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August 26, 2010

What to do with all that loose ribbon!

I don't know about you but I love ribbon and seem I never have enough or the correct color.  Here in Tucson, Arizona we have a store called SAS which is a fabric remnant store, but they have so so much more then just fabric and their prices are fantastic. Many or actually most of the ribbon is 15 cents a yard, that is 10 yards for $1.50 can't beat that, and they have walls of ribbon to chose from.  Well last week me and my two sister-in-laws went to SAS.  I bought A LOT of ribbon, but...........it is not on spools so it is very hard to store and keep untangled so the following is what I came up with.

First here is my pile of ribbon I bought, I think there is about 15-20 different ribbons and 10 yards of each.  YIKES!

What a mess huh?  Well I knew I had to do something or I would not be able to get the piece out that I wanted to use.  I buy plastic wrap (you know like Saran Wrap) from WalMart, their own brand, well the center tube/roll that the plastic wrap comes on is very heavy and sturdy, so I have been keeping them because I knew some day I would think of something to use them for.  Then I had an "ah ha" moment and thought I could use them to make my own ribbon spools.

First thing I did was use my Cricut to cut circles out of chipboard.  I cut them at 2", 2 1/2", and 2 1/4".  I just set my Expression on auto fill and let it cut out however many would fit on the piece of chipboard.   Here is a picture.........
Then since that card board tube from the plastic wrap was so thick I had to have my husband cut it for me with his skill saw.   Sanded off the edges a bit to get rid of the rough pieces.
Then using Scotch Quick-Dry glue, I glued the circles onto the tube pieces.  This is great glue if you have never used it.  It has a very strong hold on most everything and drys very very fast.
I had him cut me several different sizes (sent him with a list to his shop) to fit the different widths of ribbon.
Then I just used a small piece of tape to hold the ribbon on the spool and another small piece to keep it from unwinding.  Here is a picture of one of the ribbons wound up, shh don't tell I only got two done so far.  But it will be so much nicer when I finish them, maybe I can do it while I am watching TV.
Pretty cool and what is even better is that when I get them all done I can put them on my ribbon center that my brother-in-law made me to hang on my closet door.
Thanks for looking and sure hope I did not do too many pictures, but wanted all know in case you want to make yourself some.  If you have any other questions or if I left anything out let me know.

4 comments:

Carol aka cyimbugbitten said...

What a great idea! I'd never have thought of that...TFS! I love your ribbon rack your bil made...lucky you!

Carol

NYorker said...

You and your husband make quite a team! You are very clever and I love your idea for making the spools. It seems obvious once you said it, but somehow I never thought of doing it! I do like the spools because it keeps the ribbon in the best shape.
PS I remember when you showed the ribbon organizer - another great job!

Cricut Couple said...

So Clever! I have a shoe pocket organizer hanging on my craft room door that holds all of my punches. I hope everyone uses their door. It's such a great place to store stuff.

About Us! said...

What a great idea!! I live in Tucson and, I don't know why I haven't thought about SAS for buy my ribbon. I'm always waiting for it to go on sale at Michale's or JoAnn's. I know where I'm going the next time. Love your new Blog too!!
Blessings,
Cheryl