Say Hello to Our February 2022 Site Artist

And who might it be this month? Hint: She's been a longtime site fave, best known for her always impeccable and intricately piped and painted work. She was also the first Cookie Connection member to reach 100,000 activity points because of her active posting and commenting on others' posts in the site's early years. (Pssst . . . If you don't know what activity points are, read this post. They are still in place, and you can find your tally on your member profile.) Anywho, we've missed our February site artist here on Cookie Connection over the last year (life just got in the way), but we are so happy that she's agreed to this feature and another Cookier Close-up interview in a couple of months!

Any guesses? Yes, it's none other than @Evelindecora, aka Evelin Milanesi! You'll see her stunning Valentine-themed cookies - originally posted here, here, and here - beautifying our banner and backdrop this month. Our very own Site Art Stylist @Icingsugarkeks is also to be thanked, as she merged these three contributions from Evelin into the uniquely configured banner and backdrop - complete with animation - that you see here:

Watch the banner closely. Evelin's Miss Valentine both winks and blows kisses! 😘 Thanks to you ladies, we've got the most gorgeous site this month! ❤️❤️❤️

Now, as you may know, Evelin was the subject of a Cookier Close-up interview way back in 2014. It's definitely worth a read (though excuse the missing headshots in it; the culprit is a tech issue that requires the full decommissioning of my old business site and the launch of my brand new one. I won't bore you with those details, but I'm still a month or two away from launching my new site and, therefore, these photo fixes). Of course, given how talented and prolific Evelin is, I am certain much has transpired in her cookie life since 2014. So, as alluded to earlier, I will be doing a second interview with Evelin in the coming month or so, after I finish the one slated with December 2021 site artist @Lorena Rodríguez. In the meantime, please read Evelin's updated bio and explore her social media links below.

@Evelindecora, aka Evelin Milanesi, lives in Milan, Italy, and she is 48 years old. After 25 years of painting on canvas and working on huge mural decorations, she started her sweet cookie journey in 2012. Julia Usher’s and SweetAmbs’ amazing cookies have been and still are a true inspiration to her, a goal of perfection to reach. In the beginning, cookies were just a whim and a hobby for Evelin, but, in a few months, they became a new way of life and source of work. Evelin decided not to sell cookies, but to create new designs and themed cookie sets in order to teach cookie art. She teaches both in person (when possible) and online, covering the A to Zs of decorating cookies with royal icing. Her teaching aim is to explain all of cookie decorating's hidden secrets and provide as many tricks as possible so that students can achieve the best possible results in the shortest period of time. Her signature painting and piping skills can be seen in cookies of all styles, from modern to romantic, and from miniatures to huge cookie scenes. For Evelin, royal icing is a magical medium, always new and always challenging, and it's one that she's clearly mastered as her many awards attest.

To learn more about Evelin's work, please visit her Cookie Connection portfolio or Instagram page.

All cookies and photos by Evelin Milanesi.

Last but not least, for those of you who are wondering how to get featured, it's easy! Simply 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 and in an in-depth Cookier Close-up interview. All considered, it's a lot of great free PR in exchange for photo sharing! When preparing your site art, please bear in mind that I already have artwork through June 2022, so I am specifically looking for art for July 2022 and beyond. Please also remember that @Icingsugarkeks, our Site Art Stylist, is available to help you get your photos in the right format, so do not hesitate to contact her if you need assistance! You can send her a PM right here on Cookie Connection by clicking on her name (in pink) above.