When I was young, my mum used to love making her own money envelopes for the festive seasons. She would buy rolls of wrapping paper in a pretty design, trace out the shape of the money envelope using a cardboard sample multiple times, then very carefully cut the shapes out. She would then fold in the creases, paste the edges and voila! Money envelopes ready for filling for Hari Raya! I remember being really intrigued by this and eagerly offering my assistance to her, promising that I would take just as much care as she did in making the envelopes. On hindsight, I think she was more than happy at my willingness to lend a hand, whiling away my weekday afternoons crafting while listening to Perfect 10 on the radio.

I really do have my mum to thank, then, for my passion for crafting. She didn't just make money envelopes, too--she made a whole range of items, from recycled pencil holders out of old 8 Days magazines, to patchwork quilts that kept us warm at night. I think watching her quietly savouring the handiwork process inspired me to give it a go and to realize for myself just how fulfilling it is to create something beautiful right from scratch. And so, here I am, many years later, taking a great leap of faith in starting up hanakrafts, but fully comforted by the knowledge that Mak definitely approves.

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Hanakrafts is inspired to create handmade cards, gift envelopes, journals and other paper goods with beautiful and unique designs.

In the Japanese language, 'hana' means 'flower'. Thus, in the spirit of our name, we are also committed to keeping our practices environmentally-sustainable. We hope you will appreciate and carry on our efforts to be kinder to nature.

Do visit our website at www.hanakrafts.com, our facebook page at www.facebook.com/hanakrafts or our Instagram page, https://www.instagram.com/hanakrafts, for more beautiful handmade paper goods! You can also sign up to our mailing list at http://eepurl.com/cBpQhP to get regular updates from our humble handmade store!