I have been known to crack, break and shatter delicate things, both at home and at the homes of friends. Fine china handed from generation to generation. My wedding dishes. Vintage glass. And so, I am familiar with Replacements, Ltd., the online super glue for friendships strained by the untimely loss of a beloved dish or bowl. An actual storefront in North Carolina with more than 400,000 square feet of tableware, Replacements, Ltd. has the “world’s largest selection of old and new dinnerware, including china, stoneware, crystal, glassware, silver, stainless, and collectibles” and services klutzes young and old the world over. There are 12 million pieces in more than 286,000 patterns, some over 100 years old, but if they don’t have what you’re looking for right now, just fill out an online pattern/piece request form and you’ll receive first notice when they find it. The site bears the logo of the Better Business Bureau’s Online Reliability Program, and everything is guaranteed by a 30-day, no-questions-asked return policy. You can even sell to the company if you’re holding pieces you’d like to get rid of, although they will not purchase china that is chipped, cracked, stained or showing excessive wear. Pieces that are “crazed” or show minor flaws are acceptable. And for those getting married, there’s a bridal and gift registry. According to the frequently asked questions page, the registry is most helpful for newlyweds who want to complete a pattern. If you’re in a hurry and can’t find what you need at Replacements, Ltd., try Dishes From The Past or ebay, where I recently averted trouble after demolishing a forest green glass cereal bowl at a friend’s house. Replacement cost: $7 plus shipping.

Aside from the cliché that guys aren’t supposed to sew, one thing that kept me from approaching a sewing machine for years was that threading them looked pretty intimidating — loop here, insert there, wind around this way and so on. I eventually overcame my fear years back, but might have done so earlier had Singer’s new Curvy machine been available. Selling online for around $300, the machine boasts two features designed to make setup easier: one for threading the needle and another for getting the bobbin thread set up. It also has an electronic stitch-selection device that cleverly informs you of the appropriate length and width settings for a given stitch. Combine all that with handy common-sense features like a spacious compartment for accessories and a built-in trimmer for loose threads, and you have a machine that’s very appealing for beginners and practiced users alike. Testing the machine for ease of use, I found that it took only around half an hour from the time I opened the manual and plugged in the machine to the end of my first job — hemming some pajama bottoms that were clearly designed for a much taller man. While the auto-threading feature wasn’t so intuitive you could do it without a manual, it did simplify things significantly, and must be a Godsend for anyone whose eyesight isn’t what it used to be. Since one assumes that’s a fair percentage of the sewing machine demographic, Singer has probably guaranteed itself a lot of sales with the innovation.

I love using Mexican market bags, or “bolsas,” to pack up my swimsuit, towel, sunscreen, etc. before heading to the pool or beach. Made from woven poly mesh, they are remarkably strong yet weigh almost nothing. The air blows through them, you can see your belongings, and these affordable bags come in way cool colors and designs. At Direct From Mexico, I found a great selection, but there’s a catch or two: The color you get depends on what’s in stock at the time you order, and you have to purchase a minimum of two to four bags per order, depending on the style you want. Example: the fantastic mesh “brief case” (only $5.25), which comes in a plaid weave design must be purchased four at a time. Then again, they make wonderful reusable grocery bags, so why not buy a quartet? Great for taking to the pool are the 18- by 22-inch market bags with woven images of Frida Kahlo, the Virgin Mary and a Day of the Dead skeleton/icon named La Catrina ($9 each, minimum order: 2 bags). At Mexican Sol, buying just one mesh bag is no problem, but the prices are a bit higher — you can find the same Virgin Mary bag here for $11. Still, the selection includes groovy vinyl bags like this one with a loteria image of El Sol ($19). And have I mentioned Mexican oil cloth yet? It’s the festive, vibrantly colored durable vinyl print material you often see spread over tables. Oil-cloth totes from Mexican Sugar Skull ($22) or Tesoros ($8; pictured) are so pretty you might decide to make them your summer handbag of choice .

If you’ve ever loved a print so much that you wanted to wrap yourself and everything in your house in it, you may go mad for mod Marimekko, the Finnish design house that has produced fashion and life style accessories with eye-catching, large-scale, color-saturated abstract prints since 1951. A young Jackie Kennedy first put the unknown Finnish brand on the fashion map when she wore a simple Marimekko dress in bright pink in 1960 for a Sports Illustrated cover. Marimekko faded away for most of the last few decades but began its comeback when a Marimekko pattern was spotted on the curtains in the apartment belonging to Sex and the City’s Carrie Bradshaw. Just in time for this summer’s focus on retro flower power prints — in housewares, fashion, just about everything — the company has licensed its vintage patterns to Crate & Barrel, which carries this Marimekko print of larger-than-life marigold blossoms you can sleep in ($70 to $90). New this spring is H&M’s Tribute to Marimekko line (pictured), with clothes for women, men and even kids (for more, see New York magazine’s “First Look”). You like poppies? You really like poppies? Then consider Marimekko’s most recognizable print, Unikko. You can get it on this shower curtain ($49), throw pillow ($32), tote ($119), serving tray ($25) and last but never least, Manolo Blahnik shoes (available only at Manolo Blahnik stores in New York and London). Marimekko products are also available from a handful of its concept stores in the U.S., including one in Washington, D.C. If you like the Kaiku print, you can get it on a shower curtain ($59), a tea towel ($13) and a latte mug ($14). This print of cows sprinting through spring fields is also available on tea towels, plates, refrigerator magnets and coffee mugs. Many of the Marimekko prints can be custom made into a wall hanging or you can pick from a ready-made assortment, including “Hetkia Moments” ($375) or “Kassiopeia” ($340). For everything from stationery and office supplies to handbags and socks, check out Alway Mod: Everything Marimekko. Don’t forget the dress that started it all or something like it. This Valamo dress is vintage 1960s Marimekko and so is the Enni tunic ($89).

You’ve bagged the best bikini, secured slick sunglasses and found fab flip-flops. So complete your beachy keen ensemble with a terrific towel. Lands’ End offers colorful options like the paisley velour beach towel and the chantilly floral towel (pictured; $22 to $26). Buy two or more and get $2 off each. Make a statement with the Surfer Crossing yellow towel ($15) or the Modern Girl oversized beach towel ($20). The Maybe You towel at surf mecca Roxy.com is hip, eye-catching and practical ($40) while the Fish School beach towel can be monogrammed – a big bonus when you’ve got a large clan ($29). Bargain-seeking beachgoers should check out the selection at Old Navy, where towels are $12.50 or $7.50 each when you buy more than two. The answer to keeping your kids busy at the beach? Towels printed with game boards like checkers or Candy Land; each towel also comes with game pieces ($15). Younger children will also get a kick out of hooded beach towels, like the shark hooded wrap towel or the mermaid hooded towel ($13). A unique alternative to the standard towel is a roll-up beach mat by Tommy Hilfiger. The 24- by 66-inch mats have a shoulder strap and zippered pillow and are available in stripes or lobster and flamingo print ($30 on sale).

Crafters know that some materials just weren’t meant to be cut with scissors. Make more than a few cuts through cardboard, and your hands will ache; use the wrong shears on fabric, and you’ll ruin both the material and the cutter. A useful new tool from Skil handles those materials and many more. The $50 Power Cutter is advertised for use on most things under 1/4-inch thick (carpet, leather, vinyl flooring, and more), making it more like a delicate-use circular saw than a pair of scissors. It’s easier to steer along curved paths than a utility knife, and in my testing it made clean, splinter-free cuts on some things — like a scratched compact disc — that are notoriously difficult to cut. Hard as it is to believe, there seems to be room at the workbench for a whole new variety of power tool. Happily, the Power Cutter won’t be a power-strip hog: Like the palm-sized iXO2-powered screwdriver ($40), it’s part of a line of Skil products using next-generation lithium ion batteries, which can hold a charge much longer (up to six times as long, Skil says) than the NiCd and NiMH batteries found in most cordless tools, and they can sit for 18 months without losing juice — meaning you’re less likely to be in the middle of a home repair when you discover the tool you need won’t be ready until it has had a few hours to recharge.