Thanks to @Manu biscotti decorati, who so kindly succumbed to my urgent pleas for site art, we have some wonderfully summery cookies dressing up our banner and backdrop this month! Manu simply repurposed and re-cropped some images from her recent knot tutorial to come up with the following banner and backdrop, which you now see on the site:
What a charming harbinger of the coming season, don't you think?!
BTW, neither Manu nor I was concerned about the different patch of wood in the middle of the background, because the body of the site covers it most of the time. I only point this out, so that, as you're designing your own backgrounds for the site, you'll know you needn't get too fussy!
Now . . . while on the topic of your artwork designs 
. . . as I've said before, I'm seriously interested in featuring more of you each month, and less of me and other Cookie Connection contributors (who get lots of "airtime" here anyway). It's super easy to take existing cookie photos and to crop or combine them to fit these two spaces on the site. In return for this contribution, site artists get a Cookier Close-up interview and a forum feature, plus my never-ending gratitude! I'm still in need of art for almost every month remaining in 2018, so don't delay in reading this post about art specs, how to crop, and how to submit your art. Thank you in advance!
Before I leave you to your designs, I want to extend another huge thank you to Manu for coming to my rescue this month. 
If you haven't yet met Manu, now's the time! I encourage you to read her bio below, and to check out her many impressive tutorials on our blog!
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. 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. Since then, cookie decorating has become Manu’s passion – one that she continues to develop by actively participating in the challenges hosted by fellow Cookie Connection contributor Bakerloo Station. Married with two children in college, Manu harks from Rome, Italy, but currently resides in Dubai. You can email Manu at manubiscottidecorati@gmail.com, follow her on Facebook and Instagram, or catch her past Cookie Connection posts here.
Photo credit: Manuela Pezzopane.
