Thursday, April 14, 2011

Ribbon Organizion Tip by CCS

Hello, my name is Bobbi and I have a problem....a ribbon problem.  Please remember this is a safe place so no judgment!

I will admit have no self control when I it comes to Joann's, Michael's, or Hobby Lobby ribbons.  When I see those ads, I immediately head to Georgia (aka as my PT Cruiser)  and drive down the street for a look.  The problem is...I  NEVER just look...do any of these excuses sound familiar?
  • It's on sale!  I could be paying full price!
  • I can always use ribbon!  HELLO!
  • I am low in this color.
  • I use this color so often, I better get more!
  • It's a bargain, it's in the dollar bin!
  • I have a coupon!
Let me first say, between Christine and me, I am usually the organized one. I love my bins, I love my labels, and yet my ribbons remain OUT OF CONTROL!   I usually have the organizational tips to provide, but not this time.  My trusted partner in crime, Christine, has provided me with some organizational enlightenment and I have to say "I like it!" 

On a personal note:I have vowed not to purchase any more ribbon until I get all my ribbon organized so I have a clear idea what I really need.  (Bobbi sighs, she knows that she does not really need anymore ribbon.)

This has been a task I have been putting off for a REALLY long time, but Christine has a great system working for her with ribbon so I have decided to share her process!


Here is my yellow ribbon bin, if I want to look for a ribbon, this is the mess I make....now imagine this X10 bins!  Ouch and a mess!

As you can see my yellow ribbon storage is beyond a mess!  Part of my problem is the ribbon rolls.  They take up too much space in the limited space I currently have. 

Although I love the cool ideas for hanging your spools of ribbon, I have too much and would have racks of them.  I need flat storage!  

The picture below is the white ribbon bin that I will show how I converted to flat storage.  I need to use plastic shoe boxes to store my white, black and oddly orange ribbon.  All the bins are so overflowed with ribbon I can not even use the lids!










I purchased smaller bins (cross fingers, ribbon will fit) at the dollar store.  I liked these bins because of the flip lids and they are stackable.  So can I get all that ribbon into the smaller bin?  Let's find out!











  Supplies needed:
  1. 3X4 plastic bags (purchased my baggies at Joann's with a 40% off coupon=$1.70
  2. Your ribbon
  3. An old credit card or cardboard similar in size.


 
 
 Simply start rolling your ribbon on to the cardboard or credit card as shown.  You do not need to be tight with the winding, you want to be able to slide the ribbon off with ease.




Once complete simply put in a plastic baggie.  I placed 3 ribbons into a bag, some of my bulkier or thicker ribbon I stored one in a bag.




So did it all the white ribbon fit into the smaller bin once I converted it all to flat storage?

YES IT DID!

Removing all the ribbon off the spools really did help with fitting all my ribbon into  a smaller bin!  If size and storage space is  a concern for you, this might be a great way to save some space!

By the way, if time is a concern, rolling the ribbon goes by super fast.  I highly recommend you sit back watch your favorite shows like AI, or Extreme Couponing (I am obessed, I think they need to do a craft edition!) and wind away!


Let us know your tips and tricks!  We would love you to share your ideas with us!  Also if there is any topics you would like to see us cover, let us know, you can email us at info@crabbycakesstudio.com and we will see what we can do!

Turning Crabby Into Happy!
Bobbi and Christine
Crabby Cakes Studio



10 comments:

  1. WOW!!!!! Great idea and no or little cost to organize! Thanks for the tips!

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  2. I love ribbons also but anything to do with scrapbooking and supplies I have to have more. I had to get my sister to promise to not let me buy anythig else until I used all my supplies I have on hand. I know what you are talking about when it comes to no self control. Thanks for the ribbon tip. I am going to get started rolling my ribbon up. Dollar Store is also good for cheap plastic storage and bags.

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  3. Hmmm that seems like it would work better than wrapping them around cardboard with rubber band around them.
    Hey the dollar bin needs to be bought so new ones can be added LOL And you really might use it!
    Yes, a ribbon addict also..nice to meet you!
    Jackie

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  4. LOL, thanks girls! I guess we can officially start a P.R.A. club.....Paper! Ribbons! Anonymous club! At least I do not stand alone in my ribbon obsession! Leave all your comments! I can not make such promises as to never purchase until I reduce my stock.....it would be a broken promise!

    Jackie you are totally right about having dollars bins to purchase new dollars bins too! I didn't even think of it that way!

    Over all I think that it will be much easier to locate the ribbon I want and much easier to clean up when I find it too!

    CCS
    Bobbi

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  5. Very good explanation bobbi...I have a tough time figuring out what colors to store multi colored ribbons with. For example if a ribbon has a red background and yellow flowers I usually put it with the red ribbon but what if it has a variety of colors and nothing dominate? Such a conumdrum. Any suggestions?

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  6. @Cathie

    Thanks for the question...this is a hard one that I think everyone has when it comes to ribbon and paper! Where to store the non dominate ones.

    What works best for me in these situations is asking myself why did I buy the ribbon? It usually is a particular color that attracted me to it. That is the color storage I place it in, most likely I will see that color somewhere else on a paper and look to see if I have a match.
    Another suggestion is you can create a separate bin for just those types and make that the first bin your browse first for matching.

    Lastly, let's say I have white ribbon with little multi color polka dots on it, I store it in my white bin.

    Hope this helps!
    ~bobbi

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  7. This is really a great idea that saves so much space for those who dont have a scraproom only a small area or space to play. Thanks for the help!!!

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  8. I have over a 1000 varieties of ribbon and for those that fit on the DMC floss holders I put them there via 1 yard increments. I use my scrapbooking black marker to put the company name on the DMC holder and hold the ribbon with some tape. I get my containers at Walmart for about $3. These containers can hold from 90 to 100 different varieties of ribbon in one box. I invested in a Brothers Label Maker and put the Color of the ribbon on each side of the box and the lid of the floss box so that I could quickly pull out the box. I also have specific boxes for those holidays I typically make cards or scrapbook pages for such as Christmas of Love/Valentines Day or Fourth of July/Military. I have my organization pictures over on Crop Chocolate under my name of Carol if you do a search under Community then Sweet Talk then Search for Carol

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  9. I have been doing my ribbon and lace this way for years, love it but I have taken it a step or two more. I keep the info from the spool (just in case I get published lol) so I know who made it and the color name if I want to get more. (IF???) Next step is to use jump rings to keep the colors together. Punch a hole in the bottom corner of the bag and slip all of one color on the ring. All of the rings go in one "LARGE" bin and when I am working with green paper/layout I pull out the green ring. With the bag attached to the ring on the bottom leaves the end to open free to take what you need and zip it back up. I use green a lot and even have smaller sub-rings attached for all of the olive, lime, Christmas shades of green. When I go to a crop I know what I am working on and only need to bring that color, okay or two colors.

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  10. I love this idea. My ribbons are a mess and this will help me! Now how about a good way to store all my miscellaneous punches. Every brand is shaped differently and I have to dig through a whole drawer to find what I want--not working well at all!

    TIA, Lisa

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