Double Duty; Organizer and Booth Display

The highlight of my week is arguably when I sell hair bows at the flea market on Saturdays. I get some Me time (unless my 4 year old is with me selling the magnets she makes [I only handle the hot glue gun, she does the rest!]), I get to talk to people about kids, and I get to make a little money.

One of the things I obsess over is my display. It's been pieced together over the years (3 full years now!), and I've tried a lot of different things. The ladies over at the Hip Girl Boutique forums have tons of wonderful insights and ideas. I tried a few craft fairs this year and it would have been terrible if not for their advice.

In my endless search to improve, I came across something (via Pinterest, of course) by Lisette on The Blank Canvas that I thought would be a good addition.

This is my version. Hers is all organized and pretty and in focus.

She uses it to store her ribbon for scrapbooking, but I can repurpose it for a "Match Your Outfit" display in my booth and I can use the cards to remind me what ribbons/sizes I need to restock. Very straightford and simple, but one of those things I would never have come up with on my own.

You need really only a few things to make it (aside from the ribbon you'll store on it) - scissors, binder ring(s), a hole punch, pen/pencil, ruler, and whatever you want to make it out of. You can also use a slot punch, but I didn't have one and couldn't find one in any craft store around here.

While purple is actually not my favorite color, it is the dominant color in my displays. I try to keep anything dealing with my bows that color, hence the purple scissors.

I originally wanted something plastic-y instead of the cardstock Lisette used for hers. I was thinking of upcycling the flat sections of a gallon jug, but I came across this "embroidery paper" at Hobby Lobby on clearance and thought it was perfect. It seems to be a mix of vinyl and something like felt.

Because this was primarily for a display instead of personal use and because there was a limited amount of material (I bought the only 12 sheets there were), I made a few experimental templates out of cardstock first. A couple different sizes of slots, and a different type to use for the large width ribbon.

I tried some pieces of scrap ribbon on them and once I found the ones I liked, I traced them onto the back of the material and cut them out. Mine are 2" long by 1 7/8" wide with 1" slots. The 8x11 sheet gave me about 25 of them. Punching the hole took quite a bit of hand strength with this material, though. If you use it, definitely get something better than a standard hand punch!

Then thread your ribbons through the slots. The 1" slots were fine for my 3/8", 5/8" and 7/8" ribbons. For my larger width ribbon, I'm using the template on the far left. It's actually a 4" long piece folded in half. I sandwiched the ribbon between the two sides and secured with hot glue (because as a display this will get some wear from people pulling on it).

Once your ribbons are on your cards, just stick them on the binder rings and DONE. Hang them wherever you please. I found this spiky candle holder at Hobby Lobby (yes, the tag says "candle holder" but I cannot figure out how anyone would even get a candle into it, nevermind light the thing). It will make a great display once all the ribbon is on it with signage.

Like I mentioned earlier, I also plan to use it as a way to remember what I need to restock. Whenever I notice I'm low or run out of something, I can just pull the right tag off and put it (with one of the extra binder rings) on my keys to remind myself to get more. No more wondering which size it was that I needed! Also a great way to use up my ever growing remnant pile. I just can't bear to throw away ribbon that is merely too short.

Hope that helps Now I'm off to organize my tubs of scrap ribbon!