Looking back: I LOVED this cover. I thought it was the most appealing of any our first year. This was the first issue that editor, Mark Zoellner contributed to the magazine. I remember flying to Utah and feeling so HAPPY that Simple Scrapbooks finally had an editorial team, me and Mark! This is also the first issue that Cathy Zielske wrote for. She did a column on black and white photography and I remember feeling really bugged that her images were so small. I'll tell you what? It takes time to learn how to assign articles and columns to a page count and then how to communicate your vision (that your still forming) to your art director and if you're me, then you're a feeler and you don't want to hurt anyone's feelings—it's a process!

I was pretty proud of my idea to handwrite my editor's note for this issue. I was at the Memory Trends trade show when I first saw the issue in print and our publisher, Dave O'Neill complimented me. Since Dave, at that point was a super-intimidating dark suit, associated with the powers that be in New York, it felt like a pretty big deal to get positive feedback! 

Here's what the note says: 
Hey Friends!
I had great intentions for writing a more formal letter, but I've been so busy scrapbooking that I lost track of time. I'm busier than ever—yet I'm getting more pages done than I have in a long, long time. Declaring myself to be a "simple scrapper" has really helped. The creative pressure is gone, and in it's place is a renewed enthusiasm for my hobby. I hope you'll find this issue to be as helpful and inspirational as I have—I found ideas and motivation for the 3 pages here (see figures 1, 2 and 3) and plenty more!
Gotta Run—
Take care, and drop me a line sometime—I'd love to hear from you!

Be sure to read "A Harvest of Ideas" on pg. 48

I'm working on archiving my editor's notes along with random memories from each issue of Simple Scrapbooks magazine. I will post-date these posts to correspond to the actual date they were published. 

Note: Add layout images
Seven
3 Muskateers
Geoff Resident