Hi Everyone,

Soooooooooooooooo it's been a long time since I've written a post. (Bad blogger!!!) But considering my life circumstances this past year, I'm going to give myself some slack. I know you will too.

I am not longer pregnant I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl 12/1/11. Leah Valentina Bordino. The love of my life. She will be uno ano in 2 months. (Exciting!) I am grateful I got to enjoy (read:survive) being a new mom for the first 9 months of her life. It is a life experience I will cherish forever.

Now that she is under the loving care of my family I can get back to work. Yes back to nursing work (meh.) but also back to my crafting life. (Yay!) I would like to thank my dear friend Kari Capone for inviting me to be a vendor with her the Seth Boyden Elementary School Autumn Festival. It has renewed my craving for crafting.

I am ready to slowly climb back on the crafting business ball. 1st order of business dust off my rusty blog and get keyborad click clacking again (Check!) and keep it moving.....

                                                                                        To Be Continued........ 

Delilah

This is the first monkey I mailed to Denville. The little girl loved her! It was a birthday gift from her mother. She named the monkey love Delilah. What a lovely name for a CoCo's Box Softie. 

Monkey See, Monkey Do

Hello Everyone,

Today I mailed out the last of two monkeys I made for a client. They are safely on their way to Denville NJ. Now that's taken care of, I'm going to start working on Halloween Amis. I LOVE Halloween it's my favorite holiday. I'm a little disappointed my choice of costume will be restricted to the maternity styles. But next year I'll have a cutie pie to dress up and take trick-or-treating. (I can't wait!)
My first set of Halloween Amigurumi will be bats. I made bats last year and they all sold out. I'm re-working this years design so they are a bit smaller with more features. They will be created free hand like most of my Amis so each one is a little bit different. I'll be working on their faces today. Happy Crafting Everyone!

Best, Niccole B

Hello Again!

Hello Everyone, (Remember Me Niccole B?)

How are you? I miss typing in my blog. I'm sorry I've been away for a while. I have alot going on, so much has changed in the last 3 months. My "boyfriend" David Bordino became my hubby and we have a baby on the way. Crazy Sauce right? 
I have been preoccupied with preparing for my bundle of joy (read busy). The last 3 months my mind has been else where, but now that things have simmered down a bit I'm going to get back to business.
I'm excited to say that I'm going to be a stay at home mom for a year or two which will allow me to work on my crafts and build Coco's Box while experiencing the joys (and headaches) of parenthood.
Crafting keeps me happy, keeps my mind off my changing body, and helps time pass quickly as I wait for baby. I'm currently working on a group of monkeys that were ordered by a client I met at a craft show. I actually have a box of finished product the needs photo graphing but after my last CWC meeting on photography I can't being myself to do it with my mediocre photography skills. lol I will however post quick pics of the monkeys I make before they go in the mail.
Gotta get back to work! I will talk to you all soon!

Best,
Niccole B.

Ready Set Easter!

Hello Everyone,

Sorry for the delay in my blog post. I wasn't feeling very well on Tuesday. I had a really long day at the Dr.s Office, and when I got out I had a massive headache and was nauseous. It took all night to recover. Thankfully I'm feelingg better and I'm back on the crafting ball. I just finished my first set of Easter goodies and am setting them up at Kari's cafe as we speak. Please, please, please, put in your orders for Easter Eggs bunny's and chicks early, I'm going to be in Brooklyn for Easter dinner with my in-laws. :-) If you want to check out the goods go to www.etsy.com/shop/Niccilocs. I'm having a special with the eggs.
1 egg is $3 , 2 eggs for $5 , 4 eggs for $8, and 10 eggs for $15. The more you buy the more you save. :-)
Happy Crafting!

Thanks for listening,

Niccole

Spa Wars - Book Review

Hello  everyone,

I want to put you on to a good read I've gotten my hands on. The book is entitled SPA WARS : The Ugly Truth about The Beauty Industry. It is a autobiography/memoir by Lora Condon an esthitician and owner/CEO of Magic Hands Spa. Lora wins awards annually for Best Spa and Best Spa Treatment, in Spa Magazine. She is a dynamite one women show, specializing in skin care, message, riki, make up artistry and my personal favorite Lash Extensions!  Her home is at Imagine Salon in Springfield, and she travels NJ/NY offering services to her a loyal customer clientele........but it wasn't always like that.

Lora begins her story revealing to her readers how and why she decided to make esthetics her life career as opposed to going to law school as her mother had hoped.  How schools for esthitics/beauty are often understaffed, and hire professors who are unqualified or who just don't care to teach students, and how she managed to learn the skills required to be the best through work experiences.

Once she acquired her basic skill set she hit and road. And shares stories of her many jobs in the beauty industry. Some will make you laugh, gasp, or just shake your head in shame at how hideous people can be. And I though nursing was bad. She shares the DOs and DON'Ts when receiving spa services, aka Spa Etiquette. Why tipping your esthitician is so important, and how to get the most out of your spa experience.

She lets the lay person in on "Beauty Bullshit" that cosmetic company's often feed clients to get them to spend money. How to manage skin conditions like acne, dryness and fine lines, and the best beauty products for your buck.

It's a short, informative read. Lora is a woman of great integrity and speaks her mind. If one of her stories is about a company/spa/cosmetic line that you just love, don't get bent. Remember YOU didn't/don't have to work for them. We don't know what goes on behind closed doors in the beauty industry. That's one of the reasons Lora shared her story with the world. Buy it. Read it. Learn from it.

Thanks For Listening,

Niccole

A Bit Messy

Hello Everyone,

Today is social media Tuesdays. I've had a long day and I'm very tired so this post won't be long. I'll probably add another tomorrow. I'm formatting all of my social sites so they will reflect my new logo. Some sites are easier than others. The site has been particularly difficult. As you can see my blog has been rearranged a bit, and there's no logo to be found. Sigh. I've got lots of work to do. Tomorrow I head to AC moore for new yarn to start my Easter projects. I'm actually behind. I should've started already. But I was recovering from a monster sinuss infection so I'm behind a week. I'm trying to play catch up now. Well I'll see everyone tomorrow. I need to get some shut eye. And hey if you are reading this please got to my Facebook business page search : CoCo's Box and "like" my page. Thanks

Thanks for Listening,

Niccole