red ball party {levi's second birthday}

I debated and debated about a theme for Levi's second birthday. I knew that I would probably be throwing many, many tractor or farm theme birthday parties in the years to come so I thought I would avoid a tractor theme for now...not that there is anything wrong with tractors, it just might get old! :) Levi has been really into playing ball lately so I thought a ball party sounded fun. I searched "ball party" on pinterest and came across this adorable classic red ball party that Jessica threw for her two year old daughter. Red + balls...perfect.

I got tons of ideas from Jessica (great name, right?). She is definitely the creative genius behind this theme. Her party was beautiful so if you need any more inspiration make sure and check out her red classic ball party here.

Jessica also happens to be the talented designer of Pen N' Paperflowers. I emailed back and forth a little with her and she hooked me up with these adorable print-at-home party invitations. She also designed little tags to go on the party favors. Thanks so much Jessica!

For the dessert table, I made cupcakes in red polka dot cupcake liners and put a red gum"ball" on top.

 My friend Julie made the awesome red ball cake. She has been making/decorating cakes to help raise money towards their adoption from China. She does an amazing job and the best part was that I didn't have to worry about making a cake! I love planning a party and evening making cupcakes, but cake decorating...not so much. If you are local and need a cake, make sure to check with Julie!

The dessert table had lots of red candy too. Licorice, lollipops, swedish fish, and red m&m's...m&ms are Levi's favorite.

We had red balloons...and of course red and white striped paper straws (I can hardly throw a party without these cute straws!).

 I picked up these red frames for Griffin's room when I was at IKEA. They were perfect for the party. The table was covered in a white tablecloth, red polka dot fabric (from Griffin's quilt), and a piece of red polka dot wrapping paper (from Christmas). I love red, so it wasn't hard to come up with things I already had to use on the table.

I made three garlands for the dessert table. On the chalkboard is a garland made out of red punched paper circles + thread. I sewed them together on my sewing machine. The other garland is red felt circles + red bakers twine. I sewed the felt circles onto the twine with my sewing machine too.

The garland on the table is red styrofoam balls + jewelry wire. I (actually, Joel did it for me) spray painted the styrofoam balls with floral spray paint and I used a long crochet needle to string them on the wire. You can't use regular spray paint because it will melt the styrofoam. I found this idea on pinterest too!

For party favors, we sent the kiddos home with a giant red lollipop and a ball of homemade red play dough. I put the play dough in clear cellophane bags and tied them with bakers twine and the circle tags from Pen N' Paperflowers.

We set up a kids table in the kitchen for Levi and all his cousins...he has a lot! We added some red circle punch "ball" confetti to the table after I took this picture too.

 Each place had the party favor and two red crayons to draw on the table (which was covered in paper).

And here are a few pictures from the actual party...

It was crazy and loud and Levi loved every second of it. It was so fun to see him so excited about his birthday! He had been singing happy birthday to himself all week. :)

I still can't believe Levi is two. Happy birthday sweet boy!

Sources (for those who are wondering):

Invitations & favor tags : Pen N' Paperflowers
Polka dot cupcake liners : Sweet Kaity
Paper straws : Garnish
Red frames : IKEA
Styrofoam balls & red floral paint : Michaels
Polka dot napkins and 2 candle : Target
Cake : Julie Johnson