Saturday, September 19, 2009

For the Love of Ribbon

When I started my business a few years ago (check it out here) I very quickly became obsessed with cute ribbons in all sizes and textures. What started as a "I'll just buy ribbon that I need" venture turned into a "Holy Cow! That ribbon is co cute and it's on sale so I should probably buy it in case I can use it" phenomenon. It was then that I began to learn of the difficulty that comes in storing multiple spools of ribbon. It's a little bulky. The spools are round, so they roll. Depending on the brand and size of the ribbon, the spools are different sizes throwing out any plans for a one-size-fits-all storage solution. For a while, I just stored them all in a couple of storage boxes, which meant with each new project it was a several step process (open 2 or 3 boxes until able to locate desired ribbon, untangle it from other ribbons, remove ribbon from box, cut ribbon, return ribbon to box, close box, place box back on shelf) to get a small piece of ribbon. Yeah, not so helpful.

A while back, I saw this box offered by Martha Stewart Crafts and while I loved the idea, I wasn't in love with having to make them (nor was in love with the crazy price tag on these items at the local craft and organizing stores!). So, in true "Simple Girl" fashion, I decided to make do with what I had. And came up with this....

Oh the beauty of all those ribbons so nicely color coordinated, looking too nice to touch but so nice that I want to create something magnificent! People, this makes my heart happy! Here's how I did it:

Those are actually wooden CD boxes (I got mine at Michael's a long time ago) that I've painted black. I filled them up with ribbon, stacked them and there ya go! These fit every size ribbon spool I've ever bought and the ribbon threads so easily through the wide slot at the front. Changing the ribbon spools is super easy too (remove the boxes stacked above the empty spool, replace the ribbon, re-stack the boxes).

Here's a view from the top of one of the boxes:


Seriously, the ribbon's easy to find, easy to use and looks super cute stored this way, don't you think?

In case you're in the middle of your own ribbon storage dilemma, here are some other creative solutions that won't cost a lot of money:

The Coolest Mom on the Block


Little Birdie Secrets


Lu Bird Baby


Crafty Nest
And if you have any solutions for storing your own ribbon, we'd love to hear about it! Leave a comment and let us know what amazingly creative solutions you're using!

-Sarai
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