Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Valentine's Gift Idea

I think I figured out what every crafty woman needs for Valentines Day.

One of the best ways to find a practical gift for someone is to see what they borrowed. Lately my wife has been borrowing my bar clamps. She was making a memo board and had a handful of those fabric covered buttons to finish. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get them to set right. The fabric would buckle, the back would be in crooked, etc. Her hands were also getting quite tired. I lent her one my small quick clamps. We set the button layers between the two pads, a couple of easy squeezes and it was perfect. What else has she used them for? At Christmas time, we held the roll of scotch tape to the table with a mini clamp so it was easier to tear off one handed, and lately she's been making decorated clip boards and needs to hold the clips open while the Mod Podge dries. I had to go steal them back tonight for another project.

What other unusual uses have you for these clamps? What uses does your wife have for these? It's not too late to stop by a hardware store for your sweetie.

5 comments:

Craver Vii said...

Dude!! A barclamp lovin' family... how excellent!

Anonymous said...

Be careful shopping for your sweetie at the hardware store. My carpenter husband got me a stud finder and a huge heavy duty staple gun for Christmas one year. I think it was strictly for the laughs because I had no need for either of these!!

Llama Momma said...

Hey! Welcome to blogland...where random thoughts and too much free time collide!

Bar clamps for valentine's day? You're not serious?

WilyHacker said...

For the record. I put my money where my mouth is and gave her a small bar clamp for Valentine's day. She was happy to have her own and not have to keep borrowing them from my workshop.

Lara said...

Wilyhacker did mention that he'd noticed his wife borrowing his clamps before he bought her one as a gift. I would say that's key in men shopping at the hardware store - a proven need/use for a tool. Of course now I'll be more cautious about what I let my husband see me borrowing. I'm not sure I want to find a new drill press or router under the Christmas tree next year.