DIY hand dyed and crinkled ribbon

So I had this pink ribbon, and it was just so boring... I was working on some jewelry, like I said; I'm a jack of all trades, so I dabble a bit into jewelry making. I wanted to embellish a piece that I am working on with ribbon, but what I had, well... it just sucked. I wanted a more distressed, vintage look, so I checked out etsy and it turns out that I didn’t want to pay x amount of money for something I already had at home... or... could make at home, right, isn't that how we crafters always think? Lol. so, I said, hey, it can't be that hard! I decided to use whatever I stumbled upon and put it to good use ... food coloring and antiquing paint. I basically just poured a drop of blue dye onto a paper plate ... brushed a bit here and there on the pink ribbon, blue and red make purple, hence the color I ended with. I used my fingers to blend it, bad idea, duh! (use gloves if you attempt this. I had blue fingers for almost two days!)  I also used blue dye on a white ribbon and finished them by adding a bit of antiquing paint on it, then I razored the edges with an exacto knife to give it a distressed look. I crinkled them into a ball, tied them with a rubber band and trash ties (again, what I found at first hand) and let it rest overnight. I did test it the next day to see how the coloring would hold up and I think it will be ok for the use it will have....  I dipped it in a cup of water and the water hardly turned blue, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed! Unless its pouring rain, it will suffice for now, otherwise I will end up with a purple neck. Lol. I will buy some fabric dye or spray mist for this project on my next trip to the hobby store. For now I am content. I also looked on you tube and you can actually use sharpies for this??? Just as long as you don't sharpie your eyebrows paisanas... lol (mexican inside joke) Anyhow, If anyone has any ideas or advise please share!!!

before:

ball of ribbon.