stocking in just over 3 hours!! :)

today is the official beginning of weekly stockings!  we will be stocking diapers at 2pm eastern and woolies at 2:15!  hope to see you there! :)

going forward we will stock diapers every wednesday and woolies on the last wednesday of each month.

here are a few of my faves this stocking...

the final AI custom slot contest begins tonight!

you all have made this AI season so much fun for me!! :)  i'm sad it's coming to an end!

for this final contest i will post a thread on my FB page like i've done every week, and if you want to play you can comment there - this time with your vote for who will *WIN* the show!

i will leave the comment thread open until 8pm eastern tomorrow (an extra hour this time ;)  after the results show we will do two drawings:

drawing one: everyone who guessed the correct winner will be entered in a random.org drawing for a regularly priced custom slot, per usual.  the winner will be announced and will have 24 hours to contact me via email at twinkietush@gmail.com to purchase the custom slot.  custom prices and print availability can be found here.

drawing two:  this drawing will take place immediately after the drawing one winner is announced.  again, everyone who guessed correctly will be run through a random.org drawing.  however to win this second drawing you also must have participated in at least one previous AI custom slot contest (we will cross-reference with our lists from previous weeks).  the winner of this second drawing will receive a FREE custom diaper, with free shipping!

happy voting and thanks so much for making this so much fun! :)

xo
gretchen

BIG news tonight! :)

first, i just want to say thank you to all of you amazing mamas and daddies and everyone else who gives such tremendous support to twinkie tush.  to say i am humbled by your support is a huge understatement - you and your children mean so much to me and i love having the opportunity to do what i do every day.  never in my wildest dreams did i expect to have such a huge response in such a short period of time.  in that vain, and because meeting your expectations is so very important to me, i have some really exciting news to share with you tonight!

we're making a big change... starting in 10 days, we're going to begin stocking the store every week!! :)  we'll be stocking every wednesday, beginning with wednesday may 25th.  specific stocking times will alternate for now but will likely eventually settle into a fixed slot.  i will keep you updated on that as things develop.

we are able to make this change in large part because we have hired a wonderful mama to work as our fabric cutter!  her name is sara w (not to be confused with sara d of peanut & pumpkin who makes T shirts to coordinate with my diapers ;)  she is a sweet and talented mama who is already bringing SO much to twinkie tush and we are beyond thrilled to have her on board!!  with her cutting all of the velour and fleece, along with some prints, i am able to add a lot of diapers to my workload.  i am still doing all of the sewing myself and will let you know if that ever changes.  mike is still handling the lion's share of the budgeting, inventories, and corporate organizational aspects of the business (in other words he is the left brain of twinkie tush and i am the right ;)  he also helps me with pinning fabric, cutting elastic, and a hodge podge of other miscellany including managing the shipping process.  it is a family business in every sense.  (M&D aren't pulling their weight *too* much yet but they are always happy to work as testers and they sometimes weigh in on new prints... they are both especially fond of anything having to do with elephants, monkeys or dogs.)

some other news that i mentioned the other day - beginning tonight (following tonight's stocking) you will see a slight price increase on twinkie tush diapers.  this is due almost entirely to the rising cost of bamboo and cotton fabrics.  our costs per diaper have gone up significantly in the past month.  that, coupled with bringing on sara w and the increased workload of weekly stockings, necessitates an increase in our prices.

going forward, turned and topstitched diapers will be priced at $32 for knit prints and $33 for woven prints.  serged diapers will be $30.  imported prints will see a similar increase based on the cost of each individual print (ranging from $35-$40).

twinkie tush wool will not see an increase at this point, and wool will stock once a month on the last wednesday of the month.  which means wool will stock again on wednesday may 25th! :)

as always, please let me know if you have any questions about any of this.  i can be reached at twinkietush@gmail.com.  again, there truly are no words for how much my family and i appreciate your support.  you are amazing.

xo
gretchen

stocking today at 8pm eastern! :)

31 ready to ship diapers are stocking tonight at 8pm!  hope to see you there!

here's a look at some of my faves...

i've also had some really special fabric printed up and will be stocking 3 "signature" diapers tonight!

this is the twinkie tush logo, printed on organic cotton knit.  this fabric is sooo soft and sweet - i'm really excited about it!!  i only have enough fabric for a few of these so they will likely only stock twice.

while we're talking about the logo, i want to give a shout out to patience of pfw design who did an amazing job on my logo - she is incredible to work with and i have tons of love for her!!

that's it for now!  make sure to check back here tonight after the stocking for some pretty big updates!  i'll discuss the pricing increase i mentioned, and i have a big announcement to make as well! :)

thanks so much!
gretchen

heads up - a small price increase is on the way.

i just wanted to give you a heads up that as a result of significant increases in the costs of bamboo and cotton fabric, as well as a few other pressing factors, we will have to raise our prices a little.  this is something we've been working hard to avoid but after careful evaluation we have realized we just can't absorb all of the new and higher costs we are facing and stay afloat as a business.  this increase will take place after the 5/15 stocking and i will write out a detailed explanation in conjunction with the increase.  for now i am just letting you know that it is on the way and we will keep it as minor as possible.  it has been and continues to be my commitment to be completely open with you all as far as pricing goes.

thanks so much. xo
gretchen

photo contest adendum

a note about the photo contest (details here) - you may also enter photos of your little one in twinkie tush woolies!! :)  i forgot to mention that in my initial post!

i think it's time...

for another group custom!! :)

is there a fabric you'd really love to have a twinkie tush diaper made out of? today i am opening a custom slot for one group of 5-10 mamas who want to coordinate with each other and do a SYOF (send your own fabric) custom order.

the group will send me (at the group's cost) 3-5 yards (depending on the group size) of the chosen print fabric and all diapers will be cut from that yardage. all other materials will of course be provided by me :) all velour and snaps will be uniform, as decided by the group (and based on availability). extra print fabric will be shipped back to a group member or members or donated for use by twinkie tush as decided by the group.

each group member can choose between a serged or turned and topstitched diaper. i do not recommend serging with woven fabrics.  the price for this SYOF order will be $26 + shipping per each serged diaper and $28 + shipping per each T&T diaper.

i will accept the first group order that is emailed to me by your designated group rep with all group members cc'ed, containing the following information for each group member:

name, email, serged or T&T

i will then create a private custom listing on hyena cart which will need to be purchased by the group rep within 24 hours, after which i will offer the spot to the next group in line. once the spot is purchased it is reserved and you can send your fabric to me as quickly or slowly as you like ;) the listing will include the cost of the diapers but not the cost of shipping to each individual group member.

after the group rep pays for the group listing, each individual group member will need to pay individually for their shipping cost.  this is not something that needs to be done to reserve your spot but it will need to be done in order for me to ship you your diapers ;)  this system is just to facilitate an easier and smoother shipping process on my end which means you getting your diapers more quickly :)

all diapers will ship out to the group members 4-6 weeks after i receive the fabric (pending shipping payments of course).

please let me know if you have any questions.  i will try to offer a group custom once a month if possible so if you aren't the first group to respond this time, keep an eye out in june!! :)  thanks so much!

time for another photo contest!! :)

this month we will be running our second photo contest! i am SO excited to see what you mamas send in!! there is nothing better than seeing your adorable little ones in twinkie tush diapers!

here are the details...

the contest will be open for submissions from today through 5/28/11. the winners will be announced on friday june 1st! please read below for important details on how to win! there will be a first place and second place winner as follows:

- first place takes home a free custom twinkie tush diaper of their choice (based on availability of desired fabric). shipping is free as well.

- second place is offered a regularly priced custom slot with free shipping :) if the second place winner declines the custom slot another second place winner will be selected.

both of these custom diapers will ship 4-6 weeks after orders are placed.

so here's the process:

submit a photo or photos of your little one(s) in a twinkie tush diaper or twinkie tush wool. feel free to be as creative as possible - extra consideration will be given for creativity! (try to play off the "theme" of your diaper or woolies - you can use accessories and props to really amp it up - a guitar, an alien toy, a bouquet of flowers....) a simple approach is fine as well - creativity is just one of the things that will be considered.

photos can be sent to twinkietush@gmail.com. please type PHOTO CONTEST in the subject field.  by submitting a photo you are giving twinkie tush permission to use your photo to promote twinkie tush diapers and/or twinkie tush wool on this blog, the twinkie tush shop on HC, and the twinkie tush facebook page.

after emailing your photo to twinkietush@gmail.com you may also upload your photo to my facebook page if you choose. that is totally up to you and is *not* required to be entered in the contest. however, emailing your photo to twinkietush@gmail.com *is* required to be entered.

submissions will be closed on 5/28/11 at 11:59pm EST. on sunday 5/29 i will upload all submissions to a photo album on my facebook page called "may 2011 photo contest!" at that point, the contest really gets exciting!

first place will be given to the photo *in the "may 2011 photo contest" album* that gets the most independent comments. (if someone comments on a photo multiple times, only their first comment will be counted. they can, however, comment on more than one photo.) please note that comments on photos outside of the specified album will not count as votes for that photo.

second place will be awarded by me! :)

please note that you may enter a maximum of 2 photos per household. also note that photos must clearly show your twinkie tush diaper and must not be offensive in any way (obviously ;). if there is a problem with your submission you will receive an email response with suggestions on how to resubmit if applicable. if your submission is accepted you will receive a confirmation email within 48 hours.

so get out those cameras!! i can't wait to see your pics!!

xo
gretchen