well, this is it – the dawn of a new year, a new decade even. what will this year have in store?

soon, i will have been at the helm of scoutie girl for 6 months. and around the same time, scoutie girl turns 3! i hope that you’ve enjoyed the direction the site has taken under my typing-like-mad fingers. in 2010, my plan for the site is to venture into some new territory. just as i have been struggling with defining what “indie” craft & design is, i have been struggling with what separates scoutie girl from the rest of the great handmade blogs out there.

truth is, when i get into a rut: not much! which is why i’ve resolved to set a real plan for what you see between the sidebars here at scoutie girl. a plan to tell the story of the handmade movement and indie craft culture and not just find great stuff. sure, there will be plenty of great stuff – but i want to tell the story of where it came from, what it means to the maker, and what inspires its awesomeness!

afterall, it’s really the story of our stuff that separates it from what you find on the shelves of a big box store.

so each week, inspired by the formats of the magazines we used to love, i’ll be bringing you a theme and letting that theme unfold itself throughout the week. not all the posts you read will be in that theme, but my goal is to have at least 5 posts – one each morning – in each theme. i’ll open each week with a weekly welcome and close the week with a recap of the story that unfolded.

here’s where you come in: while it’s pretty easy to find awesome handmade goodies, it is much more difficult to find out the story behind them. i need you to tell me about your work, what inspires you, who taught you how to create, a struggle you went through… and i pledge to help you tell your story!

next week’s theme is “everything old is new again” – and the weeks 2 and 3 are “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts – collage” and “crafting romance.” if you have a story that fits those themes, please drop me a line – via email, via twitter, via facebook!

catch ya on the flipside!

{image credit: fireworks 8×8 fine art print by urban design}