She Moved to Texas

I know you were expecting some horse show news, but since I knew I would be T-I-R-E-D, I prepared this post instead. Show news tomorrow ...

I think it was some time ago, but Lauren moved to Texas and now writes a really creative blog about a variety of things, usually about her OTTB Simon. The other day she wrote about equestrian themed horse decor for your home and shared some ideas about re-purposing your horse show ribbons. You can read about it here.

I had been complaining about the massive pile of ribbons in my office at home just the day or so before I read Lauren's post. Perfect timing on her part! I really like getting ribbons, and it's easy when there are only one or two riders in the class, but seriously, the pile had gotten out of control. I had them hanging from framed prints, a book shelf, and photos. Lately, I have just been depositing them straight to the floor.

After seeing Lauren's post, I pulled all the ribbons down and made some kind of organized heap on the floor.

There are more than 60 ... The BIG ones are still being displayed.

I remembered that I have a variety of clear vases in my pantry so I dug one of those out and started filling it with ribbons. The ribbon pile shrank a little bit, but I realized I either needed a HUGE vase, or several different ways to display the ribbons. I saw a little basket sitting in my desk's hutch so I emptied it out and stuffed ribbons in it, too.

I think they add a nice touch of color.

It's actually an easy project. I folded up the tails of the ribbons and tucked them under the metal clip. I know it would have been easier to cut the rosettes off, but this way my ribbons are still intact. If you try this, it works easier with wide jars or vases. Here is how I decided to display them (for now).

Look closely ... they're in the center.

Since the unused pile of ribbon's was still quite large, I drove over to Michael's, an arts and crafts store. I bought a large jar with a lid, better to keep dust out, and began stuffing it with ribbons. The ribbon pile is still pretty big, so I may go get one more jar. Michael's had this really pretty apothecary jar that was HUGE, but at $30, I am not sure I liked it that much. I'll wait and see how much I like my current display. Here is the second jar.

I really like how this one turned out!

I placed the jar on small book shelf that holds my horse books and photo albums. There is also an early photo of Speedy and me showing.

My dad built the bookshelf for me while I was in college. It's a bit beat up, but it has a lot of sentimental value.

I still have 28 ribbons, not counting the ones I won yesterday. If you have some easy ideas for repurposing show ribbons, please share! I am a bit arts and crafts challenged, so a picture is very helpful. Please feel free to email me photos of your own projects.