I am excited to be sharing with you today a simply fabulous find! These handmade cards by US based Indian Henna Artist Himani Patel combine my love for pretty stationery and all things handcrafted. And you wouldn’t imagine what makes them even better. Himani actually uses her talent to raise funds for scholarships for students in need, to travel for educational workshops and conferences nationwide at Western University!
A Little About Himani
How often is it that we come across women who are actually devoting their time, talent and effort to give back to the society. In the world we live today, everybody is busy using every last drop of their talent (or even lack of it) to make money. In times like these, people like Himani come across as a breath of fresh air.
After moving from Surat, Gujarat to Houston, TX , Himani Patel completed her studies and got her Doctorate from the Western University of Health Sciences in Podiatry. As a student, she could not afford to spend money to travel for conferences and workshops. Today, she is a resident physician at Baylor Scott and White at Temple, TX. But along with her full time employment, she aims to share handmade kindness through art skills that her mother has passed on to her. She wants to help the community not only as a Doctor, but also with the help of her artistic skills such as paper crafting and henna.
Giving Back
Currently her efforts are to help students to travel to different educational conferences which can be expensive in the US. She has decided to donate handmade cards for their fundraising event in October at the Western University of Health Sciences . As an alumni, she want to be some help to the students. Starting next year, she plans to donate 30% of the purchase amount from her Etsy shop ‘HimaniWorks’ towards a scholarship that will help students with funding. Another goal is to help donate $365 to Ekal Vidyalaya from her etsy shop.
She is such an inspiration, isn’t she! I am honored to be featuring some of her work on my blog today.
Handmade Cards
I love stationery (I have unused boxed cards from the 50s!) and was excited when Himani offered to send some of her cards for review. Her love for her craft is visible from the perfection in her cards. And her expertise at paper crafting can be seen in the way she blends together different card making techniques.
Take this embossed card for example. A beautiful ink blending technique has been used to create a lovely background of flowers. A perfect “All occasions” card!
This lovely card is so striking with an all-white background and a pop of color with the message in red glitter. The ‘angled embossing’ technique used here makes the card stand out.
This card is another favorite! The image of the peony flower has been so meticulously worked upon. The image is first hand stamped, then heat embossed and finally, pencil colored using Prismacolor. I also love the idea of using Kraft paper as a base for the pink peony. Très chic!
And finally…my absolute favorite of them all! Yes, I am as crazy about the ‘Mandala’ motif as the rest of the world. Himani, who is also a Henna artist, uses the mehandi-inspired motif to create a card that is beautifully Indian! I love everything about this card from the golden henna design to the marbled paper in the background. The color combination of yellow and blue is also lovely. This card is perfect for Diwali or any occasion where you need to add that exotic Indian touch. I wish I could transfer this design on to my cushion covers for Diwali…lol!
Handmade Stationery
But the magic of HimaniWorks does not end with the cards. She also makes pretty stationery items like colorful envelopes.
How cute is that ‘Daisy Flower Paperclip’!!! You are going to see it in featured in one of my own DIY projects shortly :). And on to the cutest surprise in the package:
Mini Notecards!
Aren’t they adorable? These lovely little notecards can be used as lunch notes with a special message for the kids or for your husbands! You can also fill them up in a jar with romantic messages for a special Valentine’s Day gift. Himani sells them on her Etsy store where you can also see some more creative uses for them.
You can shop all these and many more lovely creations on her Etsy store. Do check it out girls and support handcrafted! She has thank you cards, blank note cards, birthday cards, banners, mini notes etc. All products are handmade by her. If you need anything in specific, she can also custom create for you.
Giveaway
GIVEAWAY ENDED
Winner: Samantha (@sammich117)
Giveaway Open to US Residents Only!
Those in India and Other Countries can participate if they have a US address to ship to 🙂
I am happy to be hosting a giveaway for some of Himani’s beautiful creations! All you fellow stationery lovers can now enter to win a set of stationery from Himaniworks containing my favorite items:
For Additional Entries:
- ‘Like’ Himani’s Etsy store on Etsy.
- Subscribe to my blog by filling up your email in the form on the sidebar. This keeps you notified of my new posts + giveaways and is a great way to stay in touch!
- Leave a comment on any of my blog posts (other than this post – only comments made during the period of the contest will be valid as long as the basic participation requirements are fulfilled).
Rules:
- Contest Winner should have an address in the United States for the prize to be shipped to
- Contest begins from Wednesday, October 5th to Tuesday, October 11th.
- Please make your social media accounts public so they can be verified.
Awesome but I Don’t have any us address !! Lovely review n cards .