Operation Shower–Recap Part 4…The Designer’s Tables!

FINALLY!!!! The moment we’ve all been waiting for…a DETAILED look at each designer’s table for the Operation Shower Table Design Event sponsored by Pottery Barn Kids! In this post, you will see gorgeous photos taken by Jackie Culmer Photography that showcases each table and I will let you know what my favorite elements were from each table. Each one had a moment of “brilliance”….I think so, anyway. I’ve included the links to all the Pottery Barn Kids products we used for your convenience!

Let’s get to it! First of all there were a total of 12 designers who participated in this event:
Soiree Event Design
Hostess With The Mostess
The TomKat Studio
Paper and Cake
Maddycakes Muse
A to Z Celebrations
A Blissful Nest
Thoughtfully Simple
Shawna Brockmeier Styled Events
Your Bash!
Cupcakes & Cutlery
Sweets Indeed

It was really cool walking around and seeing each designer’s style reflected in their table designs. I personally took note of how each of us used the printables in a creative, unexpected way.

First up…
Table design by Hostess With The Mostess
Jenn used unexpected yarn as the main design element of her table. Such brilliant uses of the yarn that added a playful touch to pop-modern elements. See the yarn wrapped around the mod-colored painted animals and the yarn wrapped chargers? LOVE IT! What I thought was hands-down brilliant was the use of yarn balls to create interesting yarn trees and yarn clouds and the main focal point–the HUGE yarn sun! I’m hoping a tutorial from HWTM is on the horizon to create these! Now for a closer look…see how she took Pottery Barn Kids bottles and made them look like baby canteens by adding the beige straps. GENIOUS! I happen to love all the little details that really give a design that extra special something. Jenn’s creative use of the printables: She used circles cut from coordinating papers that matched the printables to line the bottoms of the water/wine glasses? A great inexpensive way dress up ordinary water/wine glasses.

Pottery Barn Kids products used:
wire elephants
Lifefactory bottles
Spencer utensils (on the chair backs)

Table design by Paper and Cake
The unsung hero of the day! From creating ALL the printables including all the event signage and sweets table tags as well as providing each of us designers a copy of the printables for our tables to having not one…but 2 tables to design! WOAH! And, even though Abigail (owner of Paper and Cake) couldn’t make it to the shower to see her design implemented, her SUPER-ASSISTANT Jordan totally ROCKED IT!!! I need an assistant like her!! Check out those awesome directional signs. They were hands-down my favorite elements in her table design. She created cool vintage and retro vignettes as her centerpieces which were just fabulous! The spot of brilliance for me was her creative use of the printables! She printed the images on fabric to create a fabulous table runner and she printed the animals on fabric, stitched them together to create little pillows. What a unique and creative use of printables!

Pottery Barn Kids products used:
wood capital letters
map retro clocks
onesies

Table design by A to Z Celebrations
First of all, I am IN LOVE with the sparkling giraffes that Nancy used in her table design. LOVE, LOVE! Se was true to her design style and pulled in zebra print in the runners. She was the only designer who used chair covers. Also loved how she repurposed an easter tree as the focal point of her centerpiece and her creative use of the printables–added “Safari Sunshine” printable circles to the branches gave her table a sweet and whimsey look.

Table design by The TomKat Studio
Loved the sweetness of Kim’s table. The colors were bright and playful and the fresh flowers gave the table such a freshness. The spot of brilliance was her use of coffee filters to create that fabulous ruffled chair back! I am totally needing to know how she did that! Absolutely BRILLIANT! Kim used the printables as napkin rings and tags for the bumball favors. Loved how she used the cupcake stands and hat boxes to create a tall centerpiece with a cute little giraffe on top. She also used Pottery Barn Kids sheets to make custom runners lined with bright yellow pom pom trim. Her use of stripes, polka-dots and bright colors reminded me of a sweet, playful carnival.

Pottery Barn Kids products used:
animal plates
mini dot sheets
butterfly stacking hat storage boxes
tiered cupcake stand

Table design by Your Bash!
When you walked into the shower, the towering centerpiece that is Your Bash!’s table was front and center! You couldn’t miss it! Such a bright and cheery centerpiece with ribbons cascading down a grouping of 3 glass green vases that were shaped like bamboo stalks…I saw them put it together and was in awe of their use of the elements to create such a unique piece. The spot of brilliance has to be their use of the printables. They totally used them in a HUGE way! They blew up the printables to create placemats around the table and oversized toppers for their huge centerpiece! GENIUS! I would have never thought to do that!

Pottery Barn Kids products used:
plush soothing sounds giraffes
lion plush collection (blue)
elephant plush thumbies

Table design by Maddycakes Muse
Okay, first I must say that Michelle’s table was almost done when I walked in to the venue on setup day and I gasped out loud at the gorgeousness of her tablecloth! This chic handmade felt flowers and then attached them around the perimeter of her table that created such a visually stunning custom tablecloth! It was GORGEOUS! A total flash of BRILLIANCE! Then as she finished her table (she was right next to me…so I had a close look at her as she setup)…I saw another flash of BRILLIANCE!!! How dare she have 2 brilliant moments….JEALOUS! The ribbon garland and framed art chair backs. So totally CUTE! The centerpiece of stacked luggage in bright colors worked perfectly in her concept that was carried through to her use of luggage tags as napkin rings and passports as mommy favors. Michelle used the printables as framed art, background for her luggage tags and she cutout the animals and adhered them to glass vases to create custom vases to match!

Pottery Barn Kids products used:
white butterfly mobile
“wish” wood wall hanging

Table design by Thoughtfully Simple
Tori was such a sweetheart…so quiet and focused on her table that really was “thoughtfully simple”. She used bottles as vases for pops of color to hold modern yellow button mums and her centerpiece of a giraffe in a jungle setting encased in a dome pedestal with an unexpected pop of color from the pink rose and pom pom trim was my favorite element of her table. Her use of Pottery Barn Kids sheets as liners for her plant vases was GENIUS! Loved the simplicity and sweetness of her table. It was the most thoughtful use of modern and rustic elements that gave the table an overall elegance while still being playful and whimsey with pops of color against the modern/rustic backdrop. Loved her use of bright fresh flower arrangements! She used the printables as chair back ties.


Pottery Barn Kids products used:
Lifefactory bottles
elephant sheets

Table by Cupcakes and Cutlery
Sharon’s table when I first saw it I immediately thought..wow…such a great blend of safari elements with pops of mod! over the simplicity of the color palette of brown, green, orange and white. She mixed modern white and orange animals with a leather rhino on top of rustic suitcase. It all just worked so perfectly! At a glance you would have missed these awesome vignettes she created of animals in sand. So clever and LOVED that she didn’t use any flowers…but used an abundance of greenery that totally pulled in the jungle vibe! I must say, her spot of BRILLANCE for me were the chair backs of plaques with modern white animal busts coming out of them with the sweetest handwritten “Thank You” on them.



Pottery Barn Kids products used:
leather rhino (National Geographic Safari Animal)
wire elephants

Table by Shawna Brockmeier Styled Events
Shawna’s table was right next to me and I immediately loved her table’s brightness. So colorful and kid-friendly! Her whole table was just so soft and plush by her use of plush animals as her main focal point! The entire centerpiece was created from a fabulous palm tree (where did she get that?) surrounded by an abundance of plush animals. Her spot of brilliance for me was her use of Pottery Barn Kids plush rattles as napkin rings. LOVED those! Totally pulled in the plush feel all the way to the plate! Funny thing…when we were all breaking down at the end of the shower…all of us designers were carrying out our bins full of stuff from our tables and Shawna had exactly 2 bags! Not bins…2 shopping type bags! I was like…are you serious you got everything in 2 small bags! She just laughed and said…it was all plush…squishes down good! I have to say I was jealous of that as I was trying to lug my 4 big bins to the golf carts to take me back to the car!!!! LOL!

Pottery Barn Kids products used:
elephant plush rattles
safari plush animals (giraffe and elephant)

Table design by A Blissful Nest
So, let me first begin with the moment of brilliance on this table. It is the chairs!!!! Rebekah blew me away by using the printables as boxes that animals jumped out of on the back of the chair! So unexpected and creative! My hands-down favorite element on her table were the black and white chevron napkins with the pop of color from the Pottery Barn Kids toy on top and the darling fondant animals. Check out her clever use of fondant by placing fondant leaves on the rims of each glass! She used her printables mostly on sticks to bring your eye up and as napkin rings. When looking at her table, you can totally tell that Rebekah has a background in interior design! She used such an eclectic blend of materials and textures from bright white milk glass to a towering wooden giraffe to a black wire elephant. Most people would see the elements she used on her table separately and think…no way! Doesn’t match!! But Rebekah has that designer eye which just makes it all work! Hard to take your eyes off of what she did! LOVE IT!

Pottery Barn Kids products used:
wire elephants
wooden blocks
wooden rattle (on top of the napkins)

Table by Soiree-Event Design
Here’s a few shots of my table design. For full details on my table, check out the previous blog post where I break it all down!
Table design by Soireé Event Design


Pottery Barn Kids products used:
linen plush elephant
porcelain tea set
clip-on booster chair
ceramic pink elephant bank

Dessert Table design by Sweets Indeed
The dessert table was also right next to me so I got a first-hand look at Marie and her hubby setting this GORGEOUSNESS up! First of all, the backdrop….That was NO SMALL FEAT! Totally set the tone for the table! Loved Marie’s use of old rustic wooden containers to display the goodies! My favorite design element on the table for sure was the funniest pink flamingo sitting there. Marie scored that one from a thrift shop! She also used a wood palette to hang all the goody bags on. Who does that?? SO BRILLIANT! She said she found it on the side of the road and had her hubby pull over to get it! So like a designer! We get these moments of brilliance and no one can really see the fabulousness of what we see until it is all setup. I LOVED IT!

Pottery Barn Kids products used:
zebra and giraffe explorer canvas art

Now let’s talk the sweets on the table. Hands down the showstopper was this gorgeous cake! OMG! It was breathtaking! It also weighed a ton as I watched them try to put it on the table. It was just as yummy as it was gorgeous. My next favorite sweet were the flamingo marshmallow pops! Alejandra from The Marshmallow Studio created these! BRILLIANT! Love it when I see such creativity and artisticness (is that even a word?) in sweets…AND when the sweets actually taste good too…HEAVEN!

Here’s all the vendors that provided sweets for the table…they were all super yummy! I must say I did eat a few too many of the salted caramels!
Custom Cake: Hey There, Cupcake!
Flamingo Marshmallow Pops: The Marshmallow Studio
Pushcakes: Meringue Bake Shop
Safari hat & binocular cookies: Allyson Jane
Cupcakes: JennyWenny Cakes
Lollipop Flowers: The Sweetest Affair
Monkey Cake Pops: A Twist of Cake

Hope you liked the recap of all the tables. They were all so fabulous! The photos taken by Jackie Culmer Photography and Design really do capture the FABULOUSNESS of the tables.

This is the last wrap up post for Operation Shower! I hope enjoyed seeing all the behind the scenes action and the final table designs. It’s fitting that I end this last recap post with a look at why all of us designers were more than honored to be a small part of a HUGE movement which is Operation Shower! Check out this video that sums up exactly why when Amy Belle Isle came calling, all we could do was say a very loud, “YES!!!!!”