Two, One-Minute Ribbon Organizers

Anyone who has a craft room or area knows how important it is to keep it all organized. With so many small items, plus endless spools of ribbon, thread, cord, elastic, and similar notions, you could get lost in it all if its not organized. No one wants to go hunting for the particular craft supplies they need every time she wants to make something new. One thing thats particularly messy around the craft room is ribbon. Any crafter could have 10, 20, or more spools of ribbon, and thats a whole lot of mess if the ribbons are coming off of the spools. There are lots of different ribbon and cord organizers that a person can make but some of them can take time and money that you might not have. There are, however, two different, really quick ribbon organizers you can make; one is for many spools and one is for leftovers.A coffee tin, or another object with a plastic lid, works great to create a little organizer for leftover cord, ribbon, and similar things. With the lid on the can, use a box cutter to make slits in the top of it. Push the box cutter blade in, and pull it straight out, to create slits all over the can lid. You can organize the slits into neat little rows, or cut them randomly into the lid. Put leftover scraps of ribbon into the can and push one end of each piece through the opening. Put the lid back on the can, set it anywhere, and dispense short pieces of ribbon when needed.Have you ever shopped at a place that offered carts for large purchases, and holey baskets for smaller selections? One of those holey baskets works great to create an organizer for many spools of ribbon. A similar type of basket is sold at dollar-theme stores and some discount department stores. With it, and a few wooden dowels, the organizer will be finished.Slide a small-diameter dowel into a hole on the side of the basket, and through a hole opposite the first one. Since the basket is full of holes its important that you locate two holes that are exactly opposite of each other, or the ribbons will sit lopsided. To load the dowel with spools of ribbon, slide it out of one hole, slide the dowel through a ribbon spool hole, and then push it back through the hole. Each dowel will hold several spools of ribbon or cord.The two quick organizers will have all your ribbon, cord, and spooled materials, arranged in minutes. Since its so easy to slide spools on and off of the dowels, or in and out of the can slits, it wont be any bother to keep them that way.