The Chinese, or Vietnamese, New Year is February 12 this year and I’m excited to share my latest Cricut design with you! 2021 is the year of the ox, or cow. The lunar new year is one of, if not the biggest, holidays in the Chinese and Vietnamese culture. Families normally gather in traditional attire, exchange well wishes, and gift red envelopes filled with money as a symbol of good luck. The money inside is typically crisp and new and specially obtained from banks. Sometimes, the red envelopes are also gifted on other special occasions like birthdays or holidays throughout the year. They are also almost always red and gold in color but I’ve seen some in hot pink! It’s convenient to have this design so you can cut it whenever you need it. This year’s celebration will be different but I definitely would like some luck for 2021! Does anyone else remember getting red envelopes in elementary school with a chocolate coin or dollar too?
For this year’s design, I made one of my favorite symbols of spring, cherry blossoms! This design can be used throughout the year and any year since it doesn’t feature a specific animal for the year. I made the design so that the small cutouts are big enough to come right off and don’t require weeding, or manual removal of the cutouts.
I've also updated my site menu so it's easier for you to navigate my website and find my projects. If you click on 'Cricut Designs' on my menu, you can now find all of projects organized by events or occasions. I hope it's helpful!
This red envelope design has a lot of folds so it will require a scoring tool. I have a Cricut scoring pen that I purchased separately from the machine. Does anyone else start cutting a project and realize they forgot to put their scoring pen in? It happens to me ALL the time!! I just have to restart the project. The problem is that when I put away my Cricut machine, I have to remove the pen to be able to close the top. A scoring wheel will solve this problem and that is the only difference that I can think of between a Cricut scoring wheel and pen!
- 2 Light Card Stock in different colors like red and gold (or you can be different and use different colors!)
- Glue (Elmer’s or craft glue for the gold backing and hot glue for the )
- Makes 4 red envelopes in a standard 12x12 sheet.
* Affiliate links above.
I made a lot of mistakes when putting together this envelope which I will list here so you can avoid them.
- Remove stuck cutouts (if any) after cutting. Although I made my design so that the cutouts are big enough to not require weeding, sometimes you might find 1 or 2 that haven’t fall out. Check for this before you glue the backing because it’s easier to poke it out beforehand.
- Don’t use hot glue on the gold backing part. I did this initially and it created a slight gap between the red and gold paper and I thought it didn’t look as nice.
- Use glue very sparingly. I tried Elmer’s glue next and used way too much initially. It oozed out into the cutout part of the design and warped the paper. I felt like I was in Kindergarten again! So use glue sparingly and NOT near the cutouts. Think little dabs and not blobs of glue. Who knew where you put glue was so important?!
- Fold envelope after glue dries completely. Allow for enough time for the glue to dry BEFORE folding the envelope. I got a little excited and did it early and the gold backing popped off!
If you follow these tips then your envelope will come out looking like mine in the photo, I hope you like it!
When you click on the link below, you will be taken to page that looks like below. Simply click the 'Open' button to get to the project.
Here is the link, enjoy!
If you like my red envelope project, you may like my Valentine’s Day projects too! It’s just around the corner and you can make my most popular project, the Valentine’s Day treat box! I also have a few heart themed card designs that would go perfectly with the treat box. There is also a flower themed box that could also be used for Chinese New Year that I've linked below. I will be making a few more Valentine’s Day designs so check back for more later!
Note: Clicking on an image below will take you to the project's page. You can alternatively go to my site menu and select 'Cricut Designs' and 'Chinese New Year' or 'Valentine's Day' to see the associated projects.
