Making a pretty ribbon container

Hello there!

Today I will show you how I made adorable ribbon holders out of some stuff I had lying around the house. Hopefully the pictures I took will help you step by step! Ok so lets see the finished product first:

Side view of the completed box with ribbon

So now that you've seen what it will look like at the end, lets find out what items you need to make it!

Items Needed:
1. Cardboard box - this will vary on the size of the box you want to house your ribbon. The box I used was about 6.25 inches X 6.25 inches. It holds about 9 rolls of thin ribbon. If you would like to hold more ribbon (or less) find a box that you think will suit your needs.
2. Straw - I got mine from Wendy's but you can use almost any straw as long as it doesn't bend on either end.
3. Washi tape - this is for two reasons. To decorate and to hold the ends of the straw down (you will see what I mean later)
4. Scissors - To cut (obviously!)
5. Ruler - To measure where you want your hole to be.
6. Pen or Pencil - To mark where you need to cut!
7. Cardstock paper - this is used to decorate the box and cover up the "blah" of the cardboard. I chose to use 2 sheets of solid pink 8 1/2 X 11 paper but you can use any size as long as it can cover the box (or half cover it like mine did).
8. Boxcutter - This is to cut the hole for the straw (PLEASE USE WITH CAUTION!)
9. Ribbon - This should be obvious! Get the rolls you wish to house in the box all together and ready.

Ok so now we have our items…what do we do with them?!

Step 1: First thing I did was cut the sides off of the top of the box. This makes it easier to access the ribbon and to put the paper on. I wasn't too worried about even cuts because we still have more to cut!

Step 2: Once you have cut off the sides, you want to measure how high you want the box to be with your ruler. I cut mine about 11cm (I happened to use that side versus the inches- oops!) and then I measured all around the box 11cm and drew lines so that I could follow them as I cut.

2a.Measure the height of your ribbon and then use that number
(plus a little more so it can spin) and measure on your box.

2b.Draw the line all the way around the box so you can follow it as you cut!

Step 3: Cut the entire box along the line. This line you want to be as straight as you can make it. If its off by a tiny bit, don't worry about it. The little mistakes will be covered with the card stock later!

Look how far down I
had to cut this box so it worked
with the size of my ribbon! 

      Once you are finished cutting your box should look like this ------>

All sides should be equal all the way around.

Step 4: You can tape the edges if you would like to. I chose to because I wanted to have nice smooth edges. I used blue painters tape (because it is what I had in my house) but you can use any kind of tape you wish. I would recommend masking tape or painters tape for this step so you can easily pull up and not rip the tape or damage the box if you mess up!

Step 5: Now here comes the tricky part. THis is when you put the hole in for your straw to go into. I took the roll of ribbon and laid it on the side I wanted the hole to go on. I did a test to see which two sides were the sturdiest by just grabbing them and trying to move them. The ones that moved the least, were the sides I chose. Take your pen and mark where the hole of the ribbon roll is. You will want to lift the roll up a little bit so that it can spin once this is all done.

          SIDENOTE: You will want to have ribbon with the same size hole. If you have 

some ribbon with a bigger hole than the rest, use that roll to measure. 

Poke through the cardboard on both sides (facing each other) with the scissors. PLEASE DO THIS CAREFULLY! I almost poked my finger when I did mine because I was not being careful! I combined the three parts to this step in one picture for you.

Step 6. Now you want to make sure that the straw will fit through both the holes, that it is straight and that you have enough straw sticking out that you can bend it down. Here is how mine turned out---->

Once you have determined that it fits the way you like, lets put the ribbon in! I would recommend making sure all the ribbons is facing the same way. I made my ribbon come from the top so that it would hang over the end nicely. (I ended up switching up the ribbon to my thinner ribbon that you will see in the final picture.)

Step 7: Now its time to start putting the decorative paper on! I chose to use just a solid pink for my box and accent with the washi. I used two sheets of 8 1/2 X 11 inch paper. I wanted to leave a space around the holes and use the washi to cover it up. I did it this way so that when my ribbon runs out, I can pull the washi down, pull the straw out and replace the ribbon! Over time, the straw may become a little worn…best part of this DIY is that you can replace the straw very easily! :) I secured the paper down with clear scotch tape along the sides that would be visible. Along the bottom, I used painter's tape. To secure the straw, I simply folded the end down and used painter's tape to keep it there.

Here is what my steps looked like along the way…

Ribbon inside is secured with tape on the sides.
I am folding the paper to cover the top and sides.

Here I am just securing the paper along the bottom. Again,
I used painter's tape but you can use any type you
have around your house!

This side view shows the tape holding down the straw.
The painter's tape can be easily lifted. I would recommend
using washi for keeping the straw in place. You want to be able
to lift the tape up when you need to change the straw.

Step 8: Once you have covered the box and have left space around where the straw hole is, you can put your washi down. I chose to use the painter's tape to go along the sides and then accent with some pink polka dot washi. I thought it looked good against the pink background. I layered it multiple time so that the painter's tape didn't show through and you couldn't see the bump from the straw too much. Here's what it looked like when I was done!

The sides of the box are very easy to peel off to replace the
straw once it gets worn out.

Once all the steps are done your box should look like this:

Top View

Side View

My two ribbon boxes! :)

I actually ended up making two of these boxes because
I had so much ribbon to hold…and may have to make a third.

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I am working on some things I plan on selling online but I want to build up some stock before I go and list them on Etsy. Once my shop is up and running, I will be sure to link it here for you guys to check out! I also filmed a video to go along with this but alas, editing hasn't been kind to me so upload is delayed as of now. I will update this post with the video as soon as its up!

As always, thanks for stopping by! I am hoping to post again Thursday with some funny stories from work! See you then! XOXO