Crafting Storage: My RicRacRoller is HERE!!

Have you heard? There's an awesome product on the market called the RicRacRoller that houses all your ribbon spools for easy access while crafting. I am so excited I can barely type!!! I ordered it from etsy at http://www.etsy.com/shop/ricracrollers?ref=pr_shop_more after seeing the ad in the May/June issue of Scrapbooks ETC magazine. I immediately called the number and had a lengthy chat with the creator of this wonderful contraption.

Needless to say I bought the carry caddy that same day. I chose that one because I thought did I have enough ribbon to fill the large one. Soooo I was wrong. I still have a drawer of ribbon that needs to be categorized but it's OK. The one I got is pink and it's portable and I love it!! As I use my ribbon I will add more as space becomes available.

This is what it looks like right out of the box. (Except I removed one of the dowels to show you how that works). It has a retractable ring that has scissors and a glue stick tool that helps remove the dowels. And a little gift of ribbon. Thank you very much!!

It was so easy to pop out the dowels one by one and load two drawers of ribbon onto this baby!! It spins around slowly like a lazy susan so that I can see all my ribbon. The creator told me to use glue dots to secure the end of my ribbon so it won't flop around. It worked like a charm! I was also able to store the smallest spools to the largest ones I own. Amazing!!!

Then the dilemma arose. I had one dowel left but all the remaining ribbon I have is unspooled in baggies to save on storage space. So I googled home made ribbon spools and found a lovely southern belle Chan4Crafts who explained in detail how she makes her own with empty toilet paper rolls. Check it out at http://youtu.be/L_zqfRuDQJs I was like wow! It made the lightbulb go off in my head. I used a paper towel roll covered it with scrapbook paper and a little more than half a toilet paper roll and it covered the whole dowel. I then wrapped ribbon side by side down the length of the roll. The ribbon is secured with regular tape to the roll and glue dots at the other end.

You cannot tell the difference, can you??? The toilet paper roll with ribbon is in the middle of the picture. I decided to take the largest spools off so I can house more of the small ribbon once I finish my next roll of paper towels (lol).

Here's a close up. I love the cupcake ribbon and the harlequin and the red striped one from Stampin' Up! I am going to be more functional now. I am so excited because I usually say... I know I have ribbon with x on it ... and then I can never find it. Now I am will be sure to use more ribbon in my projects. Can't want to take this to a crop!! The best part is I can unroll the ribbon without removing the dowels. So fun and functional.

Convinced? When you get one, let them know I sent you!!!

Wait...Tell me in the comments below, how do you store your ribbon??

Thanks for taking the time to read. I appreciate all my faithful followers.

La-Vie

Cricut Circle Magazine March Spring Cleaning Contest

Today I am entering the March Cricut Circle Magazine Challenge. They are looking for unique ways we store our Provo Craft machines and accessories. We had to showcase at least 4 different products and how we store them. I have shown more (just in case). I would love to win a challenge! Wish me luck!

My first storage solution is for my growing collection of Cuttlebug embossing folders. This idea came from a blog I follow The Paper Boutique and she got it from yet another person's blog. As soon as I read the post I went to my craft room and created mine. I used a file folder cut from Cricut Cartridge Graphically Speaking pg 59. I cut it at fit to length at 10 1/2". I had to cut off 2 1/2 " from the end and used my corner rounder from creative memories. I then embossed the image of each folder on the front so I could see how it looks. It really makes a difference when I am looking for that special something.

I keep my Cricut Expression and my Cricut Expression on a desk and I add my cuttlebug as needed. I store my mats and 12x24 Cricut Cardstock on the keyboard tray underneath. That way my long cardstock doesn't get bent or crumpled.

This is my favorite new storage item. Scrap 'n Tote from ContainYa Crafts. I have three that fit all my cricut cartridges. Each binder holds 36 cartridges, books and overlays. It's very handy. I can see everything I have at a glance.

the clip it up is in the upper left hand corner

Lastly, I love my clip it up by Simply Renee shown at the upper left. The two-tier carousels spin around and I have all my embellishments categorized. I keep my Cricut cutables, Cricut tools, ribbon etc. in the white and gray bins on the left bottom a system from Office Max. Lastly, I bought the paper storage system from Jo-Ann fabrics where I keep paper sorted by color, theme, style etc. All of these storage ideas keep my ideas flowing and my frustration low.

~La-Vie