February Photo Contest! :)

We will be running another photo contest next month!  We absolutely love photo contests - they are so special to us as they give us the chance to see so many of our diapers in action, and to see so many of the adorable kiddos who wear them!

Here are the photo contest details:

The contest will be open for submissions from tomorrow, 2/1, through Sunday 2/26. The winners will be announced on Wednesday, February 29th, at 10pm EST. Please read below for important details on how to win. There will be a first place and a second place winner as follows:

- First place takes home a free custom twinkie tush diaper of their choice (based on availability of desired fabric, and SYOF is an option as well). Shipping of the diaper is also free.

- The second place winner will have their choice of either (A) a regularly priced custom slot with free shipping, or (B) a one time "dibs pass" which will allow them to choose a single diaper to purchase at regular price on any one preview day between 3/1/12 and 9/1/12 without having to attend the stocking.  Choice (B) includes free shipping as well.

- We will also draw a regularly priced custom slot winner at random from all photo contest participants at the close of the contest! :)

Please note that all custom diapers will ship 4-6 weeks after orders are placed.

So here's the process:

Submit a photo of your little one(s) in a twinkie tush diaper or twinkie tush wool. Hair clips and headbands by Hello Charlotte James for twinkie tush, twinkie tush/Hazelbee dress collaborations and/or T shirts by Peanut & Pumpkin for twinkie tush are of course welcome to be part of the photos, however a twinkie tush diaper or twinkie tush woolies must be featured.

Feel free to be as creative as possible - extra consideration will always 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 Hyena Cart, twinkie tush advertisements on HC and elsewhere, and the twinkie tush facebook page.

Submissions will be closed on Sunday 2/26/12 at 11:59pm EST. On Monday 2/27 we will upload all submissions to a photo album on the main twinkie tush facebook page called "February 2012 photo contest!" At that point, the contest really gets exciting!

First place will be awarded to the photo *in the " February 2012 photo contest" album* that we feel best reflects the spirit of twinkie tush and the spirit of the individual diaper(s) pictured. Creativity, photo composition, brand reflection and of course FUN are some of the things that will be considered. :) Mike and I will choose the first place winner, and we will announce the winner at 10pm EST on Wednesday, February 29th.

Second place will go to the photo in the " February 2012 photo contest" album that receives the most "likes".  Please note that "likes" on photos outside of the specified album will not count as votes for that photo. You, and your friends and family, may "like" multiple photos if you choose (you don't have to pick just one). Comments are welcome of course, but will not count towards a photo's "tally". Since it is possible to "like" and then "unlike" something on facebook, we will go with the count as it is at exactly 10pm EST on Wednesday 2/29.

An important note: you cannot win both first and second place ;) While the number of "likes" a photo has will neither ensure a first place win nor preclude it from taking said prize, fan feedback is something that Mike and I may take into consideration to at least some extent in making our decision on a first place winner. In the event that we choose the "highest likes" photo for first place, that photo is no longer eligible to take a second place win. In other words if photo A has the highest number with 200 likes and photo B has 199 likes, and we choose photo A as our first place winner, second place will go to photo B. If we choose photo B, or any other photo in the album, as our first place winner, second place will go to photo A.  Please feel free to ask questions about this if it is at all unclear! :)

Please note that you may enter only ONE photo per household for this contest. Also note that photos must clearly show your twinkie tush diaper(s) and/or twinkie tush wool and must not be offensive in any way (obviously ;). Please send full size or web adjusted images rather than "email" or "thumbnail" sizes.

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. If you do not receive a confirmation email within 48 hours please email again to confirm receipt, in case for some reason your initial email did not come through successfully.

We are looking forward to your submissions! Thanks so much!! :)

Addendum to the wish list info! :)

I neglected to mention in my last blog post (although I will edit it to reflect this now): we are going to ask that only one entry per household is submitted for the twinkie tush wish list.  Again, the list will open for the first time this weekend and further info will be found on facebook! :)

Thanks so much!

Something special for our incredible fans! :)

I've been stewing on this for a while - I want to offer something really special for our fans.  Your support has been amazing over the past year+ and you continue to support and motivate us to create the best diapers we can!  As I've often said, I sometimes have to pinch myself to believe that twinkie tush has grown into the business it is so quickly and that is because of YOU! :)

So I've been pontificating on the idea of a "Golden Ticket" of sorts, and after collaborating with Mike and coming up with something that we think is even more special, I am ready to tell you about it! :)

We are going to open up a "twinkie tush wish list" once every couple of months.  When we open the wish list, you may send an email to wishlist@twinkietush.com with "WISH LIST - (your name)" in the subject.  That part is essential.  In your email you must include the following info, using something similar to the format below:

Full name (again)
Current shipping address
Your wish!  This is where you tell us about your dream twinkie tush diaper!  It can be as specific or unspecific as you like. Please see the examples below for more info.

After we close the wish list (opening and closing times will be announced on facebook and the wish list will always be open for at least 24 hours), we will draw a name at random.  This may happen immediately or a few days or weeks after the wish list is closed, depending on our workload.  We will open that person's email and read about their wish.  If it is something we can do, we will make them their dream twinkie tush diaper!  We will cover all costs, including shipping, and we will not notify the winner that their diaper is on the way.  It will just show up at the winner's door! :)  We will always send a wished for diaper within 3 months of the wish.  Please make sure your submitted address is accurate and usable for up to 3 months after sending your email.  If you have a sudden change of address please email us with "WISH LIST - address change - (your name)" in the subject line.

Bear in mind that the less specific your dream twinkie tush diaper wish is, the more likely we will be to have the necessary supplies on hand! ;)  If you only say "Mutiny with black cv, serged", for example, we would have to draw another winner as we don't have that print on hand at present.  But if you say "Mutiny with black cv would be my ultimate dream twinkie tush diaper but I love anything with skulls!" we could defiintely work with that! :)  Here are some examples of wish list emails:

Name: Henrietta McSquire
Shipping address: 123 Smith Street, Walton, NY 16590
Dream twinkie tush diaper: Mollie with dark purple cv serged!  In addition to that I love all knit girly stripes and am especially fond of purple.

Name: Bilbo Baggins
Shipping address: 456 Smythe Street, Weston, CA 90782
Dream twinkie tush diaper: Any T&T twinkie tush night-night

Name: Sven Svenson
Shipping address: 132 W 144th St. Apt. 3F, New York, NY 10030
We will be moving in March and our new address will be 120 W 146th St. Apt. 1A, New York, NY 10039.
Dream twinkie tush diaper: I like funny prints like Impossible Love and How I Roll.  I like serged.

You may only send ONE entry each time the wish list is opened.  If you enter multiple times you will be disqualified.  If you choose, you may use your entry on another's behalf, as in the example below:

Name: Betty Brown
I am nominating Melissa Shank for the twinkie tush wish list.
Melissa's shipping address: 698 Border Way, Lansing, MI 48901
Melissa's dream twinkie tush diaper: She has wanted Crush for so long now!  She prefers cv and T&T.  If you don't have Crush I know she also loves Daydream, Spring Awakening, Honeysuckle Breeze, and Sweet Potato.

Please note - we will NOT be opening and reading any emails that come in for the wish list until we do the drawing.  Therefore we will not see what you write unless you win.  Please do not include anything in your email that requires a response, or that you need us to see at all. ;)  Please ensure that "WISH LIST - your name" is your email subject.  If an email is submitted for the wish list without that subject line it will be deleted.  (Wish List does not have to be in all caps for your email to be accepted.)

Please do not send wish list emails outside of the open time periods.  Any emails that come in outside of the time the list is open will be deleted.

We ask that only ONE entry per household is submitted each time the wish list opens.

You must be a fan of twinkie tush on facebook by "liking" our page in order to win.  This rule is in place only because, as I said, this is a thank you to our fans, both long time fans and newcomers! :)

You may enter every time the wish list is opened until you win! :)  Once you win you may not win again.

While it is not a requirement of entry, we hope that winners will share pictures of their dream twinkie tush diapers on the main fan page and/or fan discussion page!  We will not announce winners ourselves.

Please let us know if you have any questions about this and please do not send wish list emails yet! :)  We will open the wish list for the first time this weekend!  Stay tuned to facebook for that announcement!

Thank you so much!

January Group Custom info! :)

It's almost time for the January Group Custom slots to be offered. We are planning to post the entry thread on facebook this coming Sunday (1/22) between 1:30 and 2:30pm eastern.  (The thread will then be open for 5 minutes only.)

We ask that for this month you stick to a maximum of 2 groups per household. 

Interested groups will enter using the same process used in September, October, November and December (please see here) with the newer addition of including the number of months your team has entered, including the current month. Your entries should look like these, in which the flying whizbees are entering for the first time in January and the skullies have entered in two previous months as well as in the current month:

The flying whizbees: 1 month. Kate, Megan B., Amanda, Karen, Jessica, Sarah, Melissa, Henrietta, Pamela, Megan Z. 

The skullies: 3 months. Susan, Mike, Allegra, Sarah F., Sarah P., Bess

Also within the alloted time (5 minutes) you will need to send an email to twinkietush@gmail.com. The email subject must read something like “Group Custom Entry: Team Name (eg The flying whizbees)”. Your team name MUST be included in the subject line of the email. All group members must be cc'ed on this email.

The email must contain a link to a google spreadsheet or an attached Excel spreadsheet (please do not C&P in the body of the email) containing the following information for each group member:

1 - Full member name
2 - Member name as it appears in paypal account
3 - Member contact email
4 - Member paypal email
5 - serged or T&T preference.

If *any* of those elements are missing (no team name in subject, any info missing from the spreadsheet, missing team member cc's, etc.) your group will not be eligible to obtain the slot.

Once the entry time has expired, we will review all information and announce the eligible groups for January. We will then hold 2 drawings as follows:

Drawing 1: Every team that has entered for at least 3 months, including January, will be entered in this drawing.

* Each team in this drawing will receive one entry slot for each month they've entered. That means if you've entered for 3 months including the current month, your team is given 3 entries. So for example if there are 5 eligible teams for this drawing and they all have entered for 3 months, with the exception of teams Abby and Darkside who have each entered 4 times, the entry list would look like this:

1 - team Abby
2 - team Abby
3 - team Abby
4 - team Abby
5 - team Boyish stripes
6 - team Boyish stripes
7 - team Boyish stripes
8 - team Cat Lovers
9 - team Cat Lovers
10 - team Cat Lovers
11 - team Darkside
12 - team Darkside
13 - team Darkside
14 - team Darkside
15 - team Elliot
16 - team Elliot
17 - team Elliot

We will use random.org to draw the winning number.


Drawing 2: Every team who successfully submitted their information in full is entered in this drawing, with the winning team again being selected by random.org.

* For this drawing, all teams receive 1 entry slot regardless of the number of months they've entered, giving an equal chance to all who are enter whether they are brand new or have been entering for several months.


Please note that even an attempted entry counts when tallying your group's number of entries. In other words if your group got the email and FB comment in within the alloted time for a given month, it counts even if some info was missing and your group wasn't entered in the drawing(s).

It is also important to review the information below, which covers general Group Custom policies:

* If your group is selected you will then receive a confirmation email in response to the email you sent in. That email will contain a link to your group custom slot, which will be available for purchase at the store. You will have exactly 24 hours to purchase the slot. If a group fails to purchase the slot in time a new drawing will take place using the same list and a second winner will be drawn.

*Anyone from the group can email me, as long as they are willing and able to serve as group rep (the person who collects payments from other group members and communicates with me about velour preferences, etc.) The group rep is also responsible for forwarding information from me to the group as needed and assuring that the group is aware of payment deadlines, etc. Please do not email on behalf of your group unless you are willing to take on the group rep responsibility.

*All members of the group must be copied on the initial email so that I can reach individual members if needed.

*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 our end which means you getting your diapers more quickly :) After your slot is paid for I will send an email to the group or group rep with a link to a store listing where you can pay for shipping individually.

*After purchasing the slot, the group will send me (at the group's cost) adequate yardage (usually 3-5 yards) 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. I will work with the group on velour choice (contingent on availability) and snap colors will be chosen by me. 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. Please note that the cost of mailing extra fabric will be added to shipping cost(s) and that will need to be determined before the shipping listings can be set up.

* Group size can range from 5-10 people. Each group member will 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 $33 + shipping per each diaper.

*Please note that starting this month we are opening up the Group Custom entry process to groups that are seeking SYOF twinkie tush night-nights.  Your group will need to provide several yards of velour (6 yards for a group of 10, as an example).  While we are not able to help groups in the search for cotton velour or organic bamboo velour we will require that your velour choice be approved before it is sent in.  We require this to ensure that it is of the highest quality so that we feel comfortable using it to make twinkie tush night-nights, and can stand behind the absorbency.  The cost per person for a Group Custom twinkie tush night-night will be $36 plus shipping.

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

Please let us know if you have any questions about this, and thanks so much! :)