Published 2013-04-17T06:00:00Z”/>
Cierra Goldstein
Ribbons are among my favorite things. They’re useful in just about everything crafty, from decorating to sewing. Naturally, this means I have collected many rolls during my lifetime.
Until recently, I kept them all shoved in a couple of shoeboxes.
This worked well enough, aside from the fact that it was impossible to keep the spools organized. They perpetually shifted and unwound.
I often see ribbon storage units for sale at both craft stores and online, but I’ve never been able to convince myself to spend the money on one. It always seemed there should be an easy way to make my own.
In general, ribbon organizers work by providing a dowel rod to put through all the spool centers. But what could I use instead of buying a dowel? I was getting a fork from my silverware drawer when I saw the answer: cheap, wooden chopsticks.
Using disposable chopsticks and an empty shoebox, I’ll show you how to keep your ribbons in a row.
<hr />
<strong>Cierra Goldstein can be reached at</strong> <a href=”mailto:[email protected]”><em>[email protected]</em></a>
<table style=”width: 500px;” border=”1″ cellpadding=”10″> <tbody> <tr> <td>MATERIALS:<br /> <ul> <li>Several pairs of disposable wooden chopsticks</li> <li>Empty shoebox with lid, thin enough for the chopsticks to span its width</li> <li>Pencil</li> <li>Scissors</li> <li>Ribbon spools</li> <li>Contact paper for decorating (optional)</li> </ul> </td> <td>INSTRUCTIONS:<br /> <ol> <li>Line up all of your ribbon spools in the shoebox to see how many you can fit inside while leaving enough room to comfortably pull ribbon off of the rolls. Don’t jam them too tightly or you will have a hard time unrolling your ribbon. I was able to easily fit three rows of spools, but this will depend on your box and ribbon sizes.</li> <li>Make sure your largest spool of ribbon is not too tall, otherwise you won’t be able to close the shoebox. Use the height of this spool as a guide for where to place the chopsticks as dowels. The chopsticks should fit through the middle of all of the spools.</li> <li>Once you determine your height and row placement, mark each spot with a pencil.</li> <li>Use the scissors to poke a hole at each spot. Then push a chopstick through for each row.</li> <li>Pull each chopstick partially out when you want to put on ribbon spools, then push back into place, spanning the box.</li> <li>Optional: Decorate your box with the contact paper. I bought some with a flower pattern at Dollar Tree.</li> </ol> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table>
