should go out and enjoy a food adventure of their own; discover your own food story and share them with your community. I know for sure, I would be interested in reading about it!

Have a great weekend all… – Cindy/Missie Cindz

{All graphics and photos by Cindy Cheung}

Set of 3 Missie Cindz Creative Pencils available from my Webshop Take Away

Stationery shops and art supplies are among my favourite places since I can remember. I have far too many notebooks; some that are half filled, others almost on their last pages and I’ve got the really pretty ones that I never dare write anything in, then cheaper ones dotted all over the house with various lists, notes, memos, comments, attempts at diary writing in them. But it all shows my obsession with lovely papers, nice print, plus these fellas help to brighten up and adds fun place to my workplace.

I added my own branded Missie Cindz pencils onto my webshop this week. Each pencil with ‘Doodle, Scribble, Write, Draw’ inspirational inscription to get your creative juices flowing. Encouraging you to write your own creative story that’s worth reading and sharing with your community. You can grab a handful for home, office, school, friends and family.

Pair a packet of these pencils with one of our Missie Cindz notebooks to make an inspired gift. Each pack contains THREE red coloured HB pencils. I hope you like them – Missie Cindz :)

{ Illustration and photos by Cindy Cheung }

A hand-written note just for you. Every page is an adventure and every written word becomes a trip! – Missie/Cindy :)