{Note from Jenn: I’m so excited to share the very first contributor post from talented designer Jessica Kirkland of Pen N’ Paperflowers with you today! One look at this party that she designed for her daughter and I think you’ll see why we’re so VERY HAPPY to have her! Also – be sure to check out the note on Pastry Pedestals™ in the party details portion of the post – this is an adorable & brand new patent-pending product that she designed herself. So without further adieu… here’s Jessica!}

“You are absolutely going to have a BALL pouring over all of the details of this “Classic Red Ball Birthday” party.  As a brand-new blog contributor for HWTM, and this being my very first post, I’m thrilled to share with you a party I hosted for my very own daughter’s 2nd birthday!  I hope you enjoy the crisp color palette and the fun & simple details that follow…

Read on for LOTS more images (and we really mean LOTS!) plus all of the party details…

THE THEME

After mulling over several different party themes for my daughter’s second birthday, I decided on a “Classic Red Ball” birthday theme for two reasons. First and foremost, it had everything to do with Ella’s current infatuation with play balls. Second, it was the most simple out of the various creative themes I’d been dreaming of.  Considering the fact I’d be helping to host two baby showers, Thanksgiving dinner for 25 and Ella’s party all in the same month, I knew I needed simple . *wink* Being well aware this theme had been done before, I was determined to make it my own and chose to do something classic and feminine.

THE INVITATION

As a graphic designer, the invitation is always of utmost importance to me.  Not only does it set the stage for what guests can expect, it also provides me with a foundation to continually refer to throughout the party planning process. I carry the printed invitation with me everywhere I go. By keeping it with me, I’m always prepared for whatever party decor I may accidentally stumble upon while running an unrelated errand. Coordinating party accessories aren’t an issue when you can whip out the invitation right there on the spot to see if they work with the theme! (I seriously suggest doing this!)

THE DECOR

Honestly…the decor for me is all about the dessert table. It’s my very favorite part of hosting a party because it ties all of my favorite party & design elements together in one nice little package; desserts, graphic design, decor, color palette, personalization, theme, accessories, etc. It’s also “smart”. Not only is it the focal point of the party…it’s functional too.  I’d rather spend my time creating a real focal point drenched in details vs. sprinkling little elements all over the house. With that said, our back patio became the “party hub”. It was the perfect choice since I wanted to encourage the children attending to play in the backyard filled with a variety of different sized red play balls.

Although I don’t normally do balloons at parties, they just so happened to be another one of Ella’s favorite things, so I opted to have a ceiling filled with red balloons.

DESSERT TABLE

I knew I wanted to incorporate actual play balls onto the dessert table and had originally wanted to hang oversized red balls above it as a focal point. Because the oversized bouncy balls were a hard commodity to come by during the Fall season in which the birthday was held…I reluctantly scrapped that idea. I was able to add height to the table by using some nesting hat boxes from Ikea. I simply removed the lid to the top hat box in order to nest the ball on top!

I lined the backside of the table with smaller red play balls and simply used inexpensive white round candy dishes to secure the balls.The backdrop for the dessert table consisted of a 4×8 piece of white V-groove paneling from Lowe’s flanked by some perfect polka dot fabric I happened upon at Ikea.

THE DESSERTS

It was so fun coming up with some toddler-friendly desserts! I was determined to make sure everything on the table would be things Ella and her little friends would not only enjoy eating, could also handle easily. I knew mini red velvet cupcakes were a must, and adding a small red gum BALL to the top tied in the theme perfectly! On one side of the dessert table, the mini cupcakes were placed on a cake stand decorated with red ribbon.

Using a trifle bowl with a thick piece of styrofoam, I  was able to display additional mini cupcakes on personalized Pastry Pedestals™. Pastry Pedestals™ look adorable, and they make it really easy to add a personal touch to party pastries & help tie in the colors and theme of the party! (I’m especially passionate about these because they are a product I designed and are in the middle of the patent-pending process! *pinch me*)

Aside from the adorable cupcakes…giant RED jawbreakers tied with a red polka dot ribbon were placed on the table to mimic bouncy balls and were nestled in sugar-filled baking cups.

There were also red cake BALLS (thank you Michele), licorice sticks, peppermint sticks and two of my favorite items: custom-made lollipops and peppermint marshmallows sent by Vintage Confections. Again, for the lollipops, I used white table sugar to fill a serving vessel and displayed the lollipops upside down. Perfectly decorated sugar cookies from the Cookie Jar and delicious chocolate-dipped oreos from Sweeties by Kim filled the table as well. Alongside red chocolate-covered sunflower seeds, Ella’s favorite snack was also displayed on the table in little nut cups for easy grabbing.

Adorable red jello cups topped whipped cream and one round red edible sequin were such an easy way to tie in the theme and offer an age-appropriate snack. Serving them in plastic shot glasses made them suitable for toddlers to handle, and the mini spoons provided to eat them with made these the perfect toddler-sized treat!

BEVERAGES

The beverage station included Shirley Temple sodas, fruit punch flavored Juicy Juice, and of course – what’s a classic red BALL party without red polka dot straws too! *wink*

ACTIVITIES

The backyard was filled with all types of red play balls for the kids to play with. In addition to those, I created toddler-sized paddles – for a “don’t let the balloon hit the ground” game – by hot gluing mini paper plates and wooden tongue depressors together.

Other age-appropriate activities included making balls out of red playdough and using jumbo-sized red crayons for coloring the customized coloring sheet. And a very sweet gentleman in the neighborhood kindly surprised us by making a matching wooden bean bag toss game. My mom pitched in by sewing the polka dot bean bags from some napkins I happened to find at Old Time Pottery.

FAVORS

Favors were super EASY!! Kids were allowed to pick one or two play balls to take home, as well as their favorite leftover treats from the dessert table.

THANK YOU CARDS

Coordinating thank you cards were mailed out after the party and included a wallet-sized photo or two of the very sweet birthday girl…”