I have older nieces and nephews. I’m not fooling myself, they would prefer cash over anything that I might pick out as a gift. But, I do like to try to find fun ways to gift the cash. I’m always looking for a new idea, so when I saw the plastic lip balm pouches, I got so excited. I had to design one right away.

I am sharing that design with you guys. I designed a birthday themed lip balm pouch money holder and I also have a piece that can be used as a fun back to the money holder or work as a great starting point for designing your own card. 

I also sell other designs in my shop. This tutorial applies to all of those designs as well.

Why Are There SVG and PNG files?

You will notice if you purchase one of my files you will get PNG (printable) files and SVG (cutable) files. Why include the SVG file?  Even though the SVG files take about 10 times longer for me to design than the PNG file, I include it so my customers have every possible option. You can quickly print and cut using the PNG or if you want more dimension you can cut all the pieces out and assemble them using the SVG file and your cutting machine (Cricut or Silhouette). You can also do a combo of those two – save a little time by printing then cutting most of it, but make the cards pop with some cut elements. But first, we are going to focus on the printable PNG file and how to use it.

Materials Used for the Lip Balm Pouch Project

Happy Birthday Lip Balm Pouch Money Card File- FREE

Lip Balm Pouch Back / Blank Template File – FREE

Adhesive Lip Balm Pouches (my favorite)

Lip Balm Empty Pouches

More Lip Balm Empty Pouches (if sold out)

Lip Balm (if pouches are sold out)

Glue

Cricut Spatula

Featured Video

How to Create the Lip Balm Holder Money Card in Cricut – Printable Verison

Step 1: Upload the Free Files (Or Your Purchased File) into Cricut Design Space

•  Download and save the above FREE png files onto your computer or download your purchase from Etsy and save to your computer. 
• Log into Cricut Design Space. 
• Upload the PNG file of your choice into Design Space.
  • To do this select the Upload button.
  • On the upload screen, select the Upload Image Button.
  • Search for where you saved the files you downloaded. Bring in the printable PNG file first. (We will use the blank back file later).
  • Highlight the file and select the Open button.
• You will see your image with three options next to it. Simple, Moderate, Complex. I always go with Complex.
• Next, you are brought to the background remover screen. Don’t remove anything, just select the Apply & Continue button.

• You will now be at a screen with two options, the one on the left says Cut Image and the one on the right says Print Then Cut Image. We want the Print Then Cut image.  Select and hit the Upload button.

• Now you will see it under Recent Uploads, select your file and hit the Add to Canvas button.

Step 2: Print Then Cut in Design Space

 The files are .png files. That means in Cricut we will treat it as a print then cut file. Using the file as a print then cut saves so much time. If you are new to Print then Cut, I will walk you through how to do it. I also have a video tutorial (above) which might be helpful to see it step by step. 

• If you notice, on my design, there is a little blank circle at the top. This is the intended space for the dollar amount you are including in the lip balm pouch. I left it blank because people will include different amounts. Before you print then cut, you should add your dollar amount.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
• To add the dollar amount, select Text. Enter your amount and select your favorite font. 
• Next, pull the dollar amount on top of the circle, resize it to fit and change it to whatever color you prefer. 
• Some of my files for sale have a blank spot on them where you can personalize with names or sayings. You would do the same thing, select text, resize and put it over top of the blank or anywhere on the card that you want to add something. 
• Now you have two separate layers, the $ amount and the card itself. We need to get these into one print then cut piece. To do this, select both layers. You can either highlight them both on the layers panel or drag your cursor over both of them to select. 
• With all your layers selected, hit the Flatten button. Now you have one piece ready for Print then Cut.

• Select the Make It button.
• Select Send to Printer button. 
• The Print SetUp box pops up. Select your printer from the drop down. Hit Print.

• Important note: Make sure your printer is set to High Quality for the best possible print. 
• Once your card is printing, select your materials. I am using 65lb cardstock for the front, so I selected 80lb cardstock. 

•  Attach your printed card on your mat. I always use a Brayer to make sure the paper is attached well. 
• Send it through your Cricut.
• Remember, when removing the cardstock from the mat, always flip the mat over and peel the mat away from the paper so your paper doesn’t curl.    

Add a Fun Backing to Lip Balm Pouch

I like adding a backing to my money holder. I usually use glitter or metallic cardstock. I think it serves two purposes. One, it adds a pop of fun and two, it makes the card feel more substantial. If you wish to skip this step, go onto the lip balm pouch section. 

• Upload the back / blank template file into Cricut Design space. Follow the same steps as above with the birthday file.
• However, when you get to Upload Type screen, you can select Cut Image instead of Print then Cut.
• If you do select Print then Cut you can easily change it to Cut once it’s on your Design Space canvas. To do this go to the Operation drop down and select Basic Cut.
• Make sure it’s sized correctly to fit on the back of the happy birthday lip balm pouch money holder. 

• Select the Make It button.
• Make sure you change your material to Glitter Cardstock if that is what you are using. I usually change my pressure to more as well since I have an older blade on my Explore Air right now.
• Again, once it’s cut, flip the mat over and peel the mat away from the cardstock to prevent curling. 

Prepping the Lip Balm Pouch

Now the key piece. The lip balm pouch. I’ve noticed the blank lip balm pouches are sometimes hard to find. 

Adhesive Lip Balm Pouches (my favorite)

Lip Balm Pouches

More Lip Balm Pouches

If the blank pouches are sold out or if you just want to repurpose your lip balm packaging, you can use the pouch from the packaging. Just make sure it’s the type with a pouch that is an attached piece and not one that is just one solid piece. You want to be able to easily remove the pouch from the package.

Lip Balms with removable pouches

To prepare a pouch from a lip balm package:

• Carefully remove the plastic pouch. My Cricut Spatula works well. 
• You will notice that you probably have some packaging stuck to the sides that were glued down to the package. We will want to get that off. To do that, get some nail polish remover with acetone and a cotton ball or towel. Go around the edges and get them nice and wet with the nail polish remover. Once the nail polish remover soaks through, the paper from the packaging will fall off. 
• Now you have a clean ready to use lip balm pouch.

Assembling the Lip Balm Pouch Money Holder

The assembly piece of this is quick and easy. If you can get the adhesive lip balm pouches those are the easiest because you don’t have to mess with glue.  If you have the regular pouch without glue, the key is to use a glue that dries clear so you don’t see it through the clear plastic of the lip balm pouch. I love this glue. It adheres quickly and dries clear. 

• Glue the back (glitter side showing) to the happy birthday money holder.
• Roll the money up and put it in the pouch. Hold it down with your thumb while you apply glue around the edges of the pouch.
• Adhere the pouch to the front of the card right over the rectangle at the bottom. The money will unroll a little when you let go of it, but it will stay inside the pouch.

And you have quickly created a super fun and cute way to make gifting money more interesting!

How To Print and Cut by Hand

In my purchased files on Etsy, I include a version of the printable card that is easy to cut out by hand. No Cricut needed (shhhh, don’t tell my Cricut that). Just be sure you open the files that say Cut By Hand.

You can use free software such as Canva or Inkscape to print these cards.

These files have no hanging hole at the top. If you would like one, you can use a hole punch to put one in. They also are outlined in black so you can easily see where to cut. And you can easily write in your dollar amounts or special notes.