And, just like that . . . it's May, and Mother's Day is right around the corner. When I think about Mother's Day, I certainly think of love. And gratitude. But, I also use it as a reminder to focus at least some of my energy on self-care. With all of our responsibilities and busy schedules, it's easy to prioritize everyone else's needs above our own. Mother's Day is the perfect opportunity to carve out some time and energy to do something YOU want to do. Just for yourself!
For me, creative pursuits are an important part of my self-care. It probably goes without saying that cookie decorating is where I (like most of you!) focus my energy. I plan to use this Mother's Day to identify a technique, challenge, or project that I want to try and block out the time to actually do it! We have so many avenues for creative exploration and inspiration right here on this site. For example, there is Julia M. Usher’s Cookie Art Competition™ (you can enter as many times as you like, and the theme is all about you, which should make it really easy to create! 
); a new tutorial by Aproned Artist (and access to all of her previous tutorials); Manu's wonderful tutorial series; all sorts of classes, including one by @Julia M. Usher, at The Bake Fest (with a chance to win one of 10 free tickets!); and a new Watch-Learn-Create challenge coming very soon. Why not take advantage of one or more of these wonderful opportunities to give yourself a delicious dose of creative self-care?
With all of this in mind, this Spotlight is focused on the ten top-trending Mother's Day cookies. The following hot list* is a blend of new and old clips, plenty of which were produced for previous challenges. Some are even the subjects of past Cookie Connection tutorials! Details of every challenge and tutorial ever posted can still be found on this site (here and here), offering even more ideas for creative self-care. But before you dive into all of these links, let's have a look at today's featured artists and their cookies, as they offer boundless inspiration too . . .
#1: Fun with Lace by Manu (This 3-D set, courtesy of @Manu biscotti decorati, is the perfect example of a terrific project to try, particularly as it comes with its own very detailed tutorial! Again, you can access the rest of Manu's amazing tutorials here. Thank you, Manu, for creating so much inspiring content for us over the years!)
#2: Flowers 🌸 by Heather Bruce Sosa (This beautiful set is the result of a class that @Heather Bruce Sosa took, as she mentions in the comments under her post. Because taking time out to learn something new is such a perfect example of creative self-care, Julia and I decided to use this photo as this week's cover art. Plus, any mom would absolutely adore this duo as a Mother's Day gift! Congrats, Heather!)
#3: Tiffany Cookies by Evelindecora (Holly Golightly would be thrilled by this delightful set. @Evelindecora has given us so much more than the signature shade of Tiffany blue!)
#4: Grateful ❤️ by Heather Bruce Sosa (This cookie marks @Heather Bruce Sosa's second appearance this week with more delicate flowers learned in class. Terrific work, Heather!)
#5: Let Me Call You Sweetheart by Cookies Fantastique (This all-white set is another entry from an early challenge - and it is still as striking as ever, @Cookies Fantastique!)
#6: Crochet Cookies by Evelindecora (Featuring the piped crochet technique that @Evelindecora has mastered, these cookies are a vision of piping perfection! You can learn more about how Evelin does it in the recent Watch-Learn-Create challenge where she was the featured guest.)
#7: Iron Love by Icingsugarkeks (These hearts are so incredibly original and wonderfully textured. Beautiful work, @Icingsugarkeks!)
#8: Knitted Valentine Koalas with Red Rose and Heart by iSugarfy (aka swissophie) (What a wealth of incredible piping on these cuties! Well done, @iSugarfy (aka swissophie)!)
#9: Water Lilies by Manu (Another wonderful set by the always inspiring @Manu biscotti decorati.)
#10: Sweet Keepsake by Teri Pringle Wood (A gorgeous keepsake indeed, @Teri Pringle Wood. Absolute piping brilliance!)
How was that for motivation and inspiration for creative self-care - if not self-indulgence (I mean, really, what an overabundance of ideas, right?!)? I sure hope you find time to try some new things, to learn, and to generally invest in yourself. I am currently finishing up an entry for Julia's cookie competition, and am now thinking I may want to do another one! There are so many ideas and techniques that I want to play around with! [EDITOR'S NOTE: Go for it! The more, the better, because in addition to all you'll learn in the process, your odds of winning a portion of the massive $25,500 prize pot increase, of course! Even a small fraction of it would be a treasure! ~JMU]
Before I let you go, I wanted to mention that Julia has picked up another award since my last writing! This one is from the American Cake Awards (ACA) and is Industry Icon of the Year. She is indeed an icon, and I am so thrilled that she has been honored. Congratulations, Julia! I hope you find ample display space for all of your sparkling crystal! [EDITOR'S NOTE: Thanks for recognizing me again, Lisa! My desk shelves are definitely shimmering right now. More importantly, though, my heart is overflowing with gratitude for all of you who took the time to nominate me. THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH! ~ 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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