Sweet Sundae -- Book Review of Amy Atlas's "Sweet Designs"

Like many people out there, I was DYING when I heard Amy Atlas was coming out with a book. I have long admired her work -- and I also really love her entrepreneurial story about how she made the switch from a career in law to a dessert stylist. Having left the world of finance to start a wedding planning business, I could really relate to her desire to do something more creative! And having a huge sweet tooth myself, I can REALLY understand structuring a career around her love of sweets. After trying to plan a party for her son, she realized there wasn't one person or company that focused on what her business is now known for: stunning style, decadent design, and of course a little crafting too.

The book came out a couple weeks ago and I am clearly not the only fan of Amy's work. Sweet Designs doesn't disappoint. You should definitely add it to your baking, crafting and designing library!

Sweet Designs is visually beautiful -- even if you'll never create a dessert table, if you love bright colors and appreciate entertaining, you'll love flipping through the book. The good news is, if you think there's no way you could ever create something stunning, Amy provides fantastic tips on how to get the look on your own. The book features helpful headers such as Bake It, Craft It and Style It which help readers navigate the various tips (and there are LOTS of them!).

The book is well organized, walking you through the various culinary and craft tools you'll need, and providing helpful recipes if you're ambitious enough to bake the creations (but you can achieve the same look by buying cakes, cupcakes and the like if you're not blessed in the kitchen). Some of my favorite crafting tips and ones that I think will help to make your own dessert table really stand out are the instructions on creating a custom tablecloth, and easy tips for creating candy bag toppers with colorful or patterned papers.

I like that she also encourages you to look for inspiration everywhere -- even super market staples like Oreo cookies or flaked coconut can be incorporated into your dessert display; you don't have to just buy your supplies from a bulk candy emporium or website.

She also explains what many event planners do -- which is to look at things with from a different point of view: a simple shape, color, or pattern can suggest  something else when juxtaposed on a candy table. One fantastic resource (page 39) is a candy math chart that explains how many pounds of candy it takes to fill standard glass vessel. With bigger items like taffy, you might only need 1.5 pounds of taffy, but to fill the same container you'll need 4 pounds of licorice pastels. That's a big difference! Tips like this will help you make sure you're prepared for your party.

The basics chapter also offers great tips for design -- where to find inspiration, how to elevate a simple display with vessels of varying heights, and how to use tray liners to act a quick punch of color. Amy loves color and pattern, and I think that's what makes her tables both bold and memorable.

There are several full tables photographed throughout the book. A few of my favorites are the blue and green ikat table (here's a sneak peek), the perfectly preppy pink and blue table (with mens' neckties as part of the tableau), and I love the "Vineyard Afternoon" table which includes some non-sweets like cheese -- yum!

The book ends with an essentials chapter listing all of Amy's favorite sources -- this list is one that likely took Amy years to compile, and makes the book well worth the purchase price. From card stocks to vases, she's got you covered! I hope you enjoy Sweet Designs as much as I do!