previews are up! stocking tomorrow at 1pm EST and 8pm EST! :)

previews are up at the store - 31 ready-to-ship diapers and 3 custom slots will be stocking tomorrow :)  i am ready to drop (is it weird that i'm basically jet-lagged from daylight savings time?  i got up at 5:30 this morning which felt like 4:30) but i wanted to share a few of my faves:

thanks for checking in!
xo
gretchen

stocking times for tuesday 3/15

this next stocking will take place at 1pm and 8pm EST.  there should be about 30 diapers stocked and i will also stock a few custom slots! :)

a quick word on customs: my plan is to stock a few slots at each stocking and/or in between - i will announce on FB any time a custom slot is available.  i will also open more group customs down the road - details will be here on the blog!

our first photo contest!!

it's time for our first ever twinkie tush photo contest!! :)  the contest will run from today through 3/28/11.  the winners will be announced on friday april 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 custom slot: T&T custom is $30, serged is $28 - 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.  feel free to be as creative as possible - extra consideration will be given for creativity!  (try to play off the "theme" of your diaper - 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 on this blog and on facebook.  in fact facebook will be a big part of this contest! :)

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 3/28/11 at 11:59pm EST.  on tuesday 3/29 i will upload all submissions to a photo album on my facebook page called "march 2011 photo contest!"  at that point, the contest really gets exciting!

first place will be given to the photo *in the "march 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 let's get started mamas!!  get snapping those pics and please let me know if you have any questions!  i can't wait to see what you come up with! :)

xo
gretchen

special custom offering today for a group of 4-5!

as i prepare to officially open customs later this month, i am going to do something fun and different today!

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 4-5 mamas who want to coordinate with each other and do a SYOF (send your own fabric) custom order.

the group would send me (at the group's cost) 2 yards of the chosen print fabric and all diapers would be cut from that yardage.  all other materials would of course be provided by me :)  all velour and snaps would be uniform, as decided by the group (and based on availability).  extra print fabric will be shipped back to a group member or members as decided by the group.

each group member can choose between a serged or turned and topstitched diaper.  the price for this SYOF order will be $26 + shipping per each serged diaper and $28 + shipping per each T&T.

since i am working towards opening customs this month and simultaneously working to stock the store on the 15th and 30th, i can only accept one group order.  i will accept the first group order that is emailed to me by your designated group rep with all group members cc'ed.  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 ;)  all diapers will ship out to the group members 4-6 weeks after i receive the fabric.

i will keep this offer in place through the weekend.  please let me know if you have any questions!  thanks so much!

xo
gretchen

update: the group custom slot is sold - can't wait to make these dipes for you mamas!

fabric previews for the 3/15 stocking

are on FB! :)  some awesome stuff coming!

also - i wanted to show you an off-the-bum comparison of a brand new twinkie tush T&T next to one that has been washed several times.  i'll add this pic to my post about this below as well.  this is the shrinkage i planned for when developing my new pattern :)

xo
gretchen

one stocking down, one to go! :)

we have a split stocking today! :)  the 10am EST stocking was gone in a flash but there are 15 more diapers coming at 8pm EST!  i can't tell you how much i appreciate your support - it is amazing!  i just wish i could make enough diapers so that no one was left disappointed.

i am going to work on a way to amp up production over the next few months.  stick with me mamas (and daddies!)  we'll figure out a way to make sure that if you want a twinkie tush diaper you can get one! :)

and meanwhile, thank you again - i am truly humbled by your incredible support.

xoxo
gretchen

previews are up on FB :)

check out my FB page for previews of all of tomorrow's diapers!

here are some of my faves....

and of course my very favorite! :)

i'm off to post previews at the store!  thanks so much for checking in!

a quick note about the 4 remaining je t'aimes

i have 4 je t'aimes in progress that will be ready on 2/28.  these will be my very last 4 as the fabric is no longer available.  due to the high demand for these i will be stocking one at each stocking on the 28th (10am EST and 8pm EST) and after the second stocking i will collect a list of anyone who wants to purchase a je t'aime and wasn't able to do so at the stockings.  (check facebook for more info on that after the stockings).  i will use random.org to select two people from that list and those two people will be able to purchase the remaining 2 diapers.  i feel that is the most fair way to do this since some people have higher speed internet, some people won't be able to be at the stockings, etc.

make sure to check FB for pics of the other 28 diapers in progress for the 2/28 stocking as well!! :)

exciting news!! and a contest tonight! :)

i have decided that in march i'm going to be opening customs!  i'll have a ton more info on that as the time approaches, but i wanted to prequel the official opening of customs with a little contest tonight on facebook!

the way i'll be stocking customs will be different than the regular stockings have been.  i'm planning to stagger and offer a couple slots a day to give more people an opportunity to purchase them.  i have received a lot of emails about customs and i know there is a lot of interest, which means so much to me!  i wish i could take on every order but i will likely only be accepting 15-20 customs a month to start, in order to have time to keep up with regular stockings. :)

tonight's contest winners will have the opportunity to purchase a custom slot for either a T&T or a serged diaper.  pricing will be exactly the same as it is for the regular stockings.  so if you missed a diaper you wanted today, you could win the chance to order it tonight :)  i should be able accommodate a custom order for any of the diapers listed today *except* for knock out or grapefruits.  i may also be able to accommodate an order for other previously sold diapers - if you win the opportunity to purchase the custom slot just tell me what print you'd like and we'll make sure i have the fabric in stock! :)  (edited to add that je t'aime isn't available for customs since i only have enough fabric for a couple more of those and i will be doing special stockings for them due to the high demand.)

so - here are the details: tonight at 8pm EST i will post 3 twinkie tush "trivia" questions on my facebook page (one question at a time).  all answers can be found on this blog.  the first person to answer each question correctly will win!  (you can only win one slot though, even if you're first on all questions.)  winners can then email me at twinkietush@gmail.com and we'll get the orders placed!  these customs will ship in 3-5 weeks! :)

please let me know if you have any questions!  thanks so much!

xo
gretchen

thank you so much for another amazing stocking day!

i appreciate your support so much - there really are no words.  just thank you :)

previews are up! stocking tomorrow 12pm EST :)

after a super busy day, previews are up at the store!  this is our first big T&T stocking!!  there are 24 T&Ts and only 5 serged this time around.  remember that the T&T pattern is larger - higher rise and a little bigger all around.  we are loving it over here - M&D wear their twinkie tush T&Ts every day now and we are loving the roomier fit - especially on D who is a bit more of a chunk than her brother ;)

here are some of my favorites from tomorrow's stocking:

thanks so much for your support!! :)
xo
gretchen

sneak peek at what's coming on 2/15!

here's a look at some of the dipes in progress! :)

big news from twinkie tush!

i've decided to roll out turned and topstitched (T&T) diapers earlier than i planned! :)  they're coming in 5 days, at the 2/15 stocking!!  you'll notice a few differences between twinkie tush T&Ts and twinkie tush serged diapers.  aside from the obvious difference in edging (i'll get into a full explanation of what turned and topstitched means in a moment), you'll see a higher rise in my T&Ts as well as a roomier overall cut.  here's a pic of a serged dipe next to a T&T on my daughter to show you some of what i'm talking about:

serged

T&T

and here's a pic of the diapers themselves to show you the size difference:

the 2/15 stocking will include a few serged diapers but the majority will be T&T!  i'm really excited about them!!

now to explain the difference between serged and T&T:  when making a serged diaper, i go around the edges of the diaper with a serger.  sergers are awesome machines.  they use multiple needles and multiple spools of thread to create the edging you see on serged diapers (or serged wipes or bibs or anything else!)  for my serged diapers i use 4 spools of thread and two needles.  the machine trims the fabric as it sews, leaving me with this look:

with my T&T diapers, i follow a similar process except that i serge the diaper inside out, leaving an opening so that i can turn it right side out.  after turning it, i go around the edges with a straight stitch on a sewing machine (this is the topstitching), leaving an edge that looks like this:

so why is one better than the other?  that comes down to personal preference as well as function.  some babies do better with a T&T edging, as the serged edge can irritate skin on some more sensitive little ones.  some people prefer the look of one over the other (the cleaner finish of a T&T vs the more decorative look of serging).  some people prefer the trimness of serged while others prefer the more fluffy T&T.  serged diapers tend to stretch more for a different fit than you might get with a T&T.  but for that reason T&Ts are often cut larger.  T&Ts can be less trim because of the extra fabic in the seam.

i hope this has helped explain some of the differences!  please let me know if you have any questions about twinkie tush T&Ts or about T&Ts in general :)

stocking in an hour :)

previews are up in the store and stocking is at 8pm EST!  here are a couple pics of some of my favorites this round!

chance of rain

je t'aime

knock out

sky high

sweet dreams of blue

sweet dreams of pink

thanks for taking a look!

xo
gretchen

quick post about the schedule for this stocking and next

today i'll be finishing up the diapers for sunday's stocking and packing for our trip - we fly out first thing tomorrow morning!  i'll be bringing my laptop with me and i'll get everything posted in the store for preview by saturday evening.  then sunday is stocking day - 8pm EST this time :)  once we fly back the following weekend mike and i will get all orders packed and ready to ship first thing monday 2/7! :)

this stocking will be fairly large (31 diapers) but the following stocking on 2/15 is likely to be fairly small since i'll have a lot less time to work, with being away.

meanwhile poor mike is digging out of the 2 feet (totally an estimation, i don't know exactly how much is out there) of snow we got overnight.  this has been such a crazy winter and it's barely begun!  i was up til 2 last night pressing snaps so it's nice for the moment to sit with a cup of coffee while the twinkies sleep in a bit (thank you M&D!)

i'll update again when previews are up! :)
xo
gretchen

sneak peek at what's coming on 1/30!

here are some pics of the diapers in progress for the end of the month! :)  stocking will be a week from today - sunday 1/30 at 8pm EST.

panda ball w/black velour, picnic, earthy owls, wisconsin farm life

indy 500, the food fight, knock out w/yellow obv, indigo owls

je t'aime, chance of rain

sweet dreams of blue, sweet dreams of pink, arr matey, arr lassey, be mine, grapefruits, sky high

xo
gretchen

more about twinkie tush - how i price my diapers, materials i use, etc.

i want to fill our followers in on a bit more about our company and our diapers!  this will be one of many posts in this realm :)

a word about materials: i use the best fabrics available to make twinkie tush diapers - it's part of what makes them a truly luxurious thing for a baby to wear :)  3 types of fabric go into each diaper.  there is the inner lining which is either organic bamboo velour or cotton velour depending on the diaper.  then there is organic bamboo fleece in between the inner velour and the outer print fabric.  and finally the face of the diaper - the print!  i mostly use jersey knit or interlock prints - they allow for a nice stretch and room to grow whereas a woven fabric will be less stretchy.  i do plan to offer some woven fabrics in the future as well, to allow for greater variety :)

about the velours: organic bamboo velour is just about the softest, silkiest fabric you can imagine when it's new and unwashed.  it is like heaven :)  the term organic bamboo velour or obv refers to industry standard obv which is made up of 70% bamboo, 28% organic cotton, and 2% polyester.

cotton velour is *almost* as heavenly soft when it's new but not quite as silky as obv.  cotton velour is made up of 80% cotton and 20% poly blend.  cotton velour or cv tends to stay softer longer than obv, which is part of why some people prefer cv.  it is all a matter of taste!

about the fleece: organic bamboo fleece or obf is made up of 70% bamboo and 30% organic cotton.  it is an extremely absorbent fabric which is why you will find the many layers of obf in a twinkie tush diaper lead to extremely high levels of absorbency all around! :)

the other materials that go into a twinkie tush diaper are polyacetal resin snaps and thread, as well as my labels.  all snaps and fabric are certified lead free and i use US based co-ops, suppliers and vendors, even for my labels! :)

the reason high-absorbency fitteds have a relatively high price point is because of all of the materials that go into them.  the cost of the velours and fleece is substantial, and unfortunately it's on the rise.  bamboo and cotton are both going up in price this year and you may see that reflected in my prices, along with the prices of other brands of fitted cloth diapers.  why is it worth paying more for diapers made with these high end materials?  because there is nothing gentler and more natural to put next to your baby's skin.  there is nothing softer, more breathable or more luxurious.  i can't say enough about these fabrics :)

the pricing policy at twinkie tush is based on the cost of materials and the time and labor that go into making each diaper by hand as a work at home mom (WAHM).  one thing we won't do is to raise prices for the sole purpose of increasing our profit margin.  if prices do rise you can feel confident that it is a direct result of greater material cost and/or more intense labor.  for example, when i roll out our turned and topstitched (T&T) dipes next month (yay!) they will have a slightly higher price point than our serged diapers due to the increased materials and labor that go into that style.

my own cloth diapering journey began as a stay at home mom (SAHM) on a fixed budget, and a fair price point is something that is extremely important to me.  now, as a WAHM, it is my mission to provide high quality luxury diapers at a fair price so that as many people as possible can enjoy them.

so that's a little bit about our materials and pricing policy!  please let me know if you have any questions about anything i post here!  and thank you as always for your support of twinkie tush!! :)

important information about the 1/30 stocking

the next stocking will be sunday 1/30 at 8pm EST.  previews will be up by saturday night, the 29th.  i'll be doing a lot of restocks, and i'll be keeping your feedback in mind as i decide what to stock.  a lot of you responded on facebook letting me know what you'd like to see restocked and i also welcome feedback here!  i won't be able to do everything that's requested, i hope you understand. :)

we have a family vacation coming up at the end of this month - it's the twinkies' first trip to disney world! :)  what it means for twinkie tush is that every order placed between 1/27 and 2/5 (so including everything purchased at the 1/30 stocking) will be shipped on monday 2/7.  i'll post a couple reminders about that between now and then, and i'll include that info on my shop as well.

ok - time to get back to work! :)  thanks for checking in!
xoxo
gretchen

shipping information for this weekend's orders

as tomorrow is martin luther king day, all orders placed this weekend will be shipped on tuesday morning :)

thank you so much for your incredible support!!

after stocking 26 new diapers yesterday at 11am, all were sold out within ten minutes!  i am so excited that twinkie tush is finding its place in the CDing world so quickly, and so humbled by the outpouring of love from you amazing CDing mamas!

thank you so much!! :)

now on to the next stocking... sunday 1/30! :)

previews are up :)

here's a link :)   everything goes live tomorrow at 11am EST.  thanks so much for your support!

and here are a couple of my faves....

be mine

indy 500

panda ball

the food fight

and finally, quite possibly my favorite diaper of all time... (seriously i almost can't bring myself to sell it ;)...

je t'aime

xoxo

gretchen

want to win a diaper? check out our first giveaway!! :)

hey mamas! :)  take a minute to enter twinkie tush's first giveaway on becomingmamas.com - here's a link to the giveaway post! :)  the winner takes home a twinkie tush OS fitted diaper!  winner can choose from sea stripe or floating flowers.

sea stripe

floating flowers

the giveaway only runs through the end of the month so don't miss it!!

thanks as always for your support of twinkie tush!! :)

xoxo
gretchen

sneak peek at what's coming...

here are some diaper progress pics :)  these will all be done and ready to roll for the 1/15 stocking in 6 days!  lots of prints that sold out quickly at the last stocking, and a few newbies too!  :)

and here's a look at some of the new fabrics for the 1/30 stocking!  i am seriously in love with so many of these :)

that's all for now - time to get back to work!!

xoxo
gretchen

the thoughts of a once-skeptical daddy... for all the currently skeptical daddies out there :)

Written by Mike in late 2010, when twinkie tush was in its earliest stages of development.  He had no idea what the choice to begin cloth diapering would eventually lead to for his family. <3

"I know what you’re all thinking. Cloth Diapers?? Not for my kid. No thanks. Well before you shut the door completely on the idea, you should know that I felt exactly the same way. Possibly even a bit more passionate and politically incorrect about the idea of cloth diapers than you when Gretchen first brought the idea to me more than a year and a half ago now when the twinkies were newborns. All I could see in my head were dirty white washcloths and big pins lying around everywhere. Piles of stinking cloths filling laundry baskets with random stains and droppings leading the way to the basement. Add to that the number of times I would stick myself (or even worse my child) with an oversized safety pin, and I didn’t even want to hear another word on cloth diapers. I mean I was having enough trouble getting them to stay still long enough to affix that handy sticky tab. Introduce potential deadly weapons to the mix?? That’s a negative ghost rider.

At first, my request was granted, at least momentarily - Gretchen agreed to drop the idea of cloth diapers. It seemed my ignorant rant worked and I could return to the world of buying Pampers every week, dealing with blow outs, and stuffing as many soiled diapers as I could into that weird white tower looking thing in the corner of the nursery. The weird white tower looking thing had a smell all to itself, but hey that’s that normal stink normal families deem acceptable, right? No worries there.

Then Gretchen started to do even more research on CDs (that’s cloth diapers for all you dads out there, not compact discs like I once thought). I could hear her saying things like, “Oh wow these are so different than we were thinking” and “That is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen!”. I started to see the signs of another conversation heading my way. I did my best to stifle her excitement, but the more she read the more I knew my tactic of shaming the cloth diaper world would no longer work. I avoided looking at pictures, didn’t listen to mom testimonials, and did all I could to instill a full out moratorium on CD talk – all to no avail. I was shown pictures of (yes, I admit it) very cute patterns. It was brought to my attention that pins weren’t needed. Some had snaps, some had Velcro. Of course they did. 

Finally, I pulled out the big guns. Money. This new world of diapers wasn’t as affordable as the old white cloth with big pins were. And as a new dad of twins, I certainly wasn’t about to spend MORE on diapers just because they were cute and eco friendly. So I laid it out there. “I need to see a cost comparison. Show me dollar for dollar how these will save us more money. And include everything  - don’t forget water consumption for all the washing that will be required.” No further conversations would be had until that analysis was completed. As a new mom of twins, I was fairly certain Gretchen wouldn’t have that to me for at least a month if ever with the level of detail I wanted to see.  2 days later, I received an organized, clearly labeled spreadsheet comparing the costs of CD’s to the cost of “sposies”. And she was right – CD’s would save us a ton of money in the long run. “Ok, I see it saves us money in the long run, but it’s a huge upfront cost to get this going”, I countered with. She was prepared for that as well, informing me that she had discussions with both sets of Grandparents and secured contributions to offset the cost. “They were always buying us disposables so I just asked them for a larger one time gift” – my wife is a genius.

So, there it was – all my arguments and objections had been defeated. In a last attempt to save my foolish male pride, I made 3 demands before I would sign on to this cloth diaper train:

1. When going out for longer than 2 hours (and definitely on vacations), disposables had to be used - Couldn’t fathom the idea of carrying around dirty diapers.

2. I would not have to be responsible for any laundry specific to the diapers – Just seemed like the lazy caveman thing to say.

3. I would never scrape anything off a diaper or deal with large amounts of poop once the baby was cleaned and changed – The thought of scraping poop off a diaper is not for me.

Gretch agreed and we hopped on the train. And I’m ever grateful for her dedication to the CD cause. The babies seem much happier in them, blowouts ceased entirely, and we are saving money while helping the environment.  Shortly after starting CDing we began to use cloth napkins in our house which blows my mind every day. Our home has become greener in so many ways in the past couple years.  And on the extremely rare occasion we do need to use a disposable I’m shocked I ever thought they were better. They really feel like rough, cheap paper in my hands. And I now find it harder to put those on vs. a cloth diaper.

As for my 3 demands, we pretty much use CD’s all the time – traveling or not. There are very smart ways to deal with carrying dirty diapers, wouldn’t ya know? While Gretchen does the majority of the laundry, I do what I can to help out. Just had to learn what the heck an extra rinse cycle was and remember to take out the pail liner before running it.  I still haven’t scraped a poopy diaper, but Gretchen is going on a 3 day road trip in March so I just may have to. Maybe."

waiting on some great fabric - here's a taste (pun intended) of what's to come...

i've got some really fun and cute prints coming, along with some gorgeous girly stuff.

here's a look at a couple of the fun prints i'm most excited for...

i'm not sure that they'll make it for the next stocking - i'll keep you posted.  but on 1/15 i will definitely be restocking a lot of the prints that have sold out in the store :)  dino parade, fishbones, aloha baby... and lots of others!

xo
gretchen

tomorrow is shipping day! :)

all the dipes that have sold in the past 4 days will go out tomorrow morning! :D

and meanwhile i have some absolutely adorable new prints coming, along with working on restocking those that have sold out.

next stocking day is 1/15!

i'll try to get some fabric pics up tonight or tomorrow so you can see what's coming!

xo
gretchen