Friday, February 13, 2015

Really Reasonable Ribbon February Blog Hop


Good morning, Blogger Peeps! I am guest designing for Really Reasonable Ribbon again! It is time for the February Blog Hop, which starts at the RRR Blog! I have not had a chance to guest for RRR since November! I have a project for you today, plus a RIBBON STORAGE IDEA! Read on!

You should be coming to my blog from the Really Reasonable Ribbon Blog. (For the complete blog list, scroll to the bottom of the post.) After visiting me, hop over to Ginny's Blog next!

Here is a peeky at the RRR February Ribbon Club Assortment. This collection is right up my alley! I have been working with purple, lavender, and green for a few weeks now. I love this color combo! 


I have also been rooting in my stash of Graphic 45 papers and came across Secret Garden (which is retired but can sometimes be found on Ebay) and Sweet Sentiments (which I would guess is retiring this year). Both have purple and green themes. I decided to create a springtime card with the purple and green gingham ribbons in the club.


This card is 6" x 5.5", which is my new "go to" size. I went a bit shabby with the papers, just to keep that vintage feel.


To make this ribbon, I used the older model of the Zutter Bow-it-All and achieved the bow by setting the back pegs at 5" and 9", and the front two pegs at 5" and 8". I created the purple bow on the back two pegs and the green bow on the front pegs - at the same time. Then, I tied the knot using both ribbons, which creates one bow out of two! It takes a bit of "fast hands" to get them all looped and tied, but the result is pretty cool. 


Here is a peeky at the inside. 

The real STAR of this post is my new ribbon storage. This is a long story, so grab a cup of something and put your feet up. About 5 or so years ago, I was using one of those ribbon bags - you know, with the holes that you pull the ribbon through - to store my ribbon. I ended up with this:


It was a mess. I knew that I needed to do something. I had seen some folks winding ribbons around cards, so I did this:


Which was fine as I did not have a ton of ribbon....yet... However, securing the ribbon with bits of masking tape did NOT work and the ribbon kept coming unwound! 


I stored each color family in a large ziplock bag and...


Placed the bags in a drawer cart. Well...


Soon my bags were bursting and one bag per color was soon multiple bags! (Thanks mostly to Bonnie at Really Reasonable Ribbon!) I had lots of ribbon not wound and could never find what I needed. Ribbon Nightmare on Deer Creek Way! I had seen Becca Feeken of Amazing Paper Grace wind her ribbon on the chipboard squares and place them in some drawers. Her method seemed like it would work, but I have so much ribbon!


My friend Sandy came to visit last week and we discussed the problem. What we came up with was to use TWO of the 6-drawer carts (wheels are not attached) to store the ribbon. Each Drawer is 13 x 10 x 3 Inches, roughly (a tad smaller).



I measured each drawer and cut pieces of lightweight chipboard to make sections within each drawer. I ended up with 9 sections, with the three in the middle a tad wider to accommodate any spools I may have. The chipboard is 15" x 3", notched at 5" and 10". The cross pieces are 10" x 3" and notched at 2 3/4" x 7 1/4". My bestie, Sandy, assembled all the inserts, which was such a wonderful help to me!
.

The next step was to sort all the ribbon (AGAIN) and wind it onto new chipboard cards. My friend Sandy and my daughter Laura helped get me started, which was also a big help!


The chipboard cards are 4 1/2" x 2 1/2". I secured each ribbon tail with a pin. The gal at Joann Fabrics was confused as to why I need 6 huge packages of pins! I made sure to keep like prints and styles of ribbon together, sorted by color family.



I stacked the two 6-drawer carts, one on top of the other. Now I have 12 drawers of ribbon. (Yes, I do have some overflow of bulk ribbon spools and some types of yarn, and so forth which live in another cart....but don't ask about that!)


I labeled each drawer.


Here is what it looks like now. So EASY to see what I have!


You can see that I need to buy more red ribbon....... {just kidding!}


The pink drawer is full and I must stop buying pink!


The white, ivory, and cream is together, with the lace in another drawer.


One drawer contains seam binding and baker's twine. I keep some extra cards and a box of pins on the top of the cart so I can add new ribbons to the cart, because, let's face it, I WILL buy more!. 

This project represents almost a week of work! I do hope I that this is my LAST visit to ribbon storage!!!

Now, hop over to Ginny's Blog next!

Here is the RRR Blog Hop Order in case you get lost!

Really Reasonable Ribbon's Ramblings


Cardstock: WorldWin Papers Natural, Bazzill Basics Heather
Designer paper: Graphic 45 Secret Garden (May Flowers, Beautiful Blooms, Seed Fairy, 6x6 pad), Sweet Sentiments (Easter Greetings)
Ribbon: Really Reasonable Ribbon February Ribbon Club
Stamps: Our Daily Bread Designs Sentiments Collection 2
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa, Clearsnap Colorbox Chalk Dark Moss
Flowers: unknown
Adhesive: Scotch 3M ATG tape runner, Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L 3D foam squares, hot glue

36 comments:

  1. I like that green and purple colors you used for your double bow.
    stamping sue
    http://stampingsueinconnecticut.blogspot.com/

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  2. Wowzers that is one amazing project and an even better way to sort ribbon!! You got me beat... that is a whole lot of ribbon :) Thank you for sharing the fun idea with all of us Gloria

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  3. Such a beautiful card and great use of the ribbon! I was blown away by your ribbon issues....what a great idea to keep your ribbons sorted. I am very inspired to go and get my ribbon in order now. Hugs, Robin

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  4. That card is like spring on paper! What a beauty! Your ribbon storage is scrumptious! Yum! Yum! I'm jealous! LOL

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  5. I love your card with the pretty gingham bow Gloria and WOW!! - your ribbon organization is fabulous! It's so nice to be able to see what ribbon you have. It's so much easier to use it when you can see what you have! Love it!!!

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  6. Love your creation, such beautiful layout and colors. ..I am inspired with your organization of your ribbon, so much easier to find. the dividers really helped the sorting..thanks for the inspirations

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  7. Goodness, wish I had that much ribbon! : ) I used Becca's method, too and Got a 12X12 paper storage box full which freed up a lot of space in my studio apt.

    LOVE your card... especially the 'peeling wallpaper' corners! Ribbon bows with flowers are a fab match!!

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  8. Beautiful card!
    What a huge job, but I'm sure it is well worth
    having an organized ribbon stash!

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  9. Your cards are amazing! Love the ribbons you used on it. My question, how long did it take you to do the ribbons? I must show this to my hubby as he thinks I have a lot of ribbon. lol Thanks for sharing.

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    1. Judy, it took about a week. If I had been able to spend "full time" on it, it may have taken a few days.

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  10. I can imagine how time consuming sorting out all that beautiful ribbon was, but the reward of finishing the task was worth it! I love looking at everything in its place! Thanks for the inspiration! Tee

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  11. Your card is beautiful...love the bow!
    Your ribbon collection is WOW! Great storage solution!

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  12. Beautiful card so springy love that triple loop double bow . Thanks for sharing your ribbon storage solution I may need to do something like this for my own ribbon . Tks. for the inspiration

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  13. Sooo pretty Ms Gloria...love the peek a boo paper in the corner! I know how long that took to get that ribbon organized....but it sure looks gorgeous

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  14. Your card is gorgeous! You have an awesome ribbon collection and love how it's all organized.

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  15. Gorgeous card - love the gingham ribbon. That's a lot of ribbon you have and I am impressed with the way it is organized.
    isoscia at aol dot com

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  16. I love the purple & green on your card! I've never seen so much ribbon in my life!

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  17. Yay for spring cards, and yours are beautiful. Your making me anxious for spring.
    Wow, your ribbon storage is amazing. TFS.

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  18. Wow! I am extremely impressed by both your awesome organization skills and your awesome ribbon stash! You know, if you're ever feeling overwhelmed by your ribbon again, I can give it a home at my house! (smile).
    Take care!
    Hugs,
    Mihele

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  19. Gloria- I love your vintage card with double bows! It's beautiful. Thanks for sharing your ribbon storage ideas...o my goodness you have a lot! :)

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  20. That bow is fantastic! Lov your card. Your ribbon storage is awesome. Lots of yummy goodness.

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  21. Love your color combo on the pretty card! Girl you do have some serious ribbon issues! This is how I store my ribbons but I only have a couple of drawers worth. I can see I'm seriously deprived! Have a great weekend!

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  22. First of all, LOVE the card ... my favorite color combination! Gorgeous as always!
    Now about this ribbon storage ... FABULOUS!!! But, OMG! And my husband thinks I have a lot of ribbon! LOL! Your new storage idea is wonderful ... wonder how long it's going to look neat & tidy like this? LOL Well done girlfriend ... Happy Valentine's Day!

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    Replies
    1. Dar, let us hope and pray that it STAYS neat and tidy! ok? LOL I was not fibbing when I said I had a ton of ribbon. But, then, I have a ton of EVERYTHING. Hello, my name is Gloria and I hoard craft supplies....

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  23. Wonderful card, love the color combo, the ribbon in the double bow is perfect. I was surprised at how much ribbon you have on hand. WOW! TFS.

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  24. Wow, very impressive ribbon collection! Perfect storage solution! Your card is so pretty. Perfect for spring...if it ever arrives for the folks on the east coast ;)

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  25. Beautiful card!! I too have struggled & tried to come up with best solution for ribbon storage! And when I come up with what I think is a good solution....I hesitate because I know that, just as you said...it's going to take at least a week or more to accomplish the task!!

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  26. thank you for the ribbon storage share, appreciate that photo's with all the deets... nice card too..

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  27. Thanks for sharing all your wonderful ideas, Gloria. It's always so much fin to stop by your blog. And thanks for Guest Designing for us at RRR on this fun Blog Hop.
    Blessings,
    Karen
    Really Reasonable Ribbon

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  28. Gorgeous work, and this February selection of ribbons is so beautiful.
    Thanks for inspiring me.
    Sierra Winters
    www.sierrasgift.blogspot.com

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  29. Beautiful card and love the gingham ribbon. thanks for sharing how you store all your ribbon.

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  30. Beautiful!! love the bow!!

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  31. Very pretty I absolutely love the colors and the cute flower images. One of my favorite colors are purple.

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  32. Beautiful card! Love the green and purple combo in the February assortment!
    Fabulous storage ideas too... thanks for sharing! I need to do this too!

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  33. Beautiful card and lovely colours,
    You have a lot of ribbons :-)
    TFS your storage ideas

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  34. If I ONLY had that much ribbon. Gorgeous card btw.
    Laura

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