Wrap it up!

Yesterday's paper had a fun do-it-yourself tip sheet by Melissa Heckscher for wrapping presents without buying wrapping paper. We waste about 4 million tons of gift-wrap and shopping bags every holiday season. I can just hear Mother Earth gagging!

The story (which they never put online, to my great consternation) suggests you use old newspapers to wrap your presents. Whoopdedoo, like I've never heard that one before. But they also show you how to make three bows out of newspaper that make a present look great. You need a stapler, tape, newspaper and glossy ad pages.

For the first bow cut wide strips of the same length from the newspaper. Make three piles of four to seven strips, depending on how many curls you want on each side. Arrange the strips in an asterix (so not a cross but as if you were cutting six slices) and staple it in the middle. Roll back each strip toward the center and tape it down so it doesn't unwind.

For the second bow...