February Creative Chat- Ribbon

It's time for the MFT Creative Chat. The My Favorite Things Design Team Creative Chat is a monthly feature, where we are challenged to explore our creative spaces and share valuable organizational methods, tools, and shopping strategies with you. You'll be able to peek into our creative spaces, ask questions, and share your own ideas in the MFT forum. This month, we were asked the following questions:

Show us how you store your ribbon?

Well, that question is a time consuming one to answer. First of all, it has evolved over time...for many reasons. The biggest reason is the way I purchase ribbon, second to HOW I purchase it.

I, like a lot of you, started out as a Stampin' Up demonstrator. I purchased all my ribbons as spools. I have always kept those in rubermaid containers....as you can see, it doesn't really work that well.



So, then I bought these nifty embellishment boxes from Oriental Trading Company. I used all my favorite Stampin' Up ribbons, and filled up all these little boxes with ribbon I hand rolled...boy, that was time consuming. The only plus side to this, is I used to go on a TON of crops, so it was the most convenient way to take my ribbon with me when I went. I have two more like it, maybe not as full...but still.



Then I left Stampin' Up, and started buying ribbon kits from My Favorite Things, and other places. Those came by the yard, so I went out to Michael's, and bought some doll pins, and wrapped them on those...here is one drawer full...I may have two, I can't lie. I still leave them on these, but I have a new method now.



I am still LOVING buying ribbon by the yard, and I started to get QUITE the collection of it. This ribbon, from The Ribbon Carousel, comes by the yard, and neatly wrapped with paper. The BEAUTIFUL thing is that she sells these darling little spools, that you can either purchase OR have your ribbon wrapped on for you.

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Which leads me to my NEW favorite way to store my ribbon...the Ribbon Carousel! These are the old versions, but the new versions are JUST as fabulous! They are customizable so that you can use them as an 8post or 4 post, or whatever your heart desires! I use my 8 post carousel for my twine, seam binding, and whatever else I decide to wrap around a spool...which is ALL of it! They take up VERY little space, and as you saw above, I could use about two more...but hey, all in good time!

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Here is a shot of both of mine, both the 8 and 4 post, sitting on my shelf behind me. I put full spools of ribbon on my four post, which are a mixture of PTI, SU, and random stuff bought at Michael's. Word around the street is that MFT has their card stock back WITH matching ribbon...it makes my heart so happy!!!

What are your favorite types of ribbon?

My favorite types of ribbon...well, all of them! I tend to lean toward solid colors, and anything that I can make a bow out of. If the ribbon gets too wide, I can't always make a bow work, so I usually stick to about 1" or smaller. I lean mostly towards white, black, and brown, but with all the YUMMY colors of seam binding out there, I get swept away, and often!

Any tips or tricks on how to use ribbon on stamped creations?

I use ribbon on almost everything I make....EVERYTHING. I absolutely love it, and would list it in my top three favorite embellishments. I use it for bows, to separate papers(like a dividing line to cover up paper seams), and to add color. My FAVORITE way to use ribbon...well, on a spiral clip, of course!!! You can add those ANYWHERE, and they often add that finishing touch that I REALLY needed.

Well, I hope I haven't bored you to tears!! Oh, and I hope you come away from here with some ideas...if not from me, from one of my team mates!! I'm anxious to see what Jody Morrow has done...she is my organizational IDOL!!

Visit Kim's Blog for a full list of designers that have taken up the challenge and get ready to delve into the minds of our creative team!!!