When Amy Atlas announced on her blog in the fall of 2010 that she’d be writing a book I immediately thought “she has to come to San Francisco for her tour.” Nevermind the fact that the she hadn’t even begun to write yet, I just knew Williams-Sonoma would be the perfect fit for hosting a book tour and of course, I wanted to meet her in person 🙂
Fast forward to this spring and I am so pleased that it all came true. Sweet Designs: Bake It, Craft It, Style It was released in April and shortly after, a tour was in place. Amy took her “Picnic in the Park” dessert table and re-worked it using Williams-Sonoma entertaining pieces. For every stop on the tour, fans got to see the table in person as Amy talked through every component and offered styling tips. Here is a photo diary of her stop at Union Square, San Francisco!
Fans are all smiles with copies of Sweet Designs: Bake It, Craft It, Style It.
Lauren from Sweet Lauren Cakes, one of Williams-Sonoma’s Artisan Market vendors came out to show her support! Look at the adorable cake pop basket she made inspired by Amy’s picnic theme.
A very dedicated group of fans we have from the Bay Area. They were taking notes and asking lots of questions during Amy’s discussion.
Here is the “Picnic in the Park” dessert table!
The gorgeous Glass Footed Beverage Dispenser was used to hold the Red Zinger Tea. Watermelon slices floated on top for garnish. The Weck Mini Mold Jars are typically meant for preserving but here Amy uses them as glasses for the tea. The ribbon around the jars help emphasize the stripe theme.
Amy’s Tip #1: Think outside of the box. Think beyond what the product is traditionally used for and see what else you can do with it.
Amy’s Tip #2: As a hostess, always offer a beverage. We served the guests this Zinger Tea with little watermelon cubes for extra sweetness.
Amy brought her own striped coral runner for the dessert table but here she suggests the Williams-Sonoma Gingham Mydrap Tear-Off Napkins as a runner instead. Simply drape two rows of it along the center of the table. We used it to line a picnic basket to hold entry forms for a contest to win a one-on-one consultation with her. That’s TWO ways to use the napkins for other decorating ideas.
The delicious strawberry trifle. Layers of freshly whipped cream, pound cake and strawberries. The gingham bow and Kraft stick sign dress up the dessert perfectly. You can find the trifle bowl in store, but we also used the Glass Domed Cake Plate/Punch Bowl to make an additional trifle for serving to the attendees.
One of my favorite components on the table and the most fun to make, the PB&J sandwich cookies on the Apilco Zen Rectangular Platter. Homemade sugar cookies were filled with Blackberry Farm Peanut Butter and Blackberry Jam. Lisa, Amy’s Commander in Sweets added the adorable pink Gingham wrappers.
Mini cherry pies with lattice tops on the Venezia Wooden Charger. I used the Mini Cup Pie Set, one of Amy’s new favorite Williams-Sonoma items, to shape and bake the pies. The filling is Williams-Sonoma’s Cherry Pie Filling and to get the ridged look for the lattice I used a fluted pastry wheel.
For the centerpiece, we have dried sour cherry and almond cupcakes in the Presidio Silver Plate 3-Tiered Stand. I personally love the shape of this stand with the arc and loop at the top. The cupcakes were baked in red Striped Cupcake Liners.
Amy Tip #3: Have a focal point on the table to draw your eye to.
We placed more of the cupcakes on this Ceramic White Cake Stand in small (my favorite!). The scalloped edge is playful and ties in with the scalloped bags with cherries in the next photo.
Amy’s Tip #4: We’ve used several white serve pieces so far. Amy recommends using white as “a resting space. It helps with the design and makes it more crisp.”
Fresh cherries shown two ways. First on the left a little DIY project with mini Kraft brown lunch sacks that were cut at the top with scalloped scissors and then tied with red/white twine. On the right the cherries are in Williams-Sonoma’s Porcelain Berry Basket in large. I cannot get over how cute this basket is. It is a little fragile because it is porcelain but its so beautiful in person and the indents around the sides make it so realistic looking.
A shot from behind with the bunting hanging at the top. It frames the table in the large space that is in the store and draws your eye to the table.
And to end.. one more inspirational tip from Amy: “Get creative. The point of the book is to be your own stylist.”
Take a look at my other post, Baking for an Amy Atlas Dessert Table for more behind-the-scenes, tips and a recipe!