How to Create an Opening Envelope Animation in Canva
Want to make an envelope slide open to reveal your invitation? In this tutorial, I’ll show you how I create that effect in Canva using Match & Move.
I’m using a save-the-date design, but you can use the same idea for a wedding invitation, birthday or another event. You can start with my envelope pieces or prepare your own to suit the design you’re making.
We’ll add a wax seal, set up the opening animation and finish with your invitation details underneath. I’ll also share the small adjustments I make when creating an editable template for customers.
How Does the Envelope Opening Work?
The envelope is made from two separate pieces. On the first page, they sit together to look like a closed envelope. On the second page, those same pieces sit out to the sides, revealing the invitation.
Match & Move creates the movement between those two positions. It’s the Canva feature we’ll use to bring the pages together. Canva’s Match & Move tutorial
The wax seal is grouped with the front envelope piece, so it moves away with it when the envelope opens.
Already using one of my finished templates and only want to change the seal? I’m covering that in a separate tutorial, so you won’t need to rebuild the whole animation.
How to Make an Animated Envelope Invitation in Canva
1. Start Your Video Design
Open a portrait video design in Canva. I’m using a phone-friendly layout of 1080 × 1920 pixels for this example.
You’ll need two pages for the animation: one for the closed envelope and one for the invitation reveal.
If you’re starting with a template, make a copy before experimenting so you have the original to go back to.
2. Prepare Your Two Envelope Pieces
You need the envelope in two separate parts so each side can move independently. One flat image of a complete envelope won’t give you this effect on its own.
If you’re using my prepared envelope pieces, you can move straight on to positioning them.
If you’re preparing your own, choose an envelope image with a clear edge between the front flap and the rest of the envelope. You’ll need to isolate those two sections into separate images with transparent backgrounds.
Background removal can help remove the area around the envelope, but it won’t automatically split the envelope along the flap. That part needs manually erasing or cutting away the unwanted section from each copy. Keep an untouched copy of your original while you work.
Before continuing, place the two finished pieces together and check that they recreate the closed envelope without gaps or leftover edges.
3. Leave a Little Transparent Space Around Each Piece
This is a small detail, but it matters for the way I set up the animation.
Each envelope piece needs a little transparent padding around it. That’s empty space inside the image’s selection box, beyond the part of the envelope you can actually see.
On the reveal page, we’ll move the visible envelope out of sight while leaving a little of that transparent area on the page. In my setup, moving the whole box off the page can make the piece disappear instead of giving the movement we want.
If your images are tightly cropped, you can prepare a padded version by placing each piece on its own otherwise empty page, with some space around it. Keep both preparation pages the same size.
Download those pages as separate PNGs with Transparent background selected, then upload the files back into Canva. Remove any background photos or shapes before exporting. Transparent PNG export is a premium Canva feature. Canva’s transparent-background instructions
Select each uploaded image and check that its box includes the empty space. Keep that padding when positioning the image rather than cropping it tightly around the envelope again.
You don’t need a large empty border or an exact measurement. You just need enough for the envelope to move out of view while a small part of its box stays on the page.
4. Put Your Closed Envelope Together
Add both pieces to your first video page and position them so they look like one closed envelope.
Use Position → Layers to check the order. The front envelope piece should sit above the other piece where they overlap.
Zoom in and check the join before adding the animation. You don’t want a thin gap showing the background underneath.
5. Add Your Wax Seal and Initials
Add your wax seal and place it over the join in the envelope.
You can use a plain seal with your initials on top, a seal with a design already on it, or your own custom seal. I’ll cover creating a unique wax seal in a separate tutorial.
Select the seal and the front envelope piece, then choose Group. This keeps them together when the envelope moves.
If you’re making a finished video for yourself, you can group your initials with the seal too, so everything moves away together.
For templates I sell, I leave the initials as a separate editable text layer above the seal. I’ll explain how I make those disappear neatly in the seller section below.
6. Design Your Save-the-Date Page
Create the second page and add the design you want the envelope to reveal.
For a save the date, that might be a photo background, your names, the wedding date and a short line such as “Invitation to follow”. You can also use a plain background, illustration or another design that suits your event.
Get the main layout in place before adding the envelope pieces over it. Check that the names and date are easy to read on a phone.
7. Copy the Envelope Pieces onto the Second Page
Go back to your first page and copy both envelope pieces, including the seal grouped with the front piece. Paste them onto your second page.
Use the same pieces from page one rather than adding fresh versions from Uploads. You want to preserve the elements you’re moving between pages.
Open Position → Layers and bring the envelope pieces above the invitation content. Keep the front piece and seal above the other envelope piece, just as they are on the first page.
For my separate-initials setup, the initials stay on the first page. They won’t be needed on the reveal page.
8. Slide Each Envelope Piece Out to the Side
On the second page, move one envelope piece to the left and the other to the right.
Keep their size and vertical position the same. We only want them to slide sideways.
Move each piece far enough that you can’t see the envelope on the page anymore, but leave a little of its transparent selection box overlapping the page edge.
Check the wax seal has disappeared from view too. Because it extends beyond the envelope edge, you may need to move that group a little further.
Your second page should now show the full invitation, with the envelope pieces sitting out of sight at either side.
[Add screenshot showing the transparent edge of the selected envelope piece overlapping the page]
9. Add the Match & Move Transition
Click the transition control between the two pages and choose Match & Move.
I move the transition duration slider to its longest setting for a slower opening. Preview it and adjust it to suit your design.
As a starting point, I use roughly three seconds for the first page and four seconds for the second. If your invitation has more text, give the second page longer so people have time to read it.
Play the video from the beginning. The envelope should slide apart, with the seal moving away attached to the front piece.
10. Add Music if You’d Like
A short piece of music can be a lovely finishing touch, especially with a photo reveal.
Add your chosen audio to the video timeline, then trim it to fit the invitation. Listen from the beginning so you can choose which part of the track plays as the envelope opens.
You can keep this simple. The opening animation works without music too.
11. Preview and Download Your Video
Watch the whole video in Preview before downloading it.
Check that the envelope starts fully closed, both pieces slide smoothly out of view, and the seal moves with the correct piece. Make sure nothing is left floating over the invitation and the details stay on screen long enough to read.
When you’re happy, go to Share → Download, choose MP4 Video and select both finished video pages. Leave out any preparation pages you used for exporting the envelope pieces.
Open the downloaded video on your phone and watch it once more before sharing it.
Creating an Editable Envelope Template to Sell?
There are two extra things I do to make my templates easier for buyers to edit.
Keep the Initials Separate and Add a Fade Exit
I leave the initials as a separate text layer above the seal instead of grouping them with the envelope. That makes them easier for buyers to select and change.
Select the initials, open Animate, choose Fade, and set it to apply on exit. I use the quickest speed setting so the initials clear quickly as the envelope opens.
Preview this with Match & Move to check that the letters disappear cleanly instead of staying in the middle while the seal slides away.
Lock the Envelope Pieces Once Everything Works
Once I’m happy with the movement, I lock the envelope pieces on both pages, including the grouped seal.
This makes buyers less likely to accidentally move or delete something while changing their details. I leave the text they need to personalise unlocked.
Buyers can still unlock the envelope if they want to replace the seal, but that needs a few extra steps to keep the animation working across both pages. I’m covering that separately in my wax-seal replacement tutorial.
If Your Envelope Animation Isn’t Working
The envelope disappears instead of sliding: check that part of each image’s transparent box still overlaps the second page. Also check you copied the original pieces across and selected Match & Move.
The envelope moves behind the invitation: open Layers on the second page and move both envelope pieces above the invitation content.
The seal stays behind: check it is grouped with the front envelope piece on both pages.
The initials stay in the centre: if you’ve kept them separate, check their Fade animation is set to exit and that they haven’t been copied onto the reveal page.
You can still see a sliver of envelope: move that piece slightly further sideways, keeping a little transparent padding on the page.
Once the movement is working, you can change the colours, seal and invitation design to make your own version. The same two-page setup gives you plenty of room to try different looks.
