The Dave Draper of Rubber Stamps

By James Pynn

Rubber stamps and me: a love affair. What's with the rubber stamp? Well, that's like asking the gent wearing that fashionable fedora why he bothers with keeping his head warm. A rubber stamp is not glamorous, no sir. What it is -- is dependable. It does exactly what it's designed to do: stamp. No special stamp apps that you can download and play online. These are solid, real tools for real people. Or at least mostly real people.

The sky is the limit when it comes to what you can ink now that you can customize rubber stamps. From public notaries to grade school teachers, there is always a reason to stamp. Stars, smiles, emblems -- even signatures -- can all be cut into compact, perfect stamps.

Why stop with one stamp? Why stop with two? They are so affordable you could make out with a cool half dozen before your bank account even knew what happened. The best part is you can even customize how your stamp can be constructed. Want a wooden handle? Maybe something like Dan Draper would use? Not a problem -- not this day in age.

Can you remember your dear Aunt Agnes? You know, the one on your mother's side -- with twelve cats and rollers perpetually in her hair? Well, you may have forgotten, but the lady loves to scrap book. She has the world's largest collection of pictures of you feeding the dog your tables scraps. Help her make her scrap booking dreams come true and send her a nice set of decorative stamp.

Flowers, vines, and cherubs -- you name it and they can make it. Who are they? They are professional stamp manufacturers and they are as rare a breed as fedora-sporting gents. You can add metal press plates, spring-loaded recoils, and even an assortment of colored ink pads. Why lock yourself into only one color? Order up, ink, and let the stamping begin. - 30551

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Gift Giving Grief

By James Pynn

It's horrendous, but my wife's birthday is coming up soon. By soon, I mean like tomorrow. By horrendous, I mean it's not my favorite time of the year. The problem I don't know what to get her. I usually save my best gift-giving ideas for Christmas -- it's her favorite holiday. But for some reason, "gift givers block" sets in and I end of up in a last-minute panic.

The crux of my dilemma is the fact that our birthdays are only eight days apart. Her birthday comes up first, so it's my responsibility to set the tone. Here's the trick: if my presents are lame then her presents end up being lame too. If I can deliver when it counts, then I get the gifts I've been hungry for.

Your spouse, I have found, is the only person in the world who is closest to you. He or she is the one who knows the particulars of what you like and what makes you happy. He or she knows which DVD you've been pining for and which CD has been at the top of your Amazon Wish List. The pressure of giving the perfect present is nerve-racking enough, but then you have to worry about the card. The nightmare never ends. Finding the right card can be problematic. I fancy myself a sincere guy, so getting the perfect one means hours at the card shop, drifting up and down the aisles.

Compounding problem of finding the right gift is finding the card. The card takes the longest to pick out. I know some husbands who can blindly pick out a card ad be done with it. I fancy myself a sincere guy and could never be so jaded. I mean, it's tricky because if I pick the wrong card, then my wife rolls her eyes and I'm in the doghouse.

Suddenly, as if struck by lightening, I decided to run out of the store and make my own card. I mean, why fork over four or five dollars to have a card kind of say what you mean to say? Just say it yourself. I had a rubber stamp custom made so my chicken scratch could be avoided, and stamped it on a 5x7 card. Originality goes a long way -- I think my wife appreciates the fact that I'm trying to convey my own feeling. - 30551

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