I honestly can't believe that another year on Cookie Connection has come and nearly gone. Whoosh! (BTW, that's the sound of time flying! 
) Although too short, 2017 has been unbelievably picturesque, because of the glorious site banners and backdrops that so many of you have contributed over the months. Thanks to all of our 2017 featured site artists! Without your generous donations of time and talent, our site would never have been so colorful and dynamic.
If your cookies didn't hit our banner and backdrop in 2017, but you'd like a shot at these coveted spots in 2018, please read to the very bottom of this post for the simple how-to.*
But first, let me introduce our talented December site artist! This month, @Alison Friedli has "decked our halls" with a festive Christmas banner and backdrop that use a stained glass effect on Santas, snowmen, stars, and assorted holiday greenery.
This set so perfectly conjures the Christmas spirit, doesn't it?!
As always, I'll be conducting an in-depth Cookier Close-up interview with Alison, where we'll explore her cookie decorating passions and plans. Depending on how consumed we get by the holiday rush, this interview will post in either late December or early January, so please stay tuned. In the meantime, check out Alison's mini bio below to get to know her a bit better.
Alison Friedli was born in Santiago de Chile, but spent her early years on a sheep farm in Patagonia, where the land ends and Antarctica begins. Her fondest memories of those places are the warmth of a wood-burning stove and the wonderful aroma of freshly baked bread and cookies. Ever since, baking has been a very important part of Alison's life.
Truth be told, Alison does not know how or why she started decorating cookies about ten years ago. In Chile, cookie decorating was a novelty at that time, but, little by little, she began to get requests for classes. It took her a long while to get up the courage to take the giant step into teaching, but she is now almost completely dedicated to teaching cookie art. This year was particularly challenging for Alison, as she started her first online classes, and so had to spend a lot of time learning how to film, handle editing programs, and distribute her classes. Alison adds, "I am really in love with royal icing and decorated cookies, because this world has no limits. There are always new techniques to master, and, through Cookie Connection and my students, I have met many lovely people who share my passion and are always willing to help and provide tips."
To learn more about Alison, please visit her on her Facebook page, here.
Photo credit: Alison Friedli.
Thanks so much for the shout-out to Cookie Connection, Alison! Now, everyone, please give Alison a huge round of applause for bringing so much Christmas cheer to our site, and for her many other contributions to it over the years! 
* If you would like your own cookie art to be considered for use on the site, I would love to see it at any time. Guidelines for submitting cookie art can be found here. We are currently seeking art for every month of 2018 except for January and February. Please also remember that featured art will be in position on the site for a month, and all featured artists get a post like this one plus their very own Cookier Close-up!
