Guest Blogger {The Grant Life} & WINNER & Giveaway {Two Sasters}

Happy Tuesday All!! 

I am so sorry today's post is a little late. My hubby and I were up half the night with kids that wouldn't sleep so we all slept in this morning to make up for the night!!

We are almost done with the birthday bash so make sure you enter all the amazing giveaways that are going on!!! Here is a list of them if you haven't entered yet:

Free Ad Space / Hand Bound Notebook go HERE {Today is the LAST DAY to enter in these giveaways!}

Vinyl "Welcome" Sign go HERE

Loopy Puff Bows go HERE

$15.00 Gift Card to Hobby Lobby go HERE

Poppy Necklace and Rose Wire Ring Jewelry Set go HERE

Before we get started with todays goodies....

we have a Winner of the 

Rose Earrings & Mini Tote Bag!!

Our Lucky WINNER is:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congrats Peggy!! A Huge Thank You to all who entered!

*************************************************

Today we have a Guest Blogger

Kelley from 

The Grant Life.

Kelley and have have become bloggy friends over the last few months. She is one amazing lady and has so many fun things on her blog. 

Bloggy Friends...Meet Kelley

Happy blogaversary to my sweet friend Jill!  I am so excited to be here today during her special celebration!  My name is Kelley and I blog over at the Grant life.  Over there I share crafts, recipes, a weekly link party and lots of stories about babies.

I have been blogging for a little over a year now and one of the things that I love most is the genuine friendships I have made.  Yes.. I'm talking about bloggy friendships.  Today I'm going to share a few tips on how to make friends.. in blogland!  

Don't be afraid to reach out to a blogger.. no matter how big or small.  
Bloggers are people and they have feelings and emotions and common sense just like the rest of us.  If you have a question, comment or want to work with another blogger then email them!  The harder part is saying no to a request from a sincere person.

Find a community
There are tons of different ways to connect with bloggers that have similar interests or similar location.  Facebook and twitter are the main two social media outlets that bring people together, but there is bloglovin, hello cotton, linkedin and many more.  

Help each grow
Once you find someone that you connect with help each other grow as bloggers.  If you need to promote an event, your shop or a guest post ask your bloggy friends for help first.

Keep in contact
This one may be one of the harder ones because sometimes life happens and we spent some time away from the blog world.  Make sure to keep in contact with your bloggy friends and check in on them if they go missing from the blog world.  Some of my good bloggy friends dont even have blogs anymore but we still chat through email.  

I know these may sound silly by they are what has helped me grow as a blogger and as a person.  My blog friendships have strengthened my real life friendships.  And I cant wait to meet some of my blog friends in person!

Thanks again Jill for having me during your big one year celebration!  Hope yall come check out the Grant life and say hello!

Those are such awesome tips! I have made many bloggy friends and will use these tips to help make more!! Thank you so much Kelley!

**********************************************************

Our Giveaway today is from 

Two Sasters.

Hi!!   For those of you that do not know us, we are two sisters, Cari and Cortnee, who blog over at Two Sasters and create handmade kids shirts and bows over at CGCDesign:)   Aside from going away to college, once we moved out of Mom and Dad's, we haven't lived more then a few miles apart. 

"Saster" is a term that was coined by us...it just sounds so much better then just plain old "sister"...but don't worry - it has the same meaning:)

Cari, is 14 months older and lives with her 2.5 year old daughter and hubby.  Cortnee and her hubby had their first child - a little girl - just two weeks ago:) 

On our blog, Two Sasters, we love to start our week helping promote handmade items on Mondays and end it by hosting a TGIF - Share what you Did party!  In between we love to write about crafting, saving money, and as of more recently, blogging / technical tips.  

We hope that you will stop by and say hi!!

Facebook / Twitter / Blog / Pinterest / Etsy Shop

These two cute "sasters" are giving away

FREE AD SPACE

on their blog!!!

What a great way to get your name out there and there is no better way then getting it FREE!!!

Enter for a chance to win! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

You will have until August 6 at Midnight to enter this giveaway. Good luck to all who enter!!!

Thanks again to the ladies who helped with our bash today!!!

Officially 1 Year & WINNER & Giveaway {Joy in the Jumble}

As of yesterday, 

Two Yellow Birds Decor 

is officially 1 year!!!! 

I can't wait for many more to come!

We have had SO MANY AMAZING Giveaways for your over this past week. If you have not been able to enter in them here is a list:

Rose Earrings & Mini Tote Bag go HERE {Today is the LAST DAY to enter for these}

Free Ad Space / Hand Bound Notebook go HERE

Vinyl "Welcome" Sign go HERE

Loopy Puff Bows go HERE

$15.00 Gift Card to Hobby Lobby go HERE

We have a winner for our Vinyl Photo Collage Word Pack!

Our Lucky WINNER is:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congrats Kiana !!! Thanks to all those you entered!

***********************************************************

Today we have an Amazing giveaway for you:

We have Amanda from

Joy in the Jumble

here with us.

She has a Super Cute Jewelry Set for us!! 

A Poppy Necklace & a Wire Rose Ring

Here is a description:

This giveaway includes a large Coral Pink Poppy Necklace accented by two jumbo faceted glass beads.  It hangs from a shiny silver chain with a lobster clasp.  Also included in the giveaway is an Antique White Wire Rose Ring for a sweet touch to almost any outfit.

These are GORGEOUS!!! I love the color!

Enter Now for a Chance to win!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

You will have until August 5th to enter for the Jewelry Set!

Thank you so much Amanda for sharing such a fun giveaway for us today!

Birthday Round Up #2 & Giveaway

If you have missed entering for any of our giveaways, here is a list of them!! Make sure you enter for all those you want to win!

Vinyl Photo Collage Words go HERE {Today is the LAST DAY to enter for this!}

Rose Earrings & Mini Tote Bag go HERE

Free Ad Space / Hand Bound Notebook go HERE

Vinyl "Welcome" Sign go HERE

Loopy Puff Bows go HERE

*************************************************

Now onto todays Birthday Round Up....

Since we are in the midst of the Blog Brithday Bash I wanted to continue with our Birthday Traditions/Favorite Party from some more Amazing Bloggers. 

If you missed the first Round Up, go HERE to see it.

First up today we have Mary Beth from
Cupcakes and Crinoline.

Birthday Board 

Since my boys were little I liked to do Birthday Boards for them.  The boards varied but usually consisted of a large whiteboard that I would have all the guests sign and put a personal message on at some point during the party.  As they have gotten older I have switched to a Birthday Board frame with a simple birthday sign and then personal little items for each of my son's for their day.  This picture shows a photo of a whiteboard that was done for my middle son's 2nd birthday.  I like to include other pictures, etc. from the past year and then take a picture of the birthday guy in front of the frame.  

**What a cute idea this board is!! I love the balloons that are attached as well! Very Fun!!!

Thanks so much Mary Beth for sharing your fun birthday tradition with us!

**********************************************************

Now we will have Tiffany from
Don't Waste the Crumbs:

Bio: Tiffany is an in-house day care teacher, private chef, housekeeper, laundry service, chauffeur and dedicated CEO to making sure her house runs smoothly. She aims to be a good steward of all He has given her, so she strives to do more {and do it better} with less. She's making baby-sized strides and would be honored if you joined her for the ride!

3rd Birthday Princess Cake 

My little princess turned 3 last week and I knew - long before she did - that she would want a princess birthday cake. The fact that she calls every doll a princess, and calls every dress she owns a "princess dress" was a dead giveaway! She's seen what they look like in the grocery store catalogs (stinker was peeking over my shoulder when I was trying to get ideas), but we try to avoid store-bought whenever possible (both for cost and nutrition) so I knew that I was going to be making the cake myself. This was fine with me because cooking and baking are two of my gifts. Decorating, however, is not. There is not one ounce of decorating skill in my body, and this includes both house and cakes. I was in for a challenge.

A million google images and hours on Pinterest later I came up with a simple design - a princess (made of a rice krispy treat) on a pedestal (made of cake) with three princess on the base, each holding a candle. I already had everything for the cake on hand.

 • A coffee mug as the mold for the princess skirt.

 • A circle cut from an empty graham cracker box for the skirt's base.

 • A 9x13 glass pan for the cake, with approximately 1/3 cut off for the second layer pedestal.

 • Three straws, trimmed, to help support the princess on top of the second layer.

• Three candles.

 • One batch of strawberry cake (because it's pink).

• One batch of lemon cream cheese butter cream icing (because I thought it would taste good with the cake).

• One blue princess from her existing toys.

 • Three new princesses (given to us by a friend). 

 As you can see, this is not some grandiose masterpiece that one would offer as a sample of their decorating skills. But despite my lack of talent in cake-decorating, it was grand in the eyes of my little princess. She loved the big blue princess and wanted to eat her skirt more than the cake itself. She was excited to see three more princesses on her cake and to be able to add them to her collection. She thought it was even greater that Mommy made the cake. And everyone knows that Mommy's cakes taste better anyway, because they're made with love!

**That is such a darling cake!! I think she did an awesome job decorating it! I love the creativity in making the big blue princess. So cute!! Thanks so much Tiffany for sharing your amazing cake with us!

*********************************

Next we have Marilyn from
4 You With Love.


Birthdays are magical times, don't you agree?  That's why I'm so pumped that Jill invited me to be a part of her birthday celebration!  I'm Marilyn and my blog is 4 You With Love.  My blog has all sorts of ways you can show those in your life how much they mean to you:  crafts, recipes, DIY projects and much more.

Anyway, my mom is awesome. Holidays were her thing and she would always find the most amazing, yet cheesy, way to celebrate...you always felt so special (although you would groan first and then grin second!)  Anyway, today I'd like to share one of my favorite birthday memories, created by my mom, of course.  


It was my freshman year at Ohio State University and I was living in the dorm, Morrill Tower. My birthday was the next day and I was thinking, "it's my first birthday away from home, will anyone remember tomorrow's my 19th birthday?"  Well, people did.  Roommates gave me presents and we all went out to celebrate...but that's not the memorable part.  It was when I went down to get my mail and there was a slip letting me know that I had ....

A PACKAGE!

source

I LOVE getting packages in the mail....but this one blew me away.  I swear the dimension were 36"x24"x24"!  HUGE.  I called my roommates and they came down to help me get it back to our room.  You'll never guess what was inside?

A decorated birthday cake!

source

birthday hats

source

birthday plates  & napkins

source

a birthday present

source

 $5 for ice cream.

source

and it was all packed in popcorn!  My mom had sent me a birthday party in a box!  She really made my day!

This idea was so special to me that I have since sent many birthday parties in boxes to good friends and family members.  You know what?  They have been just as excited by my boxes as I as by my mom's.  It truly is the thought that counts!

Happy Birthday, Jill!  Thanks for letting me be a part of your celebration!

What a fun idea to send a birthday party in a box to someone! So creative! Thanks for sharing this fun birthday tradition!!


Marilyn is also being so generous today because 
She is giving away a 
$15.00 Gift Card to Hobby Lobby!!


Who would not want some money to go get something fun to make?!?!
Enter Now for a Chance to Win!

{This is open to U.S. Residents Only}

a Rafflecopter giveaway

You will have until August 3rd at Midnight to enter for the gift card!!

Thank you so much Ladies for helping make our birthday bash so much fun! 

You are awesome!!

WINNER & Guest Blogger {Morena's Corner} & Giveaway {The Crafty Mischief}

I can't believe we are already 1 week into the Blog Birthday Bash!! 

I hope all of you are having so much fun reading our Guest Bloggers Posts and entering amazing giveaways. If you have missed any giveaways here is a list of them:

Vinyl Photo Collage Words go HERE

Rose Earrings & Mini Tote Bag go HERE

Free Ad Space / Hand Bound Notebook go HERE

Vinyl "Welcome" Sign go HERE

Before we get started today we have a WINNER for the 

Fancy Chalkboard Labels!!!

Our Lucky Winner is:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

A Huge Thank you to all those who entered!!

****************************************************

Today we are lucky to have Morena from

Morena's Corner 

with us! 

She is the sweetest blogger and has so many great things to share! 

Blogger Friends.....Meet Morena.

 It's a celebration!!

I am thrilled to be invited to help Jill celebrate her 1 year bloggiversary!  My name is Morena and I blog at Morena's Corner.  I love to share tutorials for crafts that are fast and frugal, yet still look fabulous!  I hope you'll come visit my corner sometime!

I (very!) recently had a birthday party for my youngest two children, who turned 1 and 3.  I planned a "vintage book" themed party and made my own invitations.

Since Jill's blog is turning one, as well, and since she often shares free printables with her readers, I thought it would be fitting to give a free printable to Jill and all her readers!

This is the invitation I designed for my party.  I have a collection of vintage books, and all the images came from my collection.  I scanned them, cleaned them up, and used my Silhouette software to design the layout.  It may seem strange that my son's part of the card is upside down, but that is so I could print one sheet and just fold it up to make the card.  No cutting or gluing required!

In Jill's honor, I made a printable with just the "party" image.

I think these would make adorable invitations:  just add your party info to the back!

Or you could make a flashcard.

Use it to make a banner.

Make cupcake toppers.

Even a poster!

Have fun with it,

and I'd love it if you'd share your creation with me!

You can download this printable here.

If you'd like to see more from my party, visit Morena's Corner next week!

Jill, happy bloggiversary, and thank you for letting me celebrate with you!

Those are the cutest invitations!! What a fun theme for a party. I love that all the old vintage stuff is coming back in!

Thank you so much Morena for your awesome blog post and for the free printable!

********************************************************

Today we have a Giveaway from Brittany at

The Crafty Mischief.

Happy Blogiversary Jill! I'm excited to be part of the fun! Crafty Mischief is giving away these cute loopy puff bows to celebrate. Wouldn't they look darling on your little princess?

 Aren't these bows darling?!? I love them!!

Enter for a chance to win!

{This is Open to U.S. Residents only!!}

a Rafflecopter giveaway

You will have until August 2nd at midnight to enter to win these awesome bows!

Thank you so much ladies for being here with us today and helping with the Blog Birthday Bash!!!

Guest Post & Giveaway {Debbie Does Creations}

There will be No Link Party today due to our Birthday Bash!!

If you have missed any of the Giveaways, here is a list of them:

Fancy Chalkboard Labels go HERE {Today is the LAST today to enter for these!!}

Vinyl Photo Collage Words go HERE

Rose Earrings & Mini Tote Bag go HERE

Free Ad Space / Hand Bound Notebook go HERE

**********************************************************

Today we are so lucky to be having Debbie from Debbie Does Creations here with us. She is going to be guest posting for us and doing a giveaway for our Birthday Bash!!

 Hello lovely readers of Two Yellow Birds Decor! I am so thankful that I get to participate in Jill's Blog Birthday Bash! Happy Birthday Jill! I am Debbie from Debbie Does Creations and I love glitterizing the world one creations at a time. I love to make holiday crafts and invite you to come and take a look :) On August 1st I will be opening up a brand new shop at www.debbiedoesshop.com but I am giving you all a sneak peek of an item I will be selling. Not only is it a sneak peek but you also have a chance to win one!

 

A VINYL WELCOME SIGN (Wreath not included)

Don't you love it? You have the chance to choose your color and size of the vinyl welcome sign. In addition I will also be giving away 6 chalkboard vinyl labels. These things are so handy dandy! These can be designed in almost any way and are great for labeling things. This giveaway is valued at $32! Want to see what colors are available? You will be surprised! Just visit:

 
 and take a look at their outdoor vinyl color options. The one shown in the picture above is silver metallic. I hope you all will follow along on my journey at Debbie Does Creations. You can follow me here: Blog|Facebook|Twitter|Pinterest|Shop

What an amazing giveaway that Debbie is doing with her

 "Welcome" vinyl sign & Chalkboard Labels as a bonus 

for us today!

What a great way to add a little personal touch to your front door. Come enter to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This giveaway will end on August 1st at Midnight!!

Thank You so much Debbie for guest posting and doing an amazing giveaway for us today!!! Congrats on opening your new shop!
You are awesome!

Giveaways {Motivated Mommy of Two} & {Renewed Upon a Dream}

Here is a list of Past Giveaways if you haven't entered for them:

Fancy Chalkboard Labels go HERE

Vinyl Photo Collage Words go HERE

Rose Earrings & Mini Tote Bag go HERE

**************************************************

Today we have 2 Giveaways for you!!!

Our First Giveaway is from Shirley at

MOTIVATED MOMMMY OF TWO.

She is giving away 

FREE AD SPACE

 on her blog!!

There is not a better way to help get your blog name out there! She is giving away a 125x125 ad space for FREE!! You can't beat that!

Enter for a chance to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway You will have until July 31 to enter this giveaway!!

Our Second Giveaway is from Sarah at

Renewed Upon a Dream.

 She is giving away this cute little hand bound notebook.

Here is a description of the notebook:

This is a high quality handbound book. I constructed this book using a coptic stitch with light cream colored waxed thread. The covers are made of bookboard covered in decorative Florentine paper in a Blue & Yellow Flowers design on the outside, and German Ingres "Earth" cream colored paper on the inside. The pages are made of Mohawk Superfine Text Weight paper & were hand-torn one at a time. This paper is made in the USA & is a soft white color. Great for a variety of uses!

 This book contains 4 sections, with a total of 80 pages (including front & back). The size of the book is approximately 4 inches by 3.5 inches & about 0.6 inches thick at the binding. It lies completely flat when open.

What a great way to keep notes in style!!!
Enter for a chance to win:


{This is open to U.S. Residents only} 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

You Will have until July 31st to enter this giveaway!

A Huge Thank You to both of these wonderful ladies for some awesome giveaways today!!

Guest Blogger {Sweet Pepper Rose} & Giveaway {Reenie Jae Creations}

Before we get started today I just wanted to say

Happy Pioneer Day 

to all those living in Utah!!! 

I hope you have a wonderful holiday!

Welcome to day 4 of our Blog Birthday Bash!!!

I hope you have been able to look at the past posts for the birthday bash! We have had some fun guest bloggers and awesome giveaways! 

To enter for the Fancy Chalkboard Labels go HERE

To enter for the Vinyl Photo Collage Words go HERE

Today we have Guest Blogger JoAnn from

Sweet Pepper Rose.

Hello! I’m JoAnn and my blog is SweetPepperRose.

I'd like to thank Jill for asking me to Guest Post today here at Two Yellow Birds Decor.

I'll be sharing a tutorial on how I made my Paulownia Seed Pod 5 Point Star that I used in my July 4^th tablescape.

As you can see from the photos, these will have a 3-D shape!

The Paulownia, also known as the Empress, seed pods naturally 

open halfway when they dry out, making it very easy to finish the separation. There is also a small center “star” when pulled apart correctly.(the "claw-foot" at the left end:)  I refer to the halves as doubles, and these can also be separated into singles, which is what I made the stars with on my July 4th Acorn & Seed Pod Wreath. One end of the seed pods will have two points, the other only one.

 To separate, gently pull the two sides apart and break away

the thin sheath, discarding it and the seeds into the trash.

O.K., Let get started!

Supplies:

Paulownia seed pod hulls:15 doubles and 5 singles

One small center "claw foot" star

Cardboard circle, about 1 ½ inches in diameter

(I traced the lid from a drink bottle)

Pen; Scissors; Hot glue gun
Gym clip or Pop Top, for hanging

Begin by putting hot glue at the end with one point. 

Place at the center of the cardboard circle,

pressing down the point of the hull.

 Continue around the circle, leaving a "hole" in

the center. You should end up with something like this. 

Begin the next row UP by situating the double pod

in between the bottom two, again pressing the point down.

Remember, you are creating a 3-D type star, so the

ends will be pointing upward.

Second row finished!

Hot Glue the small "claw foot" center star

into the middle "hole."

Place the 5 "singles" around the center star.

Now, you will go back and finish the 

BOTTOM row, by placing 5 double pods into the

wider spaces on the cardboard.

And there you have it!  You may leave it natural or

you can spray paint them. Add glitter!

They'd make excellent Christmas tree ornaments!

FYI: I hot glued a large gym clip onto the white

July 4th star, in order to hang on my quilt rack.

I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial - if so,

please visit my site and leave me a comment.

Again, I'd like to thank Jill for asking me to 

Guest Post for her terrific site today!

sweetpepperrose.blogspot.com 

What a great decor these paulownia seed pods can make! What a creative idea! Thanks JoAnn for sharing your tutorial with us today!

*********************************************

Our GIVEAWAY today is from Brycie at

Reenie Jae Creations. 

She is giving away a couple of things from her Etsy Shop today. 

A pair of Rose Earrings 

{She will be choosing the color} 

and a Mini Tote Bag 

{It will be smaller then the one pictured, but still roomy. It will be chevron pattern on the outside and plain cream on the inside.}

These are absolutely adorable!

 

These two items will go to ONE lucky winner!!!

{This is open to U.S. Residents Only}

a Rafflecopter giveaway

You will have until July 30th at Midnight to enter this giveaway!!

Thank you so much to JoAnn and Brycie for helping with our bash today!!