NEW USES FOR A WINEGLASS

Beauty SOS: Botched manicure

TO FIX A freshly painted— and smudged—nail

Tightly cover the top of an open bottle of nail-polish remover with your pointer and middle fingertips and quickly turn the bottle upside down to wet the skin slightly, says Tracylee, an educator for Sally Hansen. Then gently swipe the polish smudge with a remover-dampened digit until it flattens out. Reapply a clear topcoat, like Duri Miracote ($10, duri. com), to restore the shine.

TO FIX Sheet creases all over the nails you painted right before bed

Try the same technique described above, but add a layer of the original polish color plus a layer of topcoat once the smudges are ironed out, says celebrity manicurist Jin Soon Choi. Faster yet, swipe a quick-dry glittery topcoat over dings as camouflage. Try Essie Set in Stones ($8.50, essie.com).

TO FIX A chip that occurs days after polishing

If you have the polish color, smooth out the nicked area with a remover-dipped fingertip as described above. Next, fill in the chip with matching polish, then apply a second coat of color to the entire tip. Seal with a clear topcoat. If you don’t have the original color on hand, remove all the polish from the chipped nail and paint it a different, complementary color. Voilà— it’s an accent nail!

NEW USES FOR OLD THINGS

WINEGLASS

RUNNER-UP

CUPCAKE CLOCHE:

Cover a leftover treat with a turned-over wineglass to prevent it from going stale or getting smushed.

—idea courtesy of JAN URICK, Gilbert, Arizona

RUNNER-UP

VOTIVE LAMP: Drop a flameless votive candle in a wineglass. Next, wrap a piece of decorative translucent paper around the glass and secure it with tape to create a lampshade.

—idea courtesy of LINDA BURTON, Fort Worth

WINNER DIP SERVER: Scoop guacamole or salsa into a wineglass, then stand it in the center of a bowl of chips for an impromptu chipand-dip platter.

—idea courtesy of CONNIE HARGET, Sagamore Hills, Ohio

RUNNER-UP

TERRARIUM: Fill a wineglass with a layer of small rocks and a layer of soil, then add a small succulent or an air plant.

—idea courtesy of SARA MCCLELLAND, Strongsville, OHIO

STAY TUNED FOR MORE CLEVER WINNERS OF OUR 2015 “NEW USES FOR OLD THINGS” CONTEST

Throughout this year, we’ll feature the smartest, most creative ideas straight from RS readers like you.

Photograph by Victor Prado