DIY a Ribbon & Tape Organizer for under $3

This will be a perfect post for you if you are thinking to organize your ribbons and tapes after all that wrapping you did for the holidays.Last year I showed you some simple organizing tips that I follow to keep my craft supplies organized. In that post, I also showed How I organize my ribbons with just a piece of foam and two coffee stir sticks.My ribbon collection kept growing over the year and I ended up having two sticks full of ribbons and also some more washi tape from the Scotch Contest I won. So, time has come to find out the solution for this. I searched for some ribbon organizers but couldn't find any that suits me (Some were too big and some were too small) so I decided to make my own.Here is how.

Materials Required:

A cardboard box ( I Scored mine for free at Costco).
Utility knife
Wood dowel -3 (each 48" length)(Got mine at Home depot for $2.87 total)
Ruler and pencil
Glue gun & Glue sticks
Acrylic paint and brush of your choice


Step 1: Mark and cut the cardboard pieces.
For sides                    : Length --> 22"
                                    Width --> 3"

Top & Bottom           :  Length --> 15"
                                     Width --> 3"

Corner joining pieces : Length --> 4"
                                      Width --> 3"

This is the box I scored from the Costco.

Step 2: Divide the lengthwise panels equally (For the mentioned length, it comes to 5 divisions)Now mark the slots for the dowels to go. To do this, Mark the center of each division and draw a two diagonal lines of 0.75 inches (approx 45 degrees) touching the edges.(as shown)

Step 3: Cut the slits with a utility knife.

Step 4: Glue the cardboard pieces. First, glue them on the corners and leave it to dry. Then fold the corner joining pieces into half and glue them in the corners for extra stability.

Step 5: To hang them to the wall, cut two cardboard pieces and make a hole in the center and glue them to the top corners.

Step 6: Paint them in color of your choice. Cut the wood dowels each measuring 20 inches.(Wood dowels were 48 inches each ).And also paint them.Once the paint is dry.You are ready to use your wonderful creation !. Arrange your ribbon spools and tapes on your new organizer and be amazed.

I used command hooks to hang them on the wall.I initially thought of adding a small bin at the bottom to hold the bits of ribbons but then I did not have an extra place so I omitted. (I sometimes take enough of ribbon to tie a bow and then have a lengthy left over so I will preserve them hoping someday I will put them into use like adding accents to the cards or gift wrapping.)Here is how it looks before putting all the ribbons and tape.

Here is the final reveal with all the ribbons and tapes.....

What do you think of this organizer? I only spent for the wood dowel which was around $2.87 (for 3) and the cardboard piece were totally free. Oh ya! Paints and glue I already had.(Isn't it a must in a crafter's supplies) So, totally under $3 is what I spent for making this wonderful organizer. If you are having less than 10 spools and still you want to organize under budget, you should totally check this one I made last year.(as shown below) I have also discussed more organizing hacks on a budget.

Organizing Hack for storing ribbons

Other Organizing projects you might like, 

DIY bookends with organizers

How to install pegboard & Pegboard Accessories Ideas

10+ Organizing hacks from your kitchen