I have two problems.
Problem #1:
I have tons of ribbon and string and twine and ric rac that I rarely use because they’re in jammed in a shoe tote in a tangled mess.
Problem #2:
Our school district has an annoying policy of store-bought only treats for birthdays which means I’m forced to cough up over $10 bucks for lousy cookies instead of doing something cute and homemade.
But after whining to Mr. Thrive, it occurred to me that I could solve both problems with the same frosting-smeared solution:
I Give You: The Bat-Scrap Organizer
Trust me on this one.
These cookie containers will rescue your ribbon supply from the forces of chaos.
Just grab some cardboard, a canning ring and your nicest, broken crayon and cut out enough circles to fill a cookie tray.
Then notch out the top and bottom ala bat wings to make room to wrap your ribbon.
A quick slit in the bottom holds scraps in place while you wrap …
… and before you can say, “Robin, to the Bat Cave!” you’ve got a tidy little Bat-Scrap organizer for your twine.
Or ten tidy little Bat-Scraps all nice and organized.
And someday when I have oodles of free time, I’ll actually paint these little Bat-Scrap organizers to make them cute and less box-ish. Until then, ugly works.
Ah.
No more chaos … no more tangles … no more searching for scraps.
And storage takes up hardly any space on the shelf since they stack neatly. Love that.
(And yeah … I’m going to go re-wash these bad boys and get all those water marks off ASAP. Robin, to the Bat Soap!)
So there you go.
Chaos defeated. Scraps corralled. Order restored.
Thanks Batman!
Linking up to:
43 Comments
Oh I totally need to do this for my gazzillion bias/binding scraps .. very Batman indeed!
Can I borrow just an ounce of your creativity?! You amaze me Nike…seriously!!!
You always amaze me! Great solution once again.
And ONLY store bought?? Are you freaking kidding me?? The store bought stuff tastes like cardboard. Why would we do that to our precious children? 🙂
Um. You. Are. A. Genius. Just so you know. Which you probably already do.
OK, I was going to say you are a genius, but I'm late. You ARE my hero of the day, because this is such a great idea!
Oh so VERY VERY smart.
By the way, my two-year-old was sitting on my lap when I was looking at this and he said, "You make a Batman. Mommy, you make a Batman."
That is fantastic!! and give me more than enough reason to not only go out and buy the sugar cookies but to eat them as fast as I can as well!!:)
Genius! Especially if you have to eat the cookies yourself!
Absolutely flippin brilliant!!!!!
Wow!!!
My moms a scrapbooker and ALWAYS buys those cookies! I am going to forward this to her. She has LOTS of scraps. I unfortuantly cant stand the frosting that is on them. Thanks for sharing your creativity!
Great idea! Zam!! Pow!! I feel like I need to figure out a better solution for my trim odds and ends, now. And I loathe the store-bought only treats policies, too. I don't necessarily do super cute treats for every birthday, but what I cook is at least super tasty. I hate that your options basically boil down to some inferior store-bought overpriced thing that tastes like Crisco or something lame like a pencil or eraser. Some of my favorite memories of elementary school are the cupcakes people's moms would bring in for birthdays. Anyway, not to threadjack, but you brought it up :). Have a great weekend!!
This is a great idea if I can only find those cookie containers!! Covering the cardboard with pretty paper before cutting the ribbon holders out would really make this a pretty display case!
That's a great idea, thanks for sharing!
This is genius! I love that I'll have the excuse to go buy cookies so that I'll have ribbon storage. All in the name of organization… 😉
Katie
www.sweetrosestudio.blogspot.com
are you telling me i need to eat lots of cookies to get my ribbons organized? ok ok ok, you got me
That is an adorable idea!!! Thanks for sharing! I guess I will have to buy my kids those cookies after all! lol
This is a great idea!! What we do to sacrifice our craft organization. Cookies and Ribbon.
it's confirmed – smartest person I "know".
What a great idea!! I love how you got your moneys worth out of the store bought cookies!!
Grace
Such a great idea … I love that you found such a cheap and easy way to organize your ribbon.
I love this idea! Very clever! I would love for you to come link up to my Sew Crafty Party !
Super idea…now off to buy some cookies! I have several containers full of that same mess! Thanks for sharing the simple/clever idea.
This is pure genius!! Love this idea.
This…THIS is GENIUS! My ribbon/jute/ ric rac gives me the biggest headache, and I've tried a million different solutions, none of which really worked. THANK YOU!
Megan
www.CutTheCraft.com
This is such a fab idea! Love how you can see exactly what you have.
Very resourceful! I found you via Be Different, and now I follow you!!!
CUTE idea!
Great idea! You are so the boss of those ribbons!
pure genius!…i adore this idea!…a
Oh boy what a great idea! Thank you for sharing!
Great idea! I know what you mean about all those scraps of ribbon getting out of hand. I'll have to come up with something similar soon.
Wow, that is a brilliant idea! I know you must wish you could do some cute homemade baked goods for the school but these containers are working out great!
www.itsybitsypaperblog.com
What a cleaver idea. I've been trying to figure out how to organize my scraps of ribbon, etc. Thanks for sharing.
I needed this idea! Thanks. Now where's all that ribbon and twine hiding!
What in the world? I don't understand the no baking rule at the school. Our school has a no sugary snacks rule–even for birthdays. Sigh.
Okay, I love this idea–so economical, clever and organized–right up my alley!
I featured your idea on my Friday Favorites on Calico and Cupcakes. Grab a featured button if you would like. Have a beautiful weekend!
OMG I love this idea!!! what a great way to keep ribbons, chains and rope all neat and organized!
Nike – this is such a fantsatic idea! I have all my scraps thrown in a glass jar and end up pulling every single one out when I am looking for something – genius! Thanks so much for linking to the Sunday Showcase – I greatly appreciate it. I have featured this today! Hope you have a fabulous week ~ Stephanie Lynn
Super! Organize and re-use all in one–love it 🙂
Realy great idea! Mine are also in a bag. I end up bying new ones for projects because I do not know anymore what I have. Thank u for sharing
I LOVE this idea! Thanks for sharing!
As a parent of a child with multiple food allergies, including peanuts and blue dye #1, I can understand the store bought treats. She only has a few candies she can eat, and many many treats are produced in a plant that processes peanuts. So for us, a list of ingredients is a must. However, I also send in a lot of safe treats and candy at the beginning of the school year, so that if something is brought that she is allergic to, it can be swapped out with non allergenic stuff for her. That way the other parents aren't put out and I don't have any frantic calls from the school nurse because they had to call 911 because they administered an epipen injection to save her life because of an accidental ingestion of peanuts.