Our Etsy January Style Guide Challenge Winner IS...

Vintage Poison Tea Cup ... AustinModern $38.00	Handcut Bird Notecards ... HomesteadingRo... $19.95	Black Little Bubbles Ri... lachicadelosan... $33.00	vintage 1970's blac... Thrush $54.00
Vintage Cocktail Dress ... zwzzy $110.00	Typograhical print home... LouiseArtStudi... $20.00	Bite Me - Vintage Taran... becaruns $48.00	ceramic heart ornaments... karoArt $14.00
Voodoo Doll Sonnentaucher $9.90	NATURAL BON APPETIT Bla... ikabags $52.00	Matte Plum Lipstick - D... BLSoaps $10.95	OXBLOOD CLUTCH. Oversiz... gracedesign $68.00
little silver heart nec... 2TrickPony $97.00	The Hanging Book - Vint... bookBW $18.00	Blissful solitude - fi... LumiereDuMatin $26.00	Sale Dark Sea Sutured h... idlehandsdesig... $63.75

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We have been choosing Style Guide Challenge winners since we first began in August of 2011, but this month we're starting fresh!  In this New Year of 2013, we're starting over with a clean slate and choosing winners as if this was our first!  With fresh eyes, Amber and I each went through the 106 submissions and narrowed it down to our top 10 style guides.  We found that we had 2 collections that were both winning material, but ultimately the quirky way in which Jenn of Etsy shop Palimpsestic interpreted this month's theme with her collection Fresh Start earned her the winning place!  Congratulations Jenn - your title and collection had us both laughing and smiling as we appreciated your sense of humor!  As this month's winner, Jenn will be our guest pinner on Pinterest for the month of February so watch for the links to follow her style!

Let us back up a bit because this will help you appreciate the genius behind Jenn's collection.  Our monthly Style Guide Challenge is not only an awesome way to shop Etsy through theme based shopping guides, but it's also a fun event for our team of curators.  This is where the challenge piece comes into play.  Each month, we choose one winner who has curated a collection that is relevant to the monthly theme, but also one that is well balanced in terms of styling.  The winner then gets an item from their shop included in the top row of the following month's challenge!  It's the first month of a new year, so our theme was "fresh start, fresh beginnings, fresh new year" and our team of curators were then free to interpret it in any way they wanted to.  As an example, one of my submissions was titled It's a Fresh New Day - Embrace the Mystery where I connected the idea of each day being a fresh start and curated accordingly.   Jenn, however, takes the theme Fresh Start and uses it as her title - but then, you look at the items she's put together and the story she's telling.   Scroll up and go look—and I mean really look...remember, her title is Fresh Start.  Are you laughing yet??  Jenn - thank you once again for entertaining us with your wit and whimsy—congratulations!

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Are you curious about the other potential winning style guide collection?  This was a tough call because we really loved both the title and styling of this one here by Brooke of Peiffer Studios as well!  Don't you love her title and the way she wove it into the items she chose?  Not only that, but Brooke has also maintained a beautiful structural balance by using color as another unifying factor - brilliant!  The red, white, and black tones carry your eye throughout the collection to create a fantastic shopping guide!  It's perfect for finding something special and unique for Valentine's Day, don't you think?  You could look through the close to 250,000 items you get when you search on Etsy for "Valentine's Day" or you can check out what Brooke has hand selected for you!   What a beauty, Brooke!

'Are you getting fresh with me??' 

love heart clip on earr... karoArt $16.50	Lace & chiffon Party Dr... keeboutique $54.00	Valentines Day Card for... JulieAnnArt $4.00	Printed Linen Napkins -... HomesteadingRo... $21.95
Red Flower Pillow with ... JillianReneDec... $53.00	Toadstool Cake Topper f... FairyfolkWeddi... $15.00	Masquerade Leather mask... TomBanwell $22.00	Valentine's Bracele... DarkRide $29.00
Psilocybin Mushrooms Mo... arohasilhouett... $60.00	Sporty Messenger Bag in... bayanhippo $33.00	Silver Eye Test Necklac... TillyBloom $25.00	Upcycled Vintage Black ... BrokenGhostClo... $82.00
Handmade Heart ...Red H... DearAdam $12.00	Print of Paper Collage,... frighten $25.00	eye of the beholder. an... GinnyandHarrio... $180.00	Scarlet Red Crochet Coi... KeraSoftwear $20.00

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Keeping this month's theme in mind, we both loved the way Maria of o bliss jewellery brought together fresh ideas for both you and your home!   The new year is the perfect time to refresh and revisit both home decor and personal 'decor' - a time to clean out the routines and invigorate with the new.  Maria has chosen a limited color palette that is punctuated with neon green and tones of yellow for an eye catching shopping guide.  By keeping things minimal, Maria offers up a beautiful selection of simple, yet modern items that would be a perfect fit for those looking for a new look in 2013!  The arrangement is kept within a balance of color and shapes to navigate the eye through the collection - fabulous job, Maria!   

'Fresh styling... for you & your home' 

Raindrop Tea Towel - No... HomesteadingRo... $15.95	Cream & Blue glass stud... TamakoJewelry $34.00	Vintage Chippy Green En... Modred12 $15.00	Blue Loose cotton l... clothingshow $60.80
Leg Warmers - Khaki and... BmodDesigns $10.00	Mustard Yellow Pom Pom ... JillianReneDec... $45.00	Unisex Mustard Yellow B... branchbound $30.00	Cheerful warm gray, yel... giardino $32.00
Bridges and Balloons Mo... shoofly $16.00	brown tray sand dish co... vitrifiedstudi... $130.00	Shoe Collection Lino Pr... trees4thewood $6.00	Running Late - Clock, E... stilldez $25.00
Organic Cotton Napkins ... jennarosehandm... $28.00	Grey & Yellow Chevron -... mrseliotbooks $23.00	green caps print butterflyfood $10.95	Country Chic Headband -... lovemaude $21.00

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Here in Maine, January usually means it's cold with lots of snow on the ground and bare trees blowing in the wind.  If you live in a cold climate, I'm sure you'll be able to relate to the outdoor gardening daydreaming that begins right about this time each year.  Just the mention of the word "fresh" conjures up images of garden veggies and blooming flowers.  What's essential to those things thriving in your garden?  Bees!  With bees, one also gets fresh honey!  Oh yum!  There's lots to love about this sunny- honey-bee collection by Laura of mama bleu designs.  It's filled with the golden glow of honey as each of her 16 selections incorporate the color of honey, honey itself, or the maker of this delicious golden treat - bees!  There's lots of goodness to go around with this style guide, Laura!

'fresh honey'

Hand-lettered Typograph... theblackapple $16.00	Mustard Yellow Bumble B... HomesteadingRo... $5.95	The Hive - Half Gallon ... BootsNGus $50.00	Organic Pure Raw Honey ... honeyteathyme $3.65
Queen Bee Messenger Bag... VIVASWEETLOVE $28.00	Art to wear handmade je... LouiseArtStudi... $32.00	The Bee's Honeycomb... creatiate $8.00	Bumble Bee - Fine Art P... OneDecember $12.50
Coffee Cozy in Honey Ye... natalya1905 $17.50	Yellow Billy Ball Flowe... JillianReneDec... $55.00	Honeycomb Natural Histo... thelittlechick... $35.00	Bee Hive- Archival Prin... unitedthread $20.00
The "SHADES OF YEL... TheJumpRopeGir... $13.00	Buzz Off 5x7 beehive a... SevenOlives $15.00	Swarovski Crystal and S... Jewellietta $59.00	Honey Brown leather oxf... ReanimatedRags $28.05

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And finally, let us conclude with something we can all relate to when it comes to starting each morning off fresh - a nice hot cup of java!  I admit that I'm a tea kinda gal, but I do so love the smell of freshly brewed coffee and the feeling of welcoming in the new day.  Aki of Etsy shop oktak brings us on a little journey here in her collection Rise and Shine.  By selecting images that relate to this morning ritual and placing them with ones that also evoke that very feeling of starting a new day, we see the story begin to unfold.  Even though I don't drink coffee in the morning, when I'm sipping on my hot tea and sitting on the couch—I'm connecting with a early morning rhythm that sustains me throughout the day.   It's a very special time of day that is most certainly about rising, but then shining!  A wonderful way to start off each day fresh, Aki!  

'Rise and Shine' 

MONTANA: ipad iphone st... PIGandFiSH $168.00	Morning Coffee Biscuit ... whatnikkimade $29.50	Laptop Lap Desk or Brea... EJbutik $46.00	Roasted Coffee - 1lb Ni... HomesteadingRo... $14.45
autumn fall decor natur... AmandaRaeK $45.00	Mustard Yellow Felt Flo... JillianReneDec... $45.00	Vintage Warehouse Cart ... TheDesignPalle... $1200.00	creamer and sugar bowl,... karoArt $44.00
Vintage Pottery Cups, S... bonnbonn $32.00	On the way 2 (original ... ValeriaKondor $370.00	Boot Socks, Boot Cuffs,... WithTheRain $24.00	Flock of Birds Flying i... OneDecember $12.50
vintage french alarm cl... FrenchAtticFin... $64.00	Striped Cups - Four Lit... Tjossem $40.00	Chalkboard To Do List -... ClipAndPin $7.80	vintage art deco french... FrenchAtticFin... $42.00

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Thank you to all of our many curators who do such an amazing job at putting together some of the most engaging and beautiful style guide shopping guides!  Don't miss out on the 106 collections -  they're such a great way to shop Etsy with ease!  We hope you'll join us next month on the 16th as we explore a new theme and continue to take you Inside Etsy through the eyes of our very talented Style Guide Curators!