Surprise! Thanks to @Icingsugarkeks (aka Gabi) who did the graphic design for this month's banner and backdrop, we've got four June site artists instead of our usual one. A HUGE shout-out to Gabi for having the insight to see I was short on site art submissions and the clever idea to honor our site contributors and their work!
Our contributors are often buried in getting out tutorials, surveys, chats, and other content for this site (not to mention doing all else that they do in life). In addition to being great content creators, they are also awesome decorators, and so Gabi and I thought it was high time to showcase some of their cookies in these featured spots.
Below you'll see the graphics that Gabi created to honor them. The first one (the site banner) is especially cool - it's a gif with rotating photos, one by each of our four contributors!
Gabi ALSO made a few color spins on the background you see above. I ended up posting this one:
To create these striking graphics, Gabi drew on the wonderful work of @Aproned Artist, @Manu biscotti decorati, @SugarDotCookies, and @Sweet Prodigy - specifically these cookie creations, which you can view in larger form online:
- Every Little Detail with Aproned Artist: Butterfly in Flight Cookie by Aproned Artist
- Made by Manu: Tropical Arrangement Cookie Platter by Manu
- Fruit Cookies by Sugar Dot Cookies
- Rose Garden by Sweet Prodigy
Congrats, contributors, and thanks again for all of your many and varied contributions to this site!
The rest of you, if you're not familiar with our incredible site contributors, please take a moment to review their bios below and to explore the links to their past Cookie Connection contributions, contained at the end of each bio. As always, I like to delve further into our featured site artists' cookie stories by doing a Cookier Close-up interview, and, as luck would have it, I've ALREADY done so with three of our four June artists! Just click on the links below to learn even more about Aproned Artist, Manu, and Sugar Dot Cookies:
- Aproned Artist's Cookier Close-up (6/9/2019)
- Manu's Cookier Close-up (11/30/2017)
- Sugar Dot Cookies' Cookier Close-up (8/31/2015)
Once I finish the Cookier Close-up with our May site artist (which is Gabi, BTW!), I have every intention of tracking down Sweet Prodigy (aka Christine Dutcher) for hers! Watch out, Christine! 
And, everyone else, stay tuned for Gabi's interview, which should post in a week or two.
Christine Dutcher is author of Practice Bakes Perfect, a bimonthly Cookie Connection blog feature that poses inspiration and challenges to stretch you as a cookie artist - for practice, prizes, and fun! Christine's journey as a cookier began in early 2013 when an online search led her to the amazing world of cookie decorating. After spending countless hours learning all that she could, Christine decorated her first set of cookies in October 2013. In 2016, she decided that she would begin to focus on perfecting her skills, challenging herself each time to create more detailed and progressively complex pieces of cookie art. In 2019, Christine became one of the very first sugar artists from around the world to be named as an "Honourary PME Five Star Sugar Artist" by Knightsbridge PME. You can learn more about Christine's work here on Cookie Connection, and by following her Facebook and Instagram pages. Catch up on all of Christine's Cookie Connection posts here. Photo credit: Christine Dutcher.
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 Thailand. 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.
Dotty Raleigh is the owner of Sugar Dot Cookies and author of Sugar Dot Surveys, a bimonthly Cookie Connection survey/blog feature designed to foster experience-sharing and identify best business and decorating practices. Dotty starts by posting a survey every other month about a specific cookie practice, tool, or technique, and concludes with a recap of responses aimed at helping everyone learn and grow. Sugar Dot Cookies began in 2013 with custom cookie orders, and has since grown to include decorating classes and cookie parties. In 2018, Dotty began teaching a series of online classes called Cookies as Business and providing business e-books, which cover everything from finding the optimum shop location and workflow management to pricing and packaging cookies. Dotty loves sharing her years of experience and encouraging those just getting started in their own cookie businesses. You can find Dotty’s past Cookie Connection surveys here, and her survey recaps here. Please also visit her Cookie Connection member profile and Facebook and Instagram pages. Photo credit: Dotty Raleigh.
Samantha Yacovetta is the author of Every Little Detail with Aproned Artist, a monthly Cookie Connection blog feature that focuses on the special little details that make big statements in cookie design. Samantha began cookie decorating in 2013. While working at a local bakery, she became captivated by cookie art when a customer requested princess-themed cookies. Attracted initially to the precision of cookie decorating, Samantha soon found that the limitless design opportunities turned it into her artistic passion. Samantha began regularly stocking the bakery case with decorated cookies and for several years sold cookies through her own company, Aproned Artist, a cottage food operation. Having retired from the business life, Samantha now enjoys making cookies just for fun from her home in San Jose, California, USA. To learn more about Samantha, please check out her Cookie Connection portfolio, her Facebook page, and her past Every Little Detail tutorials here. Photo credit: Samantha Yacovetta.
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 July 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!
Thank you so much Carol and a big hug from me !! 🤗
