Ribbon Organizer

I'm not a ribbon maniac.  I don't have rows and rows of all of the colors of the rainbow.  But, I do have a small assortment that I store like this:

The problem with this storage method (besides not looking neat and kept) is that I can't easily see the ribbon I have (there are spools under that mess!) and therefore rarely use what I actually have.

One day at Michael's I saw this storage system:

I like how the ribbons are stored at the bottom.  So I decided I could come up with something similar in my craft room.  (But spending a lot less $$ than the $49.99 this storage system costs!)

Here is my existing area:

First, I found a dowel I knew we had in the garage.  (You can find these at the hardware store for like $1.) 

Then I took a thick cloth ribbon I had (in the basket of ribbons)...

folded it in half and measured 3/4 inch...

and sewed a loop.

Then I sewed the top half of the ribbon together also (not pictured).

I found some small Command velcro strips in the garage.  (For the record, I wanted to screw them in, but Superman convinced me I should go with these strips.  Only time will tell who was right.)

Stick a strip over where you sewed the strips together...

then trim off the extra. I sewed it on using a basic straight stitch.

 Put the corresponding velcro on, and trim it down also.

Then stick the ribbons up underneath the shelf (obviously measure first).

Then put your spools of ribbon on your dowel, and stick each dowel end into the small loops you sewed.

Total time: 15 minutes
Total cost: $0 (since I used all found materials I already had at home.

Update: I spray painted the dowel black. What do you think?

My next craftroom improvement project will be replacing that dry erase board (I never use) with a pegboard system. Pictures coming soon!

My Etsy store

I finally opened an Etsy store (as part of my 40 Before 40 goals).

I chose the shop name Do-It-Myself as a play on the popular term Do-It-Yourself.  Because the types of crafts I'll be selling are the types of things mosts women (or men) would make themselves for family and friends if they had the time, money, or talent (although I didn't include that last part in the shop description!).

My first listing is the superhero capes that I've been making for Thing 1 and Thing 2's friends.  I can tell you from experience that these make great birthday presents.  What kid wouldn't love their own personalize superhero cape?

Fingers crossed!