I can’t believe it's time again for me to take over the Saturday Spotlight, but here I am with the recap of Watch-Learn-Create Challenge #55 featuring Carmen of @Inspirations by Carmen Urbano. In her kickoff video, she showed us how to use mixed media to add dimension and texture to two gorgeous ballerina cookies. Carmen also gave us precious tips about how to carefully choose which areas to decorate with mixed media to ensure well-balanced and well-edited cookies. Her video is a treasure trove of priceless information! Thank you, Carmen, for sharing your talents with us.
As for those of you who rose to the challenge by making mixed media cookies of your own, I loved seeing all of your entries and how you were inspired by Carmen’s techniques. Even though the challenge has closed, I hope those of you who missed Carmen’s tutorial will watch it now or in the near future and make some magical mixed media cookies too!
Once again, I am so grateful to Carmen not only for imparting her cookie decorating wisdom to us, but also for offering her two ballerina cookie cutters (both original Carmen-designs!) as one of our challenge prizes. So, first things first, let's see who won them, shall we?! (As a reminder, all challenge winners are determined through random drawings. So the more times you enter, the greater your chances of winning. 
)
And the winner of Carmen's prize is 🥁🥁🥁. . .
🥁🥁🥁 . . . @vivi! Many congrats! Carmen and I can't wait to see how you embellish these ballerinas! Please make sure to check your email where Cookie Connection founder @Julia M. Usher (aka Julia) will put you in touch with Carmen so she can send these cutters to you.
And, to the rest of you: In case you missed @vivi's gorgeous entry, here it is . . .
Rainy Days by @vivi
Rainy days are often sad, but this 3-D cookie immediately brings sunshine! The edible lace tutu in Carmen's demo was surely a hit among entrants; we saw various renditions of it more than once, as you'll soon see. In this case, I especially appreciate the striking contrast that @vivi created between her doll's lacy skirt and her more casual painted jean jacket. Vivi also did a splendid job with her painting, another of Carmen's favorite techniques.
We have a second prize to award this time, and it was offered by Julia. She is going to ship five pouches of White SugarVeil® Confectionery Icing, the world's first edible lace, and two pouches of SugarVeil® Dark Chocolate Confectionery Icing (total retail value of $50 USD) anywhere in the world. Thank you, Julia!
And the winner is . . . 🥁🥁🥁
🥁🥁🥁 . . . @Sweet Doughsigns! Congratulations, Kelly! Again, please check your email for a note from Julia about how to redeem this terrific prize! We can't wait to see the cookies you create using SugarVeil. (Everyone else, don't forget that you can always get 10% off SugarVeil products using Julia's special code JULIA.) Kelly, Julia and I also applaud you for such a creative first-time challenge entry (below) and truly hope you'll join us in the next challenge and the ones to follow!
Lovin' from the Oven by @Sweet Doughsigns
As Kelly noted, she participated in the challenge with great enthusiasm because she, like so many others, loves Carmen's designs. This clever franken-cookie is decorated so well with so many different materials. I highly recommend that you check out Kelly's cookie-crafting notes in the comments under her post; they are quite detailed, and I am bound to leave out one medium or another if I attempt a synopsis here.
Last but not least, we have a third prize to award, and it is one free past challenge video of the winner's choice. As Julia explained in the challenge kickoff post, “All past and current videos will now be available for sale on juliausher.com under the “GUEST SERIES” area, at rates that are . . . a big bargain considering the caliber of instruction and length of each video.”
And the winner is . . . 🥁🥁🥁
🥁🥁🥁 . . . @Petra Florean, once again! Petra participated with five entries this time, and often participates with multiple entries, so she's won on numerous other occasions as well. Yay, Petra! Keep an eye on your inbox for an email from Julia that will let you know how to gain access to your video pick.
Wedding Dresses by @Petra Florean
These "unusual" (I quote Petra) wedding dresses are what I would instead call "perfectly original", each being richly textured with very different materials. In the comments under her post, Petra explains in depth how she decorated each one, so, once again, I suggest you visit her post, lest I forget any incredible detail!
And that completes our prize review. Let's now have a look at the rest of the spotlighted entries!
Let Me See into Your Soul by @Petra Florean
Suffice it to say: I was deeply moved by the message behind this very elegant cookie. Well done, Petra!
Until the End by @Petra Florean
Petra mixes up the media once again, this time creating a very different look and feeling, all with undeniable dimension. It's dark and beautiful at the same time!
Little Laughing Ice Queen by @Icingsugarkeks
The little fondant doll hugging this cookie is everything! She was Gabi's first attempt at modeling with fondant, and I'd say Gabi aced that challenge. I'm also pleased to see how Gabi took Carmen's ballerina elements (earrings, necklace, and pleated lace skirt) and translated every one of them into a project with a very different spin. This process of watching, learning, and creating is exactly the aim of these challenges.
Love Is Just a Bubble by @Petra Florean
Petra has returned - this time with a medium not seen in any of her previous cookies: gelatin in the form of a bubble! Though Petra changes materials from cookie to cookie, one thing is constant, and that's her expert choice of elements designed to underscore her cookies' messages.
Bridesmaid by @Icingsugarkeks
One of several entries by Gabi (aka @Icingsugarkeks), this stunning cookie almost missed the closing of the challenge clip set, but I am so glad it slipped in under the wire. I am very impressed by the details of the dress and Gabi's expert fondant- and lace-draping skills!
Bridal Elegance by @Zeena
Just looking at @Zeena's beautiful entry, I can feel all of the joy that she put into decorating it. I especially like her choice of the Lambeth-style border, which though very trendy at the moment, is a perfectly timeless choice for this elegant cookie.
Frida by @Dulcinea “Dool ceē neah”
I love the way @Dulcinea “Dool ceē neah” used the techniques showcased in Carmen's demo and wove them all together into this very unique cookie spin. I also applaud Dulcinea for her stunning rendition of Frida, one of the prettiest that Julia told me she has ever seen! (She charmed me too! )
Gingerbread Boy and Girl (Sri Lankan) by @Zeena
@Zeena often incorporates aspects of her Sri Lankan heritage into her cookies, always teaching us something about her culture in the process. Using mixed media elements to dress up these gingerbread cookies in Sri Lankan-style was a clever idea and another learning experience for the rest of us! Thank you for sharing yourself with us in this way, Zeena!
Various Frosted Leaves by @Icingsugarkeks
Gabi was the first entrant in this challenge when it came out in November, and she produced a number of mixed media leaf entries like this one, all with wintry Christmas vibes. How wonderful are the white bell-shaped lace ornaments against that un-iced leaf cookie?! I adore all of these cookies, but I really wish I had been the recipient of that one!
Christmas Cookies by @Zeena
The challenge ran through Christmas, and @Zeena used the mixed media technique as an opportunity to create the cutest ornament cookies! I was surprised not to see more Christmas cookies in this challenge (I almost made some myself), but Zeena certainly did the holiday justice with this set.
I now leave you with the usual video recap that captures the entire Watch-Learn-Create Challenge #55 experience with Carmen. You’ll see some timelapsed highlights from Carmen's demo and a slideshow of all of the entries.
Again, thanks so much to featured guest @Inspirations by Carmen Urbano and to @Julia M. Usher for connecting me with Carmen. Also, thanks to each one of you for supporting Cookie Connection's challenges by purchasing Carmen's demo, and for finding the time to participate during the busiest time of the year. Keep practicing, have fun, and be on the lookout for the next challenge because I'll take you to Japan . . . Oops! Did I spoil too much? 
Ciao, Manu
Manuela Pezzopane, affectionately called Manu by her friends and family, is the author of the blog feature Made by Manu, where each month she shares the method behind a magical cookie of her own making. In March 2022, Manu also assumed the role of host of our rebranded and reformatted Cookie Connection Challenges: Watch-Learn-Create Series, which debuted in a virtual video format in July 2022. A fan of everything handmade, Manu professes to have tried every possible hobby. However, it wasn’t until the end of 2014, when an American friend invited her to a Christmas cookie exchange, that she first discovered decorated cookies. In 2015, after watching Julia M. Usher's videos and signing up on Cookie Connection, Manu finally attempted her own designs. Since then, cookie decorating has become Manu’s passion, and her mesmerizing video shorts have earned her a large and loyal following throughout the global cookie community. Manu harks from Rome, Italy, where she currently resides. You can email Manu at manubiscottidecorati@gmail.com, follow her on Facebook and Instagram, or explore her past challenges and large library of Made by Manu tutorials here on Cookie Connection.
Photo credit: Manuela Pezzopane
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