Ribbon organization

Since I have started incorporating ribbon into my scrapbook pages and cards I have had trouble storing and organizing my rolls of ribbon. I'm sure I haven't been the only one with this problem.

First they just stayed in a box or drawer or hanging basket, but they always got tangled together or I couldn't find what I wanted.

Then I put them on a pants hanger, but they would just randomly unroll (small but violent heart attacks were experienced because of a roll all of a sudden coming unrolled with nobody near it.) or one would go empty in the middle of the hanger so most of the rolls would have to be removed to remove/replace the empty roll. To fix the unrolling problem I was experiencing, I used Mini Clothespin Adornments and clipped the end of the ribbon to the spool. It worked pretty effectively, but I still had the problem of rolls going empty in the middle and the mess that caused.

So, I was searching the internet and blogs and pinterest trying to find a solution to my ribbon mess. Then, one day as I was randomly checking my e-mail, I received an e-mail notification that a blog I was subscribed to had posted. So I clicked on the link and low and behold, there was the answer to my problem!!

These handy dandy (can you tell I have a two year old that likes Blue's Clues?) ribbon racks are made by Simply Renee. They can be a little pricy, but they have been on sale on www.scrapbook.com lately. These have certainly been the answer to my ribbon organization prayers. If you want to take a whole roll of ribbon to your table to work with, you just grab it out of the trough and go! From my table I can see what I have in what colors and the clips that hang from the bar on the bottom of the rack hold the ribbon that isn't long enough to be on a roll so fabulously well! You can also see in the picture above that the top ribbon rack isn't completely full, but there is a stopper that you just slide right up against your ribbon to keep it from falling over.

As you can see, I even have duplicate rolls stored in the trough, gotta love the Stampin' Up! Clearance Rack Blitz when they offer ribbon bundles for a very reasonable price! The clips on the bottom are also great for hanging baker's twine packaging to. Just remember when you use your baker's twine not to throw away the plastic wrap that it came with, that will help keep the twine contained and free from tangling. 

Another feature that I love is the little compartment to hold your scissors! I always would get up to get ribbon and forget my scissors or the only pair of scissors I could find would be a little yucky pair that wouldn't cut the ribbon nicely. I have now remedied the problem of yucky scissors by purchasing Stampin' Up!'s Craft and Paper Scissors and Paper Snips and tossing my really bad yucky scissors. 

These two ribbon racks have probably been one of my smartest purchases for organization in my craft room. Of course, I say that after every purchase I make for organizing anything, from my 7.5' tall and 8' wide oak hutch I purchased for $50 to these ribbon racks to the mini milk crates that house my clear mount stamp sets and Spellbinders and Framelits dies in DVD cases. You can take a peek at the mini milk crates I use for organization by checking out Dakota Stamper on Facebook. I'll be sure to post my wonderful oak hutch someday soon. It needs a little tweaking still as I keep moving things around when I realize they just don't work where I have them stored.

Thanks for stopping by today and be sure to keep checking back for more inspirational ideas!