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Happy Lunar New Year: DIY Hongbao for download!

Happy New Year!

It’s the new Lunar New Year this Thursday (February 19), and happy new year to all who celebrate it. This year will be the year of the Sheep.

Growing up as a Chinese kid with a huge extended family, receiving 红包 (Red Packets, pronounced hongbao, or angpow) packed with money was an absolute favourite thing for all us kids every year, although perhaps less favoured by the adults who had to give the money away every year. I remember at least one of my cousins teaching me a not particularly polite New Years Greeting: 恭喜发财,红包拿来!(Happy New Year, now hand over the cash!)  I also distinctly remember being told off immediately for repeating it.

For those less familiar with the tradition, Hongbao are red packets that married people give to children and unmarried adults on the Lunar New Year, among other special occasions. Anecdotally, as someone from South East Asia, I’ve always seen the money given as notes in the envelope and it hasn’t bothered any of my family whether the money’s been in odd or even numbers. You might also give someone a hongbao when you’re attending their wedding, or when they’ve just been especially good to you.

Now I’m finally at the age and social status where I have to think about giving, rather than receiving. Living in Australia and not getting out much, I haven’t seen the sheer flurry and variety of hongbao that I used to see in Asia handed out around this time for adults to give eager friends and family. So I thought I might share some of this new experience with all my readers and friends with these hongbao designs for you to print out and use for your own.

Use

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Please feel free to download and use these templates – cut out the hongbao to fill them full of presents for others, or give the templates straight to your friends, family or students who might be interested in making their own! Or use these designs as the starting point to create your own!

I am more than happy for you to use these as you wish as long as it’s not for commercial purposes – and I’d love to see any hongbao you make from it.

Downloads

Continue reading for previews of all the hongbao styles – or download straight from the text links here if you already know what you want:

All files are designed to be printed on A4. The template hongbao have been designed to fit all common Australian currency notes, although they should be able to fit most non-Australian notes too!

The traditional red packet

DIY Hongbao 2015 - Black inkwork on Red
DIY Hongbao 2015 – Black inkwork on Red

We’ll start with the traditional red red packet, in bold black in red. If you have gold ink available, feel free to trace over any of the lines or calligraphy to make your red packet that much more outstanding!

The text on this reads

吉星高照 (The lucky star shines high)

万事如意 (May all your hopes come to fruition)

Download here

Black on pink

DIY Hongbao 2015 - Black inkwork on Pink
DIY Hongbao 2015 – Black inkwork on Pink

The same artwork and message as the red red packet, but with a slightly pinker bent.

Download here

Black on peach

DIY Hongbao 2015 - Black inkwork on Peach
DIY Hongbao 2015 – Black inkwork on Peach

The same artwork and message as the red red packet, but with a slightly peachier twist.

Download here

Black on yellow

DIY Hongbao 2015 - Black inkwork on Yellow
DIY Hongbao 2015 – Black inkwork on Yellow

The closest thing we could get to gold – to let your hongbao recipient know that their packet is really full of bling, give them this.

Download here

Plain black – for coloured paper only

Big disclaimer on this one: Please only print this on coloured paper!

Please don’t print this on plain white paper to use as a hongbao.For one thing, this design looks great printed on brightly coloured paper, particularly if you’ve got some stunning red paper that isn’t quite the same shade of red as the design above. The other reason is, giving someone a white and black envelope stuffed full of money is, within Chinese culture at least, usually something only done at funerals. Although it might be something to consider if you want to give it to someone you especially hate at New Year, along with awkward silences and confused memories. (Though if it were me, I wouldn’t be giving money to people I dislike. Whatever, bonds of family. Take that, blood ties!)

DIY Hongbao 2015 - Black inkwork on printing onto coloured paper only!
DIY Hongbao 2015 – Black inkwork on printing onto coloured paper only!

Download here

Full colour design

DIY Hongbao 2015 - Full colour version
DIY Hongbao 2015 – Full colour version

And last but not least, the colourful hongbao for the year!

Download here

Valentine’s Day 2015 – news and downloads

Latest news!

Happy February! I’ve been spending most of the past month quietly chugging away at the New Comic. At this stage, I’ve finished a first draft and am going over absolutely everything to get it looking more polished. Also, not yet done with the cover.

Here’s a quick preview of how it’s looking now:

A preview shot of the latest comic progress!
A preview shot of the latest comic progress!

…which reminds me, the comic will be in colour! I’m keeping it pretty simple for now, but am excited about it. The story for this one felt very different to a lot of the work I’ve been doing over the past year, and in a way it felt more like a return to my roots. It’s kind of exciting.

But in between all that busyness, I nearly ran out of time to do something for Valentine’s Day! (Well, sort of – if you follow me on Instagram you’ll see some of the miniature fake sweets I’ve been playing with. But they’re a bit harder to download.) So here’s something for other people who haven’t prepared for it either. I think it’s appropriately last minute for us.

Free download: Heart patterned giftwrap

Valentines Day 2015 - Giftwrap!
Valentines Day 2015 – Giftwrap download freebie!

Quick and dirty gift wrap pattern! For wrapping! You could potentially use it as a card, but that might look a little too lazy.

At least it’s a pattern you can use at any time of the year!

Actually, I changed my mind. They were designed for gift wrap, but I think you could do more interesting things with them. Like origami. Or paper sculptures. Let me know if you do!

Design 1: Chocolate and pink!

VDAY2015 download freebie: Chocolate and Pink hearts giftwrap in A4
VDAY2015 download freebie: Chocolate and Pink hearts giftwrap in A4

Just the sweet colours for a sweet occasion. Get the printable A4 version here.

Design 2: Black hearts on white

VDAY2015 download freebie: White and black hearts giftwrap in A4
VDAY2015 download freebie: White and black hearts giftwrap in A4

For a cooler, more modern feel. Get the printable A4 version here.

Design 3: White hearts on black

VDAY2015 download freebie: Black and white hearts giftwrap in A4
VDAY2015 download freebie: Black and white hearts giftwrap in A4

For the even more sophisticated gift recipient. Or someone who likes black better. Get the printable A4 version here.

Preview of what’s next – Lunar New Year goodies!

Okay, so I have been pretty apathetic on the Valentine’s Day front. But I’m preparing something else for the Lunar New Year…

If you haven’t finished your hongbao (or angbao, depending on your preference!) prep yet, come back next week – I’ll have some red packet patterns for you to print, fold and give away! Or keep.

WIP: Lunar New Year 2015 illustration
WIP: Lunar New Year 2015 illustration
Digital, 2015

NEW COMIC: get Sweet NV #2 for free

New comic time!!

The cover for Sweet NV, issue 2!
The cover for Sweet NV, issue 2!

Sweet NV #2 is now finished and ready for your reading pleasure! And it’s free! You can download the comic here! You can also pick up a copy of Sweet NV1 (previously available in print only!) if you want to know Ratty’s origin story. I also have a new shop for my digital comics (as opposed to the usual print and hardcopy shop)

Download

Both downloads contain the comic in CBR and PDF formats

  • Sweet NV1 ($1)
  • Sweet NV2 (free download, but you’re welcome to pay for it if you like! Just pick a price when you download it.)