There's often no better way than to start off a new year than with the budding excitement of Spring and we have been working closely with the wonderful Pinkfresh Studio to create a striking all-occasion stamp and die set!

We love butterflies and florals and can't ever get enough of them so we were thrilled with the end result and we hope you are too! Of course our designers were delighted to get their crafting hands on the set and made an absolutely staggering range of projects in the process. These inspirational ideas will be sure to get you in the Butterfly Floral mood, whether it's Nicky's inky creations on page 9, Katie's contemporary mixed-media designs on page 30 or Sarah’s stunning off-the-page creations over on page 60, we’ve definitely got all of the expert advice and inspiration you need to get started.

Here's a little look at several creations from each, there's some brilliant Mother's Day ideas!

There's so much to look forward to in the new year including brand-new releases, to really help you kick-start 2023 in style and spend any leftover Christmas money!

We have a new launch from Simply Made Crafts that celebrates The Special Days (page 17), elegant florals from Pinkfresh Studio (page 54), and innovative releases from IndigoBlu (page 56).

Here's the new release from Simply Made Crafts:

Beautiful-day

60-birthday

Wedding-album

Stunning!!

This month's masterclass is a super-fun technique to help you create background shakers that are bound to impress the recipient. Jessica Rourke is on hand over on page 42 to guide us through this process with her in-depth step-by-step guides.

In January we're launching our annual Cardmaker of the Year competition - we're always thrilled when we get to shout it from the rooftops and we cannot wait to recieve plenty of entries that will start up in the New Year. You could win your share of a whopping £21,000 worth of prizes AND a place on our design team! So, make sure you stay tuned!

Check in with us again in 2023 to find out more and from all of us at Simply Cards & Papercraft HQ - we wish you a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year!