Winter seems to be sticking around in my neighborhood. The temperatures are freezing, and the snow keeps falling. I haven't tired of it quite yet because I have been putting my time to good use with indoor projects. I've been baking and piping and experimenting with a few things. I've also been thinking a lot about Julia M. Usher’s Cookie Art Competition™. This year's theme (Nature's Symphony) offers so many possibilities! I haven't landed on a specific idea yet, but the wheels in my head are definitely turning. Though there is plenty of time, I really can't wait to get started. The good news is: I should be able to do so soon, as Julia tells me that registration is still tracking to open on February 28. If you're interested in finding out more about the competition - which I hope you are (it's a great learning experience) - then I recommend you start by checking out Julia's recent post about this year's theme and schedule.
While I'm waiting for reg to open, I think I might try making the wood slices in the new tutorial by Cookie Connection's brand new contributor, @Patricia L.. How about a big warm welcome and round of applause for Patricia?! 👏🏻 Her inaugural tutorial is outstanding! I'm sure we'll all have plenty of opportunity to get to know her better as time goes on, but to jumpstart that process, I suggest you check out her bio at the end of the tutorial or on our "Contributors" page.
Okay, enough of my jabbering. Let's move on to this week's hot list* and take a look at what some of you have been up to recently, shall we?
#1: Wrought Iron Winter Cookies by Icingsugarkeks
#2: Winter Frost by Sweet Prodigy
#3: Valentine Cookies by Zeena
#4: Blue Snowflake by Sweet Prodigy
#5: Vintage Valentine by Lola Willard
#6: Pel Plaer de Cuinar (aka The Pleasure of Cooking) - Hearts View #2 by Gemma Serra
#7: Cookie Inspirations from Julia's "Heart's Desire" Class by EAC
#8: Hedgehog Cookie by Gemma Serra
#9: Love Bite 💗 by Adriana Olvera
#10: Love Pencil by Montserrat Esquivel
How was that?! It looks like plenty of you are also baking and decorating away any possible winter doldrums. Thank you so much for sharing your creations with us! Congratulations to @Icingsugarkeks, @Zeena, @Lola Willard, @Gemma Serra, @EAC, @Adriana Olvera, and @Montserrat Esquivel for being featured. And a special shout-out to @Sweet Prodigy for earning two recognitions and the cover spot for her stunning stringwork.
Until next time, stay warm and keep posting!
[EDITOR'S NOTE: I just want to add one housekeeping note. I will be taking some time off from Thursday to Monday of next week, to rest up after the release of my competition that week, so there will be no Spotlight next Saturday. Spotlights will resume their normal schedule on the following Saturday, March 8. Thanks for understanding. It takes a village to launch my competition - or it should - but it is just me doing all of the behind-the-scenes work. ~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.
___________________
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.
Comments (5)