Before we unveil our site artist, another HUGE thank-you to Gabi, aka @Icingsugarkeks! Like last month, she found some awesome cookie art on the site and turned it into this month's banner and backdrop. It's very July-appropriate, don't you think?! And the banner rotates once again! Yippee!
Of course, HUGE congrats as well to the cookie artist behind these festive Fourth of July pieces, who is none other than . . . @Cookies Fantastique, aka Carol Mattison! Carol has been a Cookie Connection member since January 2014, and has ever since brightened our lives with her beautiful work and incredibly generous support. Nary a day passes that she doesn't leave several thoughtful and encouraging comments under others' posts. So, in short, this tribute to our remarkable Carol is looooong overdue!
As usual, I've asked Carol to do an in-depth Cookier Close-up interview with me (one of the perks of being a featured site artist), which should post in August after our previously slated Close-up with @Sweet Prodigy. 'Til then, please check out her bio and other social media links below.
Carol Mattison, aka @Cookies Fantastique, initially began decorating cookies as a way to distract herself from a life-changing event. Literally overnight she went from having a demanding career in marketing and advertising, playing tennis in her free time, traveling, and always being on the move to never being able to walk normally again. In time, and with the encouragement from family and friends, she came to the realization that she needed to find something fun to replace her previously active lifestyle. She was drawn into cookie decorating when she volunteered to make finger desserts for a niece’s wedding. Cookies!
She threw herself into watching cookie decorating videos by well known artists: Julia M. Usher, Montreal Confections (Marlyn Birmingham), and SweetAmbs (Amber Spiegel). She read everything she could get her hands on. And she kept practicing, practicing, and more practicing . . . clearly, she was hooked!
Carol quickly got requests for special event cookies. She became a very busy cookier. She created a Facebook business page, and Cookies Fantastique was born! As a self-taught cookie decorator, she continues to challenge herself to improve her skills and increase her knowledge of various techniques.
One of Carol’s greatest joys comes from encouraging other cookie decorators! She knows that people often need a simple kind word to make their day brighter. This is Carol’s way to “pay it forward” in thankfulness to the many people who have helped her for many years.
To see more of Carol's cookie work, please visit her Cookie Connection portfolio and Facebook and Instagram pages. And be sure to stay tuned for her in-depth Cookier Close-up interview, which, again, is coming in about a month!
Cookie and Photo Credits: Carol Mattison
Interested in seeing your name in lights and having your cookies featured on Cookie Connection?! I thought so! 
I would love to see your cookie art here too! I am COMPLETELY OUT OF SITE ART from now until eternity, so please consider contributing as early as NOW, for posting in August 2020!
It's easy to submit! Just read these posts here and here. Remember: Site artists not only get their work featured prominently for a full month, but they also get profiled in a forum post (like this one) and in an in-depth Cookier Close-up interview. All considered, it's a lot of great free PR in exchange for photo sharing!
Thanks in advance for considering a contribution to the site!
** BONUS! **
@Icingsugarkeks has generously volunteered to help any member who needs assistance formatting his/her work for these submissions, so please don't hesitate to seek her out. If interested, please leave her a private message or a comment below.
