How to Make a Ribbon Dispenser
Sometimes shoeboxes are too pretty to throw away, so you might hold onto them for a really long time before knowing what to with them. How about turning one into a ribbon dispenser? I have a gift wrapping/craft area in my house where all of my ribbons live, but whenever I want to package up some cookies, I need to go to the basement to cut some. Since I would much rather have a small selection of packaging ribbon where I use it, I cleaned out a cabinet for baking packaging materials and made this ribbon dispenser to top it off. (I also keep a dedicated pair of scissors here that are only for cutting ribbon so the blades stay sharp.) Here is how you can make it:
1. Gather your supplies: shoebox, wooden dowel (be sure it can fit through the spools of ribbon you want to have in the box), X-Acto knife, grommets, pencil, and a tape measure.
2. Mark the center on each end of the box and make an “X” with the X-Acto knife. Push your dowel through each “X.” My dowel is longer than the box, but I am not going to trim it so that I can easily pull the dowel out to change spools and they stay secure.
3. Draw a center line across the box. I measured 1.5″ from each side and and made a mark on the center line. Then, I centered a grommet over that mark, and spaced six more grommets evenly spaced between the two end grommets for a total of eight. I marked the placement of the six additional grommets on the center line.
4. Cut an “X” over each mark, then push a pencil through the “X” to make a hole for the grommet.
5. Push a grommet through each pencil hole.
6. On the inside of the box, place a washer over the grommet to secure in place.
7. Once your grommets are secure, thread your spools onto the dowel place in your new dispenser. I made a label to cover the brand name on the box top. Happy gifting!
