Before you know it, CookieCon 2017 will be upon us, and while I can't be there in person, I will definitely be there in spirit - and on a couple of sponsor booth posters, as it turns out! 
What am I talking about, you ask? Well, in the first case, my "Julia" stencil logo (or some variation of it) will be flying high over my partner Stencil Ease's booth (#35), where they've got lots of great surprises planned for CookieCon-goers.
Just look for the following image or proceed to our booth (which will be handily located in the hall on the way to all of the classrooms):
Then look for Amanda Winslow (a very lovely customer service rep from Stencil Ease), and she will fill you in on any and all of our great promos planned throughout the event, including, but not limited to:
- Two door prizes to be drawn on Friday eve for pick-up on Saturday morning: Prize #1, a signed copy of my book Ultimate Cookies and $75 worth of my Prettier Plaques stencils, and Prize #2, a goodie bag of stencils and related accessories valued at $50;
- Special discounted pricing: 5 Prettier Plaques sets for $75 (more than 20% off) and 5 assorted stencils (usually $5.99 each) for $25 (more than 15% off);
- CookieCon-exclusive preview sales of my never-before-seen Mother's Day and Spring stencil sets; and
- An extra discount for folks who join my Stencil of the Month club at CookieCon.
All promos listed above are subject to tweaking, but that's the nature of surprises, right?! 
If you're not attending CookieCon like me, don't worry. You can get all of my new stencils here, and sign up for my Stencil of the Month club here at any time!
As for that second CookieCon sponsor banner, it's the one from none other than SugarVeil®, also the very generous sponsor of our current Practice Bakes Perfect challenge. You'll find it hanging over booth #10, and it looks like this:
I was so honored that Michele Hester, SugarVeil® founder/owner, asked to use some of my work in this banner - and, of course, so grateful to her for sponsoring our challenge - that I just had to give her an extra CookieCon shout-out! Here's a sampling of some of the surprises that she'll be pulling out of her hat in Salt Lake City:
- Live AirPen Piping Dispenser and Vacuum Pickup Tool demos (you'll love these tools - the first draws fine lines with any type of icing, and the latter reins in those skittish dragées!)
- Discounted pricing on many SugarVeil® items;
- New products especially for cookiers;
- Purchases of special show items while they last - in advance of her website unveiling; and
- On Saturday, use of the AirPen and other SugarVeil® products in the open decorating area!
Of course, Michele's wonderful products are also available on sugarveil.com!
I know that both Amanda and Michele are eager to see you in Salt Lake City, so please stop by booths #10 and #35 in between your classes, cookies, and conversations - heck, any time!
Other Important CookieCon Notices
(1) As I noted last month or so, I've been at work recruiting correspondents to cover CookieCon in my absence, and I now have a small, but GREAT team lined up that will be making regular posts about the event to our blog and the "CookieCon Coverage" clip set. Stay tuned - I'll be announcing who they are and what and how they'll be covering CookieCon in a couple of days.
(2) If you're a CookieCon sponsor, and would like to tell everyone what you're doing or offering at CookieCon as well, please feel free to post your announcement into our CookieCon 2017 forum.
(3) Or, if you're going to CookieCon and just want to casually write or comment about it, please also feel free to post to the same CookieCon 2017 forum. Photos from CookieCon are welcome too, and can be posted into our existing "CookieCon Coverage" clip set. In fact, there's already been a great 2017 post to this set from @Ines Doherty that shows her contribution to the Cookie Town Collaboration, one of the many fun activities at CookieCon:
I am 100-percent certain that those of us who don't have the time, resources, or good fortune to go to CookieCon will absolutely love to live vicariously, so, if you are going, please do not hesitate to share your experiences in any of these areas. More importantly, please also have a great time while there!