Lost Beads, Found Sponge

I really like watermelon, so was very happy to get a pair of beaded watermelon earrings last summer. They were big enough that it's hard to imagine that I didn't discover I'd lost one until after I got home one day. How did I not notice that it had fallen out of my ear?

I only felt a sense of loss until I found a watermelon-shaped kitchen sponge in Grapevine, Texas, while visiting my sister Bev.

The extra size was a bit of a puzzle...

...but not too hard for my creative mind to solve!

A bread knife, scissors, permanent marker, Mod Podge, and earring hooks made my new watermelon earrings a reality.

(They look good enough to eat, but I don't recommend it.)

How do you feel when you lose something you like? What do you do about it?

Old Made New

You may have noticed that I don't know how to turn this picture, but I have faith you your ability to see what it is anyway.

     I discovered how to avoid buying a new under-seat suitcase for someone I live with who loves princesses and doesn't care for the personal-item sized case she already has, royal color that she chose in the first place! (Purple is an ancient dye color reserved for royalty.) 

Spending enough to buy a princess-covered gift bag and a jar of Mod Podge, (which, I was happy to discover, costs LESS than a new suitcase) I rounded up a pair of scissors and a ratty little paintbrush and managed to transform Carolyn's 4-year-old suitcase into an adventure all by itself.

     Now Carolyn chooses this suitcase over the slightly larger hard-sided one she has with spinner wheels that she used to choose every time we went somewhere.

     The final chapter of this story is that after 40 years of not using the stuff, I didn't know how much soap was required to clean the Mod Podge off that ratty little paintbrush.

This was enough.

Do you like to fix things that you already have?

Or would you rather buy new things?