Ribbon Holder

I saw this post a while ago and thought it was such a cute idea, I don't need a wrapping paper holder but knew it would make an awesome ribbon holder so I made one.  I definitely did not just whip this up as the project took considerably longer than I had anticipated.

I started a while ago by picking up supplies.  I got my frame for .25 cents at The Salvation Army.  It didn't have glass in it but that was fine, I didn't need it anyway.  I bought two packages of cafe rods from Home Depot for $4 each.  I wish they'd been a little cheaper but they do the trick even if they are ugly and brass.

I then started waiting for a day that wasn't too windy to spray paint and I've since decided that in Lethbridge there's no such thing.  I finally tired of waiting and painted anyway and just dealt with the wind.

I painted my frame using the leftover from Catie's lamp, happy that I wouldn't have to buy any paint for this projects.  Unfortunately I really hated it.  It looks so stark and white and doesn't fit the area at all so I ended up re-painting it pink with some new paint I bought.  I painted the hardware from the cafe rods as well.  I'm loving the pink, I was worried it would be a little too vibrant and I had thought I would distress it to tone it down a bit but I like it as is so I left it.

I then rigged up this handy little contraption to help me paint the rods.  I used bbq skewers that I poked through a box.  The rods are too heavy for just the skewers though so I taped some spools of thread on the bottom to hold the skewers.  I used the same buttercream yellow spray paint that I'd used on the ironing board.

In hindsight I should have spread out my bbq skewers a bit more because they were a pain to move when the rods were still damp but it was too windy to let them dry outside.

After everything was good and dry I gave the hardware and the ends of the cafe rods a quick spray with a varathane top coat to help protect from scratching.

I then attempted to add a hanger to the back and succeeded in breaking the head off one of my screws.  Frustrated I moved onto attaching the hardware for the rods which went much more smoothly except I discovered this is what happens when your attempting to insert screws while reading subtitles from an episode of Lost.  Those Jin and Sun episodes are killer for crafting.

Once that was done I again worked on attaching my hanger, I lost the head off another screw and finally got two to stay.  Here it is finished, with the ribbon, hanging on the wall.  I'm loving the way it ties in with the ironing board and I think it gives me a cute crafty corner.  Now I just need a couple more spools of cute ribbon :)