DIY Bow Holder!

Since I joined a sorority,  I have crafted almost everything and anything in my life. I find that sometimes making something yourself is the cheapest option. Although, it is not always the easiest. Do-It-Yourself projects can take a lot of patience and time, and at times can be extremely frustrating. 

For those who don't know, I have a bow obsession. This is partially what fueled me to apply to be a Campus Rep for A Girl Without A Bow! I have bows with various backings, hair ties, alligator clips, and barrettes. I had a ribbon photo board that used to hold all of my bows. However, my bow collection outgrew the space that the board had. For awhile, I had all of my bows just in a jar. But that made choosing a bow to wear for the day slightly difficult since I couldn't see all of the bows at once. 

Last week, I finally got frustrated enough to go shopping for something new to hold my bows. I spent hours on Pinterest trying to find something cute and unique to display my bows on. I asked around on a crafting group on Facebook for ideas as well. However, I still didn't see anything that I really liked. So I decided to just start roaming around Michael's, where there is always deals and coupons for days, on top of already reasonable prices for great products!

I found myself in the Framing section of the store. I didn't want anything too fancy, incase I wanted to personalize the frame myself. I also wanted something with multiple frames so that I can organize my bows, and something that could hang on my wall so I can see it while getting dressed. 

Being the poor college student that I am, I picked a frame that was on sale for $40 off at the time. It was a narrow, long frame that I could hang next to my door, where my full-body-length mirror hangs. It has 5 different sections, and is white so it can be easily decorated with any colors I want.

The frame I chose, but in white

I took the glass and backing out of the picture frame. I wanted something that would be easy to attach bows to. I chose tulle to put into the frame to clip the bows with alligator clips onto. The holes in the tulle are only expanded a small amount by the clips, and adds some color to the project. I chose pink, sparkly tulle. I used hot glue to attach the tulle. However, because the frame was plastic and the tulle is so light and has holes, it was a little difficult securing the tulle to the frame. After all of the hot glue was dry and cool, I took some clear tacky glue and went around the edges again to ensure that it would stay. I glued down one side at a time, to ensure that it was being pulled tight and would sag under the weight of the many bows I have.

Because why not?

After taking care of the tulle to hold the bows with alligator clips, I had a panicking moment. I still have bows with hair ties and barrette clips that can't go on the tulle! Barrettes are too thick for the tulle and would create large holes that would make the tulle unusable and would rip into shreds. I didn't feel like going back out, so I started searching around my room for random things that I can use. I remembered a kit for hanging things on walls. I had circle hooks that I could screw into the bottom. However, circle hooks are completely closed and there is no way to hang anything on them. I took a pair of needle nose pliers and popped the hooks open to make cup hooks. I simply screwed them into the bottom of the frame. I use five and space them out evenly.

Lastly, the barrette clips. I have a stash of ribbon that I have collected over time for random reasons. I found some silver and black ribbon in the stash, colors that wouldn't collide with the pink of the tulle. Bonus-the ribbon had sparkles, just like the tulle. I attached the ribbon to the back of the frame to hang down for the barrettes to clip on. I used hot glue to attach the ribbon to the back, and let it dry. I hung three rows of ribbon, and made it long enough for about 7-9 bows to hang on each ribbon.

The back of the board

Altogether, I like how the bow holder turned out. It does stand out a little from the wall because of the bows on the hair ties hanging from the cup hooks. They are a little larger than I anticipated, and push the bow holder away from the wall. However, it doesn't bother me. For someone who wanted to try this project, I would recommend not putting the second row of cup hooks so close to the back of the frame. 

How it turned out :)

I'm very excited about how this project turned out!