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28 June 2010

Let's Go Shopping: Housing Works Bookstore


It's a brand new week & June is coming to an end.
Sigh, time really flies so quickly.

Anyway, this week on blah to TADA!,
we're going shopping!

I'm taking you to one of my favorite bookstores,
Housing Works, in New York City's SOHO district.

Here's what's so TADA! about it -- all the books
are donated, the staff consists of volunteers &
all the proceeds go to folks affected by AIDS.
Isn't that great?

There's also a cafe' inside with quiet corners
to enjoy your book & coffee.

The space can also be rented for special events.
I've seen the place used in TV commercials &
shows like Gossip Girl!

These gently-used books are neatly arranged by
category (ex. fiction, travel, children's, etc.)

Here's the section that I'm always drawn to:
sewing & crafts.

And here's what I bought:

It's a fun little book by Patricia Caskey.
I paid only $4.00 for it!

When I got home, I quickly flipped through the pages
and picked crafts that were faithful to my
blah to TADA! philosophy.

Like the one on page 79, teaching readers
how to make COLLAGE GLUE.

It's a good alternative to Mod Podge.

To make it, you will need:
3 parts white school glue
1 part warm water

Combine the glue with water in
a jar with a screw-on lid.
Shake until well mixed.
Brush a thin layer on paper
and smooth out.

Here's my application:

I need to mail a gift & decided to recycle this box.

I used old magazine pages to turn a blah box...

...into a TADA! box!

I treated the printed page like gift wrap and the
cut out flowers as accents, using the collage glue
to stick & seal everything to the box.

Here's what the back looks like.

All I need now is to add a mailing label at the
top of the box and mail.

I'll tell you what's inside in a future post!

11 comments:

  1. what a great concept....what a great place....and what a great
    book! i love what you made with it
    and i am loving all the great things that you are making and posting about!!!
    michelle

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  2. Great work - I love doing things like this! A few years ago I´ve made my stair railing with this technic! Or chairs, or wood-boxes...I LOOOVE this! Have a creative and lovely day today! geisslein

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  3. This is gorgeous!!! i love it =D and what a great find that book!!!

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  4. Thanks a bunch Michelle, Geisslein and Nuit for visiting me today! Don't you just love shopping & crafting? :)

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  5. Thanks Glenda...I hope you can visit this bookstore one day!

    Thanks for visiting Alison! :)

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  6. very cute and simple idea as well. love being creative when packaging gifts or mail.

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  7. Hooray for recycled packaging! Thanks Torrie!

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  8. this is such a great idea!!! i'm going to try this this weekend!!!
    i live in japan and a friend (another expat) told me to come and see what you were doing to flipflops. i'm going back "up there" next!!
    i love your sight and will come back often!!!
    debbie

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  9. Thanks so much Debbie! I'd love to visit Japan one day :)

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