I am slowly (but surely!) planting my outdoor flower containers. As much as I love the creative process of designing the arrangements, I have to admit, it can be a bit overwhelming! Trying to properly pair colors, height, and texture can make my brain freeze up. Particularly now, when there are so many plant varieties from which to choose. I was at a garden store a couple of days ago and, while I was struggling to get started, my husband came up behind me and announced, "What a selection!!" His positive approach served as the jumpstart I needed to get things going.
I mention this story because this week's hot list* also offers a brilliant selection. Holidays, celebrations, and all sorts of beautiful designs. Let's have a look.
#1: Happy Birthday 🎈by Heather Bruce Sosa (I love the delicate way in which @Heather Bruce Sosa incorporated the bare cookie into this design.)
#2: Orthodox Easter 2024 by Tina at Sugar Wishes (@Tina at Sugar Wishes provides an adorable reminder that Orthodox Easter has yet to be celebrated!)
#3: We Still Do by Donna Allen (Such a sophisticated color palette and elegantly designed collection for a 30th anniversary. Well done, Donna!)
#4: Best Teacher Ever by Lola Willard (What a darling salute to one of our most important professions! Thank you, @Lola Willard, for this delicious reminder to make end-of-the-school-year acknowledgements!)
#5: Reading and Coffee by Yazz Ross (This creative set certainly covers some of my favorite ways to celebrate Mother's Day. Lovely work, @Yazz Ross!)
#6: We Still Do - View #2 by Donna Allen (Here's a closer look at some of the stunning cookies in @Donna Allen's elegant wedding set posted above.)
#7: Two Wild! by Donna Allen ("Two Wild" is too cute if you ask me! 
This set also marks @Donna Allen's third appearance this week. What a terrific achievement!)
#8: Edith ♥️ by Heather Bruce Sosa (This birthday beauty is @Heather Bruce Sosa's second clip to be spotlighted this week. Congratulations!)
#9: Eid Advent Calendar Cookies by Zeena (Rich with symbolism, @Zeena's cookies are a feast for the eyes and spirit, as well as the body.)
#10: Teapot of Flowers by BevH (Just on time for Mother's Day, this creation is such a work of art that Julia and I decided to feature it as this week's cover art. Kudos to @BevH!)
There you have it. What do you think?! I think I'm going to steal a line from my husband and say, "What a selection"! I hope you enjoy this week's top ten list as much as I do. I also hope you have a safe and productive week, with plenty of opportunities to smell (and plant!) the roses.
Oh, and one last note before I leave you. If you didn't already know, Cookie Connection's fearless founder and host @Julia M. Usher deserves some applause too for her hard work on behalf of the sugar arts community. Last week when she was in Australia teaching at the International Cake Show Australia (ICSA), she was awarded with their Global Sugar Hero Award. Here she is up on the ICSA Cake Oscars "big screen", just as her win was announced:
And, that's not all! Just a few days ago, the American Cake Awards announced that she's a finalist for their Sugar Hero Award (for the second year in a row, I might add):
Julia's definitely got some stiff competition, but I'm rooting for her! Let's hope this second time is a charm! Best of luck, Julia! (BTW, the winner will be announced in about a week at SoFlo in Miami.)
[EDITOR'S NOTE: Thanks so much for the shout-out, Lisa! I must say it's been a very gratifying month. These awards have come at a time when I've been seriously questioning my reason for being and second-guessing nearly everything I do. So it definitely makes me happy to know that I'm doing something right, and that I've helped people in at least some small way through my work. Giving back to our community, after all it's given to me, is truly quite important to me! Thanks to all of you who nominated me - you've warmed my heart more than you may have known! ❤️ ~JMU]
So that no one has an unfair advantage in making it onto a hot list, the algorithm is secret even to site administrators. Only our platform developers know the code, which has been exhaustively tested by those developers and Cookie Connection staff.
All photos shown here are the courtesy (and copyright) of the designers listed.
To check out our other hot lists, at any time of day, visit our Hot Spot, also found in the site's main navigation line.
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Lisa Foss is a hobbyist cookie decorator. After careers in corporate communications and freelance writing, she focused her attention on the nonprofit sector. She spent more than a decade at various soup kitchens, homeless shelters, and prison reentry programs throughout New York City. Lisa’s cookie journey began in 2011 when she started making gingerbread houses. Though she enjoys making cookies for family and friends, Lisa’s main focus is cookies for charity.
For more information about Lisa and her work, please check out her Facebook and Instagram pages.
Byline photo credit: Shutterstock
Note: Saturday Spotlight is a weekly Cookie Connection blog feature written alternately by Lisa Foss and Julia M. Usher. Its primary intent is to cast a spotlight on the week's top-trending cookie posts, as determined automatically by the site algorithms described above. This article expresses the views of the author, and not necessarily those of this site, its owners, its administrators, or its employees. To see all of Cookie Connection's past Saturday Spotlights, click here.
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