To celebrate the lunar New Year, we’ve created this freebie pack of envelope templates for you to print and fold at home. Let’s get started!
At Chinese New Year, it’s a common custom to give a red envelope (in Mandarin: hóngbāo) containing money to younger family members. The vibrant color of the envelope symbolizes good luck for the year ahead, and the designs often feature beautiful and intricate lettering or patterns in red and gold.
That’s why we’ve created this freebie pack of envelope templates for you to print and fold at home. Fill with notes and give to friends and family to wish them good fortune and happiness in the Year of the Rabbit!
Scroll down to download your envelope template pack and discover a quick tutorial for opening, editing, and printing your cards using Shutterstock Create.
What’s Included in Your FREE Chinese New Year Envelope Pack
This FREE downloadable template pack contains four envelope compositions with a modern and minimal design that celebrates the Year of the Rabbit (兔年, tùnián) in style.
PDF versions of the templates are available in two easily-printable standard sizes—Letter for the US and A4 for the UK, Europe, and Australia. Simply print on double-sided paper from your home or office computer, then cut, fold, and seal!
To be able to edit your envelope templates—such as adjusting color, text, or size—you can open your envelope designs in an editing app like Shutterstock Create. Scroll down for instructions on how to open and edit your envelope templates using Shutterstock Create.
FREE Envelope Pack Preview
Below, preview the four unique designs available in the FREE template pack. These envelopes have been custom-designed exclusively for Shutterstock by our friends at Blue Whippet Studio, and contain a range of lettered and patterned designs in a lucky red and gold palette.
All of the designs contain customary messages of good fortune and well wishes, including 福 (Fú / blessing, fortune), 囍 (Xǐ / double happiness), and 寿 or 壽 (Shòu / longevity).
Two of the designs also feature the Rabbit (兔, tù), the zodiacal animal symbolic of 2023’s lunar year and the fourth in the twelve-year cycle of the Chinese zodiac. People born under the Year of the Rabbit are said to be gentle, thoughtful, and kind, as well as responsible and patient.
How to Download Your FREE New Year Envelope Pack
Simply click the button below to download your freebie pack. Double-click the ZIP file to unpackage its contents. Inside the ZIP file, you’ll find two folders for A4 and Letter-sized templates. Inside each folder, you’ll find PDF and PNG versions of the envelopes, provided as both illustrated designs and blank envelopes for creating your own choice of message and images. Envelopes are provided in two sizes, that can be easily printed onto a sheet of either A4 or US Letter paper.
For seamless printing, open the PDF file (the file which includes the color bleed). Print your document as close to the edge of the page as possible. To edit the blank versions of the envelopes, see our simple-to-follow instructions below the download button.
This FREE download also includes a license document that covers the ways you can use these envelope designs. Plus, you’ll find a coupon that gives you a 15% off discount on Shutterstock images and footage.
By downloading this free template pack, you agree not to resell or redistribute these assets.
How to Edit and Print Your Envelopes Using Shutterstock Create
You can print illustrated versions of the envelopes directly from your freebie download. But, if you’d like to customize your envelope with a personal message or different design, this is super simple to do using Shutterstock Create.
In this quick, three-step tutorial for beginners, we’ll look at how you can customize a blank envelope template with a wraparound illustration or a metallic gold message.
In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to customize your envelope with a different image or message. You can license this “Year of the Rabbit” illustration right now via Shutterstock contributor Marish.
Step 1
Go to Shutterstock Create and choose Custom Canvas Size from the blank canvas options. Set the Width and Height to 3000 px. This will make for a large, high-resolution envelope design, but when you print the design, you can print to fit either A4 or Letter size paper.
Click Use this size to create the canvas.
Go to Images, and click the red Upload button. Navigate to the freebie folder you downloaded earlier, and open Blank Templates > PNG_blank templates. Choose either the A4 or US Letter-sized exterior design, and click Upload.
Click on the uploaded image to drop it onto the canvas.
Scale the envelope so that the edges of the envelope almost meet the edge of the canvas on all sides.
Step 2
Go to Images and click on the Stock Photos tab. From here, you can search for an image to use on your envelope. Here, I’ve looked for “year of the rabbit,” and clicked on this illustration to drop it onto the design.
Scale your chosen image so that it fits across the two main panels of the envelope template.
Click on the Crop layer button to trim away any unwanted parts of the image that go beyond the main envelope panels, leaving the tabs free.
Click on the Fade & blend icon at top-right and choose a Lighten blend mode, to merge the image onto the envelope design.
Alternatively, you can add a typographic message to your envelope.
Step 3
When you’ve finished customizing the envelope design, click on the red Download button at top-right, and choose PDF document for a print-ready file.
To print your image, ensure the design is printed to fit onto a single sheet of A4 or Letter paper. Once printed and cut out, simply fold along the dotted lines, sealing the bottom and side tabs of the envelope with glue. Leave the top tab open.
Awesome job! You’re now ready to place notes inside your envelope and gift it to your nearest and dearest.
Voilà! Your finished product!
A new year is a fantastic opportunity to source fresh inspiration and hit your creative reset button. Discover more design tips and inspiring resources for 2023 below:
