Sunday, October 31, 2010

Gift wrap and ribbon organization wall

I've stashed gift wrapping supplies in various closets throughout our house over the years.  Of course, I'd forget where it was when I needed it and ended up picking up more.  Not anymore!

Jake and I took an awkward, unused space and gave it a purpose last weekend.  I'm sure you know where this is going...
Holy ribbon, Batman!


BEFORE


AFTER


Want to make your own organizer wall?  It's super easy!  To make one exactly like this here's what you'll need:
- Empty wall space that's about 10 feet wide and at least 2 feet tall
- (2) 4ft long decorative accent railing (16 little spindles on each piece)
- (8) 4ft long dowels
- (16) 3ft long dowels
- (8) anchors and screws
- Drill
- Mitre saw, mitre box, or jig saw
- Level
- Pretty papers and ribbons galore!

Step 1: Gather all your supplies.

When you select your dowel diameters consider your ribbon spool hole sizes and the width of your sections.  I underestimated my diameters and ended up returning several dowels for thicker ones because the ribbon spool holes were bigger than I thought and I didn't like how some dowels sagged in the middle under the weight of the ribbon.  We ended up using a dozen 3/8" dowels with a mix of 1/4", 5/16", and 1/2" dowels for the rest.

Make sure all your dowels are straight at the store.  We also returned some dowels for this reason .

Step 2: Cut each 4ft railing into two 2ft pieces.  You should have four 2ft pieces with 8 little spindles on each piece.

Step 3: Measure and mark you walls for where you want to install the railing vertically.  We placed ours so there is a couple of inches of dowel overhang on each side.  Make sure you're staying level as you go.

Step 4: Install the wall anchors (if needed), pre-drill holes in the railing, cut about 1 inch off the railing opposite the drilled hole (this will give you room to screw the railing into the wall), line up the anchor and drilled holes, and screw the railing into the wall anchors.  Repeat until all four railing pieces are hung vertically and check that everything is level from piece to piece.

Step 5: Put the dowel rods in place and load it up with your ribbons and gift wrap!  .  The dowels for the middle section sit on the wall side of the little spindles and the dowels for the right/left sides sit on the front end of the spindles.

Here's are a few more after shots!  :)  Notice how we made the middle section wider than the other two sections to accommodate wide gift wrap?  I'm going to stack some shelving like this under the left side to store tissue paper, gift bags, bows, greeting cards, etc.


I added scissors, tape, and gift tags too.

I couldn't be happier with the results!  I enjoy wrapping gifts and using copious amounts of ribbon so this will be put to good use.  There's something therapeutic about creating a pretty package for someone else.

If you give this a try, please let us know.  We'd love to see how it turns out for you!





Click here to see parties we'll be mingling at this week.

See the The Nester's 31 Days to a Less Messy Nest series and her What's Your Secret? party for more organization tips.

Visit thecsiproject.com

62 comments:

Unknown said... [Reply to comment]

WOW. This is simply awesome. AND it is color coordinated. I wish I had the space for something like this!

M.J. Fifield said... [Reply to comment]

Pretty awesome wall. All my gift wrapping supplies are not nearly as well organized but they are all crammed into the same closet. Does that count for anything?

Hope you had a Happy Halloween...

Kimberly Grimes said... [Reply to comment]

Great job! I so want to do that!

Anonymous said... [Reply to comment]

What a great idea! I'd love to receive a present from you!!!

Natacha (from Luxembourg)

Anonymous said... [Reply to comment]

Now you can be like Candy Spelling. Her big mansion has a room for nothing but gift wrapping.

Actually I had a walk in closet I wanted to do this to in my last house, but I was too lazy to put it together. Looks like that would be very helpful with Christmas just around the corner.

Megandvd@Beauty in the Attempt said... [Reply to comment]

You are my hero!!! I LOVE this. LOVE LOVE LOVE this!!!

{came over from the Nester's party}

Cheers~
e

Angie said... [Reply to comment]

What a great ideal! It looks so pretty. Makes me wish I had an awkward space.

It's A Priceless Life said... [Reply to comment]

I've wanted to do something like this in a guest closet...but wasn't sure how I wanted to do it...this is perfect!! Thank you for sharing!
I'm your newest follower...come check out my blog when you have time :-)
www.itsapricelesslife.blogspot.com

Pam - @diy Design Fanatic said... [Reply to comment]

I love it! I would love to have my wrapping paper organized by that. Great job!!!

Unknown said... [Reply to comment]

Wow. It's like a paper store. I love that. I wish I had that much room to store ribbon and paper!

Janelle said... [Reply to comment]

That is so Fabulous! Now, where can I put one in my house? Thanks for the inspiration!

Followed your link on "The Girl Creative"!

Nike@ChooseToThrive said... [Reply to comment]

Oh wow! I have serious craft envy! I just showed DH your pictures and said, "I need one of those."
Thanks for sharing!

Beth said... [Reply to comment]

What a creative idea! It turned out great.

Reunion Committee said... [Reply to comment]

I absolutely love this!! I want it now :)
great job!
~Tana

J. Paige said... [Reply to comment]

Very clever- so much easier to get to then my wrapping paper stash!

Rhiannon said... [Reply to comment]

oooh i just love it!!!!

cleverlyinspired said... [Reply to comment]

Love this idea!!!

Anonymous said... [Reply to comment]

YOU ROCK! I love your project. I'm so happy to have found your blog. I'm your newest follower!

April said... [Reply to comment]

Nice work! Come link up for a chance to win my Get Organized Giveaway!

http://wildflowersandwhimsy.blogspot.com/2010/11/get-organized-giveaway.html

Anonymous said... [Reply to comment]

That's a great idea--you're inspiring me to get more organized! :) Visiting from Make It Yours Day.

Handy Man, Crafty Woman said... [Reply to comment]

Wow, that is so pretty and practical. Love it.

Envymycooking said... [Reply to comment]

So cute i love this. if you ever would like to be featured or would like to share a recipe or a find (re-do furniture) please come become a follower and email us...Great site and were a new follower as well!!!!

Money Saving Mommy said... [Reply to comment]

That is very cute and a great idea!

Thanks for following me, I am following back.

Mandy Beyeler said... [Reply to comment]

thanks for linking up to TAke-A-Look Tuesday over at Sugar Bee Craft Edition - I featured you today! ---Mandy, www.craftedition.blogspot.com

Judy@cutest-little-things.blogspot.com said... [Reply to comment]

What an awesome idea! I must show this to my husband and see if he can find a space in our house for this! How convenient and awesome is that!?

Great job!

And thanks for being kind enough to share it with the rest of us for inspiration!

Judy@cutest-little-things

Nikki said... [Reply to comment]

BRILLIANT!!!!! Colorful, fun, and organized...could you ask for more?!??! :)
Thanks so much for linking up to gettin' crafty on hump day :)

Anonymous said... [Reply to comment]

First of all, you have a serious amount of ribbon! :-) This is a great solution for organizing, plus it adds some fun color to the wall...

GirlyWhirlyMommy said... [Reply to comment]

OMG! First off, the lighthouse...I was in awe when I saw your banner as I know exactly where that is...MAINE! We used to live in Kittery and loved every minute of it! Second, what a great idea! I was fighting with my supplies just this morning trying to wrap a simple gift for a baby shower and knew that there has got to be an easier way---then I found your blog! Thanks for the idea and the trip down memory lane...we miss the NE area so much that our daughter was a lobster for Halloween! Fun! Fun!

Unknown said... [Reply to comment]

I love it! What a wonderful use for that wall!

Army Wife Quilter said... [Reply to comment]

that looks super easy thanks.

Holly Lefevre said... [Reply to comment]

This is so fantastic! Great tutorial too! I am redoing my craft/work space and I so want to do this.
Holly
504 Main

kate said... [Reply to comment]

I LOVE THIS! What a perfect use for an empty wall!

Michelle said... [Reply to comment]

Thank you for sharing this! I'm so sending a link to your blog to my hubby as a "hint" of what I want!

Kat's Purrfect Boutique said... [Reply to comment]

I wish I had a wall to do this to. This is great!!!

Lisa at Paint in my Hair said... [Reply to comment]

I love how this turned out...but I can't believe how much ribbon you have!!!

Becca said... [Reply to comment]

How fantastic! Thanks for linking! I'll be featuring this on BCD on the 12th!

Becca

momondealz said... [Reply to comment]

Great idea and I love your blog layout! Thanks for participating in Traveling Through Thursday! I am following you back from Momondealz! I host another hop on Tuesdays if you are interested!

Tanya said... [Reply to comment]

Super clever!

SM said... [Reply to comment]

I am your new follower!

I invite you to check out my "Christmas Cheer" giveaway - Watch, wall decal , toys and much more to come !!

Amy @ Chicy-Creations said... [Reply to comment]

What a great idea! I have ribbon stashes galore and plenty of blank wall space in my craft room. This just might be the perfect solution!

Jana said... [Reply to comment]

I've been trying to figure out what I might do for all my stuff. This looks like a great idea. Plus it's super easy!! :) (Well super easy for my husband!)

Ali Richardson said... [Reply to comment]

GREAT idea & very well done!! Hey, my name is Alison with one "l" too :)

Anonymous said... [Reply to comment]

Oh WoW Absolutly Fabulous TFS:)
Terrie
http://www.passionatelyartistic.com/

Teri said... [Reply to comment]

Very cool! :)

Dave'sWife@{thediaryofdaveswife} said... [Reply to comment]

This is AWESOME! I am definitley envious! I am a new follower too! You can visit me at www.daveandkristycall.blogspot.com

Mom in High Heels said... [Reply to comment]

Amazing! I am envious! What a great project!

Mrs. Limestone said... [Reply to comment]

This is such a genius project. Would you mind if I featured it on my blog?

Alison @ Welcome Sunshine Home said... [Reply to comment]

@Mrs. Limestone

Of course, I'd be happy for you to feature it! :)

Life in Rehab said... [Reply to comment]

Freakin. Genius. We're in the process of converting a closet into an office, and the daughter and I were discussing ways of doing this. I can't believe how simple your version is. I just added you to the list of people I'll owe a shout out to when I hack their idea.

Katie said... [Reply to comment]

LOVE this... My husband is in the process of making me something similar to this. PLEASE link this up at SewWoodsy.blogspot.com!

Anne said... [Reply to comment]

WOW!!! I just cleared a wall this past week, and wasn't quite sure what I was going to do with it...now you've given me the answer!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

Leanne said... [Reply to comment]

I love your organization and especially that it's color coordinated. I'm hosting We're Organized Wednesday link party until Saturday and would love for you to join the party. There's a great giveaway too.

Stephanie Lynn @Under the Table and Dreaming said... [Reply to comment]

Love this Alison! Fantastic idea and it looks so cool! I featured this on the Sunday Showcase Round Up. Thanks so much for joining in the fun! Stop by and grab a featured button if you like. Hope you are enjoying your week ~ Stephanie Lynn

Becca Ross said... [Reply to comment]

Love, love, love this!!! I'd love it if you'd come link up to my linky party this weekend. Every Friday I host Home and Family Friday.

Becca
becca-homeiswheremystorybegins.blogspot.com

Summer said... [Reply to comment]

Ok, I'm jealous! Great job! :)

Laura said... [Reply to comment]

Wow this looks amazing! Can i come over and wrap my Christmas presents :)

Don't forget to enter the along for the ride: designs giveaway! http://bit.ly/9cz33f

Leanne said... [Reply to comment]

Thanks for linking to We're Organized Wednesday. I'm featuring this tomorrow. You can grab a featured button from my sidebar if you'd like.

betsey at b.bar said... [Reply to comment]

Ooooh... GORGEOUS! In my mind, this is better than any artwork you could have put there. Thank you for sharing!

Betsey at b.bar
www.bybbar.blogspot.com

Gen said... [Reply to comment]

Awesome thanks for the tip..A new follower from follow me back Tuesday. See you..Have a nice day.

InMyOwnStyle said... [Reply to comment]

Hi Alison-

I so need to do this. Right now I have my ribbon on spring rods in my craft cabinet, but my ribbons have outgrown the space. This is such an excellent and easy to do idea. Thanks for the great tutorial.
I found you through the CSI project.
My best- Diane

Debbie Mendes Cotton said... [Reply to comment]

Not only is this dreamy, but it's also color coordinated! I'm impressed! What a great project. Thanks for sharing. Debbie @ inspiredhoneybee.blogspot.com

Decor To Adore said... [Reply to comment]

What a fantastic project! This is one I am tempted to recreate. Thank you for sharing.

Have a very Happy New Year!

So, what do you think? Don't be shy...we're all friends here. :) We love hearing from you and read every note you leave us!

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