A Painter's Palette Of Desserts

WORDS:: Chyka Keebaugh

PHOTOS:: Lisa Atkinson

I love surprising my guests with the creative ways food is displayed.

I have pulled together three ideas of how to display sweet treats in fun artistic ways that will wow your guests. Simple decorative tools like swatches and palettes can be picked up from any hardware store and $2 shop, proving you don't always need to spend a lot of money on styling. Colour swatches are the first thing I go to in any hardware store. There is nothing better than standing in front of thousands of colour a choosing the perfect tone, and it’s hard not to feel inspired; whether it be for painting a wall or getting crafty with the samples themselves. So gorgeous and colourful! 

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Create a palette of macarons

Time to create a lovely palette of pastel macarons. They are perfect for that afternoon tea with friends, and look great. All you need to do is buy a selection of your favourite colour macarons and then hit the local hardware store to colour match them to some sample swatches. I have displayed mine on small wooden boards for the maximum pop of colour; you don’t want your board to outshine these beauties!

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Create a palette of smarties

Separating smarties certainly is a temptation for the best of us. You can't help but sneak a few in the mouth as you go but that's the fun of it isn’t it! How inviting does this little palette look, so colourful and sweet, you’ll see everyone's fingers going for a treat? This idea would be perfect for a kids party, accompanied by fun cupcakes and colourful drinks. I organised mine on a wooden painter's palette that can be found in $2 shops creating the perfect smartie tray.

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Create a palette of chocolate

I don’t trust anyone who doesn’t love chocolate. Now, although this palette of chocolate looks truly decadent, it is just so easy to pull together. You don’t need to pay a fortune on expensive chocolates, using your everyday favourites look just as great unwrapped and stacked high. The presentation is key, and all these looks are so achievable when thinking outside the box.

Just purchase a variety of your favourite chocolate bars, unwrap them and set them up artfully. Using cool cheese knives and glass to keep them organised, I think this looks fantastic on an old painters palette from my collection. This type of tray goes perfectly with your dessert wine a nice glass of red and is a chocolate lovers dream.