Hints to Help ‘Make Do’ in a Pinch

Making do in a pinch is a talent that can never be cultivated enough around the house.

Helpful-hints expert Mary Ellen Pinkham offers these handy tips, excerpted from the new issue of Family Circle magazine, for winging it around the house.

--If you’ve lost the cork for a wine bottle, substitute it with a candle stub. Just pare down the stub with a potato peeler.

--When you don’t have the ring mold a recipe calls for, substitute by covering an empty can with aluminum foil and placing it in the center of a cake pan. Partially fill the can with rice or dry beans to keep it from floating.

--When a recipe calls for 1 cup honey, you can use 1 cups sugar and cup extra liquid instead. (The food will brown faster, so lower the baking temperature a little.)

--Give hair ribbons a quick “ironing” by drawing them across a warm light bulb or toaster.