DIY: ribbon backdrop

Good afternoon, friends!  As some of you know, little Miss Keziah was battling something weird yesterday, and it seems as though today she's a little extra tired.  I figured that since she's taking a long, recovery nap that I'd show you a little DIY that I did for her birthday party.   

I was on the hunt for something to cover our sage green dining room walls (that I thought didn't match well with her birthday theme) that could double as a backdrop for when she did her first cake smash ... which should actually be called a cake poke.  Anyway, while researching, I found the cutest ribbon backdrop and I figured that I could try the same!  After it was finished, I realized that I could also use it as a photobooth-ish backdrop.  Because we kept her party rather small, I wanted to be able to get a photo of Keziah with each guest to put in her baby book.  Turned out great!!  

Because I don't have the need for another backdrop, I'm going to just give an illustration, using the one that I originally made.

So, let's get started!

You'll need:

spools of coordinating ribbon (I think I probably purchased roughly 30-40 spools)

a rope cord

hot glue gun

Before getting started, plan out how long and how wide you'd like your backdrop.  I only needed mine to be about 6 feet wide and 4 feet long.  Cut your rope cord accordingly.  For the ribbon:  I did a little bit of basic math and figured how many feet were on each spool and planned the best way to get the most out of the spools.  Depending on the type of ribbon you're using, you should be able to get about 3-6 strips from each. Try to get the ribbon roughly the same length, but you'll notice in the end that a less perfect bottom looks better.  :)

Step 1: Lay out your rope cord and arrange the ribbon in the order that you'd like to see it hung.

Step 2: Grab each strip and put a bit of hot glue on one end and fold over the rope cord.  Be sure to leave enough room to slide the ribbon down the rope cord.  Also be sure that you're facing each strip of material the same way and folding the strip the same way each time.

Step 3: Continue adding more and more ribbon!  Don't worry about using too much; in the end, you'll just be scrunching it all together anyway.

Step 4: Slide the strips together to make room for more!

Step 5: Once all of your strips are glued and scrunched together, tie a knot at the end of your rope cord to prevent your strips from sliding off.

 Step 6: Hang, ooo and aahhh! ;) Notice that all of my strips aren't the same length.  Doesn't look bad to me! :)