A Bright Idea

If you have old-lady pack-rat tendencies like I do, you probably have a bag or drawer of used ribbons somewhere in your house that you have saved from various birthdays and holidays for the last 25 years. In theory, these are kept for the purpose of re-using when wrapping gifts for others. But sometimes, when you pull that drawer or bag out, those wadded-up, wrinkly, old ribbons don't quite have the jaunty, festive look that you are going for, so you end up cutting off a new piece from the spool.

Here's a quick fix for "ironing" that old ribbon without hauling out your ironing board and iron. Simply remove the lampshade from a lamp, make sure the light bulb isn't too dusty, and turn it on. Within a couple minutes the bulb will get hot enough to "iron" your ribbon by holding it at the ends and rubbing it back and forth.

So when you need a pretty ribbon, make like a comic book character, and let a light bulb go on over your head.

photo credit: Real Simple