Thursday, August 25, 2011

Order Statuses..


Wooo! that sale was so crazy.. I don't think I will be doing another one for a little while.. (just kidding perhaps at the end of the year but I will definitely prepare first my making everything or at least half the items ahead of time!)

If you have noticed Hyena cart has not been restocked and Etsy, only has a couple of items.. I have not had time to re-list and also I'm trying to space out orders so I can finish these and work on Halloween as well as next stocking which will again be postponed until Tuesday. Sorry again I did not expect to be so overwhelmed and my priority is always to get your orders out as fast as I possibly can well, next to my mommy duties of course.. :)

Soo... I figured I would out up a quick reference to let you know where your orders stand and an Estimated Time of Arrival for them.  Hopefully you all  noticed the "please allow 7-10 business days for delivery" on the Etsy welcome page during the sale.

The majority of you have received yours, I have been shipping every day so today some of you have mail.. tomorrow, Saturday etc.. will get mail as well..  People with  one cover got theirs shipped the earliest as it is easier to fulfill those orders and I can get the most done that way.

So anyway..  here's the list.


Shipped Yesterday (Wednesday Aug. 24 ETA. Friday Aug. 26 )

Katie D.
April K.
Katherine L.
Crystal M


Shipped Today (Thursday Aug 25 ETA Saturday Aug 27)

Robyn S.
Danika S.
Jayme S.

Ships Friday Aug 26  ETA Monday AUG 29
Kylie B
Bonnie W.
Christine C

Ships Saturday Aug 27th  ETA  Tuesday AUG 30

Vicky M  (ETA Monday Aug 29)
Aubrey C.  (ETA Monday Aug 29)
Dana C.

Ships Monday Aug 29th ETA Wednesday AUG 31.

Jennifer S.
Stacey W.
Rebecca B
Brenda T
Amanda M

Ships Tuesday Aug 30  ETA Thursday Sep 1

Beverly  (Thank you so much for your patience Beverly!!)

And that's what I got so far.... Tuesday will be stocking day and those samples will of course ship the very next day if not the same day.  :)  and after I should be all caught up.

I might take a couple of days off second week of September which will delay orders placed around that time (I will let you know)  because I need to prep the house for a midwife visit yaay! .

Thank you all so much for your support and patience! If you have any questions or concerns email me at rockabyebootyfluff@gmail.com.

Tanya.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

100th sale on Etsy Celebration!



YAAAY! We did it! 100 sales on Etsy!!   Thank you so much for your support!  I want to celebrate by doing a giveaway with my Etsy Customers (don't worry Hyena cart customers you will get a chance soon!) your entries will be each purchase you have made if you bought 3 things in one purchase that's 3 entries.. if you are a return customers those entries count too!  The Prize?

2 covers of your choice from the next stocking!  (August 23rd) Brand new fresh out of the oven.. err.. sewing room lol.. completely free! <3  That's how much I love you guys :D


Also to celebrate I will be having a 24 hour sale! ALL covers on Etsy will be reduced to $10  there will only be 1 of each cover so once it's sold it's gone.. until the sale is over and it goes back up to regular price.  Shipping will be $2.00 and only 0.50 cents  for each additional cover so if you order 4 your shipping will only be 3.50 as opposed to 5.00 .

The Sale will be happening The Friday following the day we reach our 100th sale.. (we need 2 more to go for it to happen this Friday!)  at 5pm PST.

WOO HOO!!!!  So are we all excited or what??? Thank you so much for making this possible! I cannot stress enough how awesome your support and your feedback and your pictures mean to me!  You guys make all of this possible So I am committed to giving back as much as I can <3

Tanya.
rockabyebooty.com

Saturday, August 13, 2011

October.



As some of you know I'm nearing the end of my Pregnancy,  I have about 8 weeks to go  I will be working hard during those 8 weeks but I will be taking a break during the month of October.  I will not be completely closed though  The big change will be that for the month there will be no "made to order" covers available.  I will be stocking  10 new covers that month.   5 at the begining of the month and 5 at the end of the month (I am due somewhere in the middle.).    and I will be opening a couple of "open slots" each week for customs or for anything I usually offer at the store.


Here is the Calendar so far of what will be happening (subject to change)

August . 23rd    *New Sample Stocking
September 13th  *Halloween Stocking
September 27th  *New Sample Stocking
October 3rd   *new Sample Stocking  (5)
November 1st *New Sample Stocking (5)

Friday October 7th - November 1st  Hyena Cart  and Etsy "made to order" will be closed.  "Open Slot" weeks to be determined.

November 1st  Hyena Cart and Etsy "made to order" will open again and I  will be starting  Christmas Stockings yaaay! and  custom orders (think of those cute pictures!) as well. 

 Hopefully this all goes smoothly and allows me time to bond with baby and get used to being a mommy of 3 :)  

Thank you so much for all your continued support!!

Lots of Love!

Tanya @ Rock-a-bye Booty.

Sunday, August 7, 2011

One Woman Shop!


Hi everyone!   Wanted to let you know on the happenings here at  Rock-a-bye Booty central.. A.K.A  my living room  tee hee..

First I wanted to thank you all for the HUGE support and encouragement I have received from you, your orders, pictures, feedback, questions, reviews, suggestions have motivated me and are making this journey super fun.. you all are giving me some work! :)

I think my prices are pretty  low compared to other similar covers when you take into account a lot of them are sized meaning you  have to get small, medium, large.  I also ship very fast with the max wait time for the U.S being 1 week from time or purchase.  All of this takes a lot of work..  (don't worry this isn't a whinny poor me post to the contrary I am blessed to have gotten such awesome response)  But Just wanted to paint a picture out there..

I am a mom of a 5 yr old, a 16 month old and in the third trimester, I also take care of a 4 yr old during the day.  (my daytime kid as I call him)
I have all of my mommy duties plus chores plus the business..
in this business I am the seamstress, the accountant, the marketing agent, the secretary, the mailer, the packager, the designer, the manager, the advertiser, the messenger etc..  all me! lol..

I wake up sewing and I go to bed sewing..

but wait you said this wasn't a poor me post.. what gives?

Yeah no worries I am definitely not complaining.. I just wanted to paint  a picture of why I may sometimes, unexpectedly get a delay, or sometimes I forget to reply to emails.. or sometimes I can't do a custom right away, or sometimes I e-mail you offering to send something extra if you can wait for me to complete and order an extra couple of days. 

So please don't be shy and if I have forgotten about an email.. please feel free to kick by booty and say "hey! what gives! I need an answer woman!" lol... chances are your email somehow slipped through the cracks and I am super sorry...  If you need something super fast contact me before purchasing and I can definitely tell you "YES you can get it in 3 days" or I can tell you .. "you know what at this time it's not possible"

I also will now be making a list of customs and will let you know what order you are in (I have about 6 of them pending 1 of them for a dear friend whose been kindly waiting for about 2 months now lol) .. I can only do so many a week I don't ask for payment in advance on customs but if you have your hearts set on something and you want it super fast, if we set up payment beforehand I will absolutely then do everything rain or shine to get your order to you out that same week.  I love customs I just admit I need to get more organized on them so that I can fulfill your every fluffy dreams! <3

I will be working on hopefully getting an assistant soon to help me be more organized

Thank you all soooo sooo much I wouldn't be here without all of your kind support you make what I do fun!  sure it's overwhelming at times but it's fun nonetheless!

I hope that didn't sound too whinny? I have seem some sellers do the "poor me" card before and I definitely do not want to do that.

P.S  I'll tell you a secret.. sort of.. I am near my 100th sale on Etsy.. and when that happens something awesome will happen..  1 of them involves a giveaway where the entries are each item you have purchased on Etsy. and the other involves the other part of the secret.. but we'll find out soon enough tee hee!  (and Hyena cart friends no worries same will happen when I reach that milestone on hyena cart)

Lots of Love!!
Tanya
rockabyebooty.com

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Blog Review/Giveaways, auctions, donations.


Last Month I came up with an idea to have bloggers/pages enter for a chance to win a a sponsored giveaway  for their page. As a blogger I know what it's like when you are starting out and how helpful giveaways are.   I set a goal of 1400  likes done through "shout outs" and I would pick a winner.

It seemed like  a fairly good idea even our friends at Cloth diaper contests and giveaways mentioned it..  but it didn't get the buzz I expected.. apparently some bloggers just want the giveaways without the work.. or perhaps they just didn't think it was for them

To the people that participated thank you so much and  Since you did here's what I'm going to do..  Our friend over  at Mintee Mama put  in a lot of effort with her entries even tweeting! so I will be contacting her about a review/giveaway after this.

The reason I am cancelling this contest is because it was hindering me from doing more giveaways on my own page, it wasn't fair that I was getting the "likes" all on my own.. so I wasn't getting much in return, the purpose of a review/giveaway is to benefit both parties.

For future requests I will do something else, I will be coming up with a form to be filled out and I will pick a blogger/page  periodically to do these. I feel this is the only fair way to do so, I hate saying no and I want to help other moms at the same time.

Stay Tuned for the Form, if you are interested in hosting a review/giveaway.


Now as far as requests for auctions to benefit those in need, I am not opposed to participating I love helping people just please if you do so, send some information as well, what is the story, how is a donation going to help etc.  A simple could you donate? Wont do.. I understand it is a lot of work to post on a lot of pages but if you're going to ask, ask the right way. You can copy an paste a link to a blog explaining your cause just as easily as you can paste  "could you donate"  I am a simple Work at home mom who puts a lot of though and effort and as much hard work into donations as I do into what I sell so I don't think it's too much to ask.


"X"  # of fan giveaways..  If your market is not that a cloth diaperers or has a good chunk of them.. I will sadly have to decline there is no point in putting effort into these if I get nothing from it. Sorry :( 


Hope you all understand where I'm coming from.  I would rather just do giveaways directly on my page. But like I said I am not opposed to helping or doing outside giveaways now and then :)

Monday, July 11, 2011

Great News and some changes!

I have made a couple of cool changes that I hope you all like.  So here's the scoop:

#1.  I am super excited to be adding labels to the covers, I  designed something cute that wouldn't take away from the covers.  The placement of the label will vary but it will mostly be on the inseam, so you wont be able to see it unless baby sits down and opens legs. I asked a while back on Facebook what you all thought of WAHM labels and most of you like them but  alot of you agree that it shouldn't take away from the diaper/cover.

#2.  I now own the domain  http://www.rockabyebooty.com  If you type that in your browser or click on the link it should be taking you directly to my hyena cart while I'm in the process of building a website which brings me to ..

#3. I revamped my Hyena cart and so now aside from Etsy, you will be able to purchase on Hyena cart, prices and shipping are the same.

#4. Everything I sell on Etsy or Hyena Cart is "made to order"  However on Stocking days when I have free shipping the ones I sell are samples meaning they are the first of their kind and are "ready to ship"  So I made some changes on Stocking days


*On Stocking days all my new samples will go under the "New Samples" folder,  There will be 1 of each and if you can snag one you will of course get it ready to ship and shipping will be FREE! No coupon needed just add to your cart and pay and you're done!  Once a sample sells out it's moved into the regular "covers album"  where it will be listed "made to order" and regular shipping fees apply.  After 3 days whatever Samples are left will be moved to the regular album as well.  If this sounds complicated don't worry I'm just over explaining pretty much how things have worked all  along.. I just happened to make  a new album for them  tee hee!

#5 Every Friday a different cover will go on sale!!  The Sale will last a week or until sold out. (I will have limited amounts anywhere from 4-8 depending on demand)  Perhaps I will make a poll each week asking which ones you would like to see on sale :)



#6. I will unfortunately be cancelling the "Shoutout Contest" to win a sponsored package for your blog. The response wasn't quite what I expected and it has been keeping me from doing more giveaways ran by myself so as to make it worthwhile.  But Don't worry, I will explain in a separate post what I will do to compensate those who participated.  So as of 7/11/11 2:00PM PST Contest is cancelled, all entries after this time will be void and cancelled. I will address how you can request review/giveaways in a post later this week.

#7.  Am I done yet???    yeah I'm done! lol...   Watch out this week for another "my Bad your Win giveaway!"   Weeeeee!!!!! <3


You all rock!!

Tanya.
Rock-a-bye Booty.

Friday, June 17, 2011

The Best is yet to come..


It all started because I was looking for covers for my prefolds and hybrid inserts but I was bored of the same colors and the few options. There were many other cute diapers out there but no covers which is still my preferred method for diapering (cover + prefold in a trifold)  So I decided that with my background in Sewing and Fashion Design (yeah I went to design school got me 30k in the whole might I add ha ha) I could just make my own!  I was planning on doing them for personal use at first, I bought some PUL, some snap pliers and I drafted a pattern.  I quickly realized how much fun I was having with the possibilities.. the fabric combinations the appliques the accessories.. really the sky is the limit!  I never in a million years while going to fashion school did I ever think I would end up getting enjoyment from designing cloth diaper covers.. back then I wasn't even thinking about babies let alone diapers..eek.

I have had my share of online ventures, back in 2006 I used to have a store on EBay called "My Punk Rock Blankie" Which did quite well.. I started getting requests from boutiques to fulfil orders and I got scared, my name was not registered, I knew nothing about taxes It became too overwhelming for me and then it became unfulfilling.. I quit doing it and that was that.   Fast forward to now.. when I decided this was actually fun I made the quick decision to start May 2011 (yeah I haven't even been on for 2 months) and the e-mails I have gotten are so encouraging, and I have been selling!  Just like most Work at home moms I'm not making a lot of money I am breaking even mainly but I am having soo much fun doing this.. I think I have found my passion again.. Something very important for a Stay at home mom.

So where am I getting at..

I'm going to see where this takes me.. I have registered the name, I cannot get rockabyebooty.com as it is taken but I will get some sort of variation of it soon. I am a little more business savvy this time around so I am taking the steps to doing this right.  I am working on a logo, and I will keep improving on those covers, I got a snap press so I can apply stronger snaps and I am trying to figure a way to improve the covers so not only will they be cute but they will be functional!

I'm excited for what's to come! 
I have plans for more variations of covers as well as apparel, and coming really soon?

Boutique diaper covers!  Ever gotten a cute diaper only to have baby pee within 5 minutes?  Then you have to take the diaper off! Not with a cover.. You can change the prefold a couple of times before having to change it completely!

Stay tuned because the best is yet to come!  More cuteness.. more giveaways.. more blogs!
Coming soon.. A Blog on "Diaper Clinic" How to fix common problems on your diapers,  As well as "how to get rid of the stinkies" and  "Stripping 101" <--not that kind of stripping silly! Diaper stripping!


So I hope you are liking what you see so far!  Feel free to send me suggestions, feedback, etc to my email.. rockabyebootyfluff@gmail.com <3

Thank you for all the support and Keep Rocking that fluff!

Tanya E.

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Cloth Wipes and Wipe Spray


I sometimes like to surprise people with some cloth wipes with their order, nothing too big just wipes that can be used for the smaller messes.  I know not everyone who cloth diapers uses them though, some like me have found the convenience in cloth wipes when you cloth diaper and some still think that..


Cloth wipes are scary!!!


Let me assure you they're not so bad.  When I first started cloth diapering, I still used regular wipes but it was kind of gross that I had to set them aside to dispose of them because I could not longer throw them inside the diaper (which technically you're not supposed to) when I used disposables.   I realized if I used cloth wipes I could wipe baby's bottom, and throw the wipe inside the diaper and throw in the pail all together.  I cut up some receiving blankets, hemmed them and used a spray bottle with water.  It worked well, but then I learned how to make my own wipe solution and it became a cool experiment so to speak.

Off I went to google about cloth wipes and solutions and I found a site "Zany Zebra" that has a very nice tutorial on how to make your own wipe solution.  They start off by telling you what commonly goes into a solution:

Common Cloth Wipe Solution Recipe Ingredients:

Most cloth wipe solution recipes contain similar main ingredients, which are used for the same reason in each recipe. These are the common ingredients and why they're included:
  • Oil: Helps the wipe glide across baby's skin and keeps skin soft
  • Soap: Cleanses by removing all traces of urine and feces
  • EO: (Essential Oil) Added for antibacterial and/or aromatherapy purposes.
  • Water: The main ingredient in each recipe, cleanses the diaper area and dilutes the other ingredients
The type and amounts of oil, soap, EO and water that goes into a recipe is what gives each cloth wipe solution its own distinct "personality". Have fun trying different recipes until you find the ones that you like best! More information about essential oils can be found at Bath Heaven, Aroma Web, A World of Aromatherapy and other great sites on the Web.
And then they give you some recipes I highly recommend checking them out! ..

I used a simple one, 

For the Oil  and essential Oil I used "tea tree"  It has antibacterial properties and smells very "clean"
For the Soap I used  my regular Baby soap.
For Water I used Chamomile tea

I put it on in a bottle and I would either spray the wipe before cleaning my baby's bottom or I would spray directly onto baby and then wipe depending on the mess.   Some people prefer the wet method where they place their wipes inside a wipe warmer and pour the solution directly on them.


This method of making my own wipe solution was fun but sometimes I would find myself with no more solution and no energy to make more until I tried "Blissful Booty's wipe water concentrate"  First of that stuff lasts forever!!!! you only put a TEASPOON inside a pray bottle with water and you have yourself a fresh batch of solution.  They also have  pretty spray bottles in all sizes including a convenient and slim one for your diaper bag, and all these yummy scents.. Lavender Vanilla,






So Don't be afraid to make the switch to cloth wipes! you might find soon turning your noses up at those silly thin disposable wipes.

Monday, May 16, 2011

Got a Blog? Want to win a package to giveaway plus something for you?


Lets face it we all want exposure right? Maybe someone, somewhere out there is wondering where she can find some cool covers and will never know about our awesomeness unless the word gets spread!  A good way to do this is to do giveaways right?  not necessarily.

If you are a giveaway page you will most likely get fans because they want to win something and that absolutely works for your case, if you are a blog you want the power of followers as well if your ultimate goal is to monetize quantity is your friend, but for a WAHM with a product a lot of times that is not the case, if you donate for a giveaway out of the followers you get realistically 25% of those followers will be gone as soon as the giveaway is over,  50% will hit the "hide all postsby this page" button and out of the other 25% only  a couple will actually purchase something from you.

So I decided I don't want to just look for a page with the most followers or a blog for that matter, I want it to truly be a help to both parties.

I also appreciate the likers on my page who want to be there because they like my products and they want to hear what I have to offer and what special discounts and insight I can  give to them through my page. I don't want anyone who doesn't want to be there so because of that..

I am not asking for you to refer people.. I just ask for you to share my page with your followers and tag me!  If they want to like me it's awesome but they are not obligated to and unlike other referral contests you don't have to make them!

What this means is that anyone has a fair chance to win whether you have a big giveaway page or a small blog just starting out who would benefit from a giveaway to gain more followers.

So here are the details.

Who can Enter:

Giveaway Pages
Cloth diapering pages
Blogs whose followers might cloth diaper
Business pages that are not related to cloth diapering (nursing necklaces, slings, tutus)
If you have 10 followers or 10, 000 it doesn't matter!  Everyone gets a fair chance and the winner will be drawn at random.

How to Enter,

Post a link on your page to facebook.com/rockabyebooty and tag my page from there @rock-a-bye booty so that I may see it when you do.  Leave a comment  on here with your facebook page when you do and your email So that I may gather all the entries and draw a winner.  You may do this as many times as you want   (post link and tag then come back here and leave your info each time you do it!) and it counts as additional entries Just take in mind your followers, If you post everyday they might get annoyed and you could loose them so every other day, every 3 days once a week.. it's up to you.

How long does this run?

Once I hit 1400 likers who are there voluntarily!  I will draw a winning page.You will then win a set of 2 covers with 10 wipes (my choice) For you to hold your own giveaway on your blog however you wish to run it, And you will also win a cover for yourself this once can be of your choice!  (excluding inserts) and a bib or set of cloth wipes. ($50 value)


Easy enough right?
Just post a link with a tag telling your likers about us..  For Example

"check out @rock-a-bye booty they have cool PUL cloth diaper covers"   Or something like that.. come back here and leave a comment with your page url, your email each time you do so..

and once I hit 1400 likers we'll find a winner!  Thanks! and Good luck!

Any questions please refer them to rockabyebootyfluff@gmail.com

How to use our covers with a prefold.

I love econobum prefolds and they are super easy to use with  the covers I make, if you are not familiar with covers and prefolds it's not as difficult as you may think, You don't necessarily have to wrap the baby in them and pin them with a snappy or pin. Econobum prefolds are too short anyway so you can trifold them here is how..


You need one cute baby, 1 prefold and 1 Rock-a-bye Booty Cover.


Fold Prefold horizontally one side towards the middle then the other.. and place in cover like this



Put on baby like a regular diaper adjust the prefold if it shifts a bit, you can see in picture how it looks.



Finish snapping it and you're all done!!



The Convenient thing about a cover is that if baby only wets the prefold you can just switch the prefold and use another cover no need to find another coordinating diaper if you're using diapers with just a top.



And remember you can also use these with your other hybrid or AI2 diaper inserts as well as fitteds (though on fitteds covers may  be on Med setting for small and large for medium)

Next tutorial how to use with Hybrid inserts (flips and best bottom)

Starting May 23rd I will offer the option to add econobum prefolds to my covers, You can also purchase on their site, they always have free shipping! http://www.cottonbabies.com/product_info.php?cPath=138&products_id=2631 

I hope in the future I can provide my own unique inserts to these covers :)

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Why PUL covers Rock!!

In the world of cloth diapering there are many options, if you're a pro at it you know all of them and if you are new to cloth you might feel overwhelmed.

To make things easy the basic diapers are 

All in ones or AIO's : These diapers are just like disposables only cloth, you put them on, take them off throw them in the wash and they're ready for use again, they are by far the most "user friendly" and you are more likely to get babysitters or daycare to use them for that reason.  Check out Blissful Booty for some awesomely soft AIO's

Pockets:  These are just like the all in ones except that they have inserts you must put in before use or you might have a leaky baby..  the inserts act as the absorbent core.  Before use you must stuff them after you change the baby you can just throw in wash most inserts will fall out of the pocket covers during wash.  These are also very user friendly and the advantages are that you can control how much padding you have in them, got  a heavy wetter? Stuff a little extra in there. Check out Two Hip Peas in a Pod for some very cute and very fashionable Pocket diapers.

All in two's or hybrids: These are Diaper inserts that  either are placed or snapped into PUL covers,  The beauty of these is that if the mess isn't too big you can just switch the Insert or "soaker" and keep using the same cover a couple of times.  

Prefolds/fitteds: Prefolds are big pieces of absorbent cloth that you can either fold and use with PUL covers the same as hybrid soakers  or inside of pocket diapers, or you can wrap around baby (think of the old days with the cloth wrapped around baby and the pins.  Fitteds are pretty much absorbent cloth shaped into a diaper with elastic and closures good for containing messes but they are not moisture proof . They both need a cover to prevent leaking.

There are then Many Many variations of these same diapers as well as other accessories, and element.
For More  detailed information on all the kinds of diapers visit Diaper Jungle


With that said.. WHY DO PUL COVERS ROCK?

Simple! Because you can use them a couple of times before having to wash them as long as they are not soiled!.  All you do is replace the prefold, soaker, fitted and you're good. Making this One of the cheaper methods of cloth diapering on average you can get away with 3-4 covers and 8 soakers/prefolds and be able to diaper comfortably and wash everyday.  6-8 covers 12 soakers/prefolds and wash eevry other day.

When I started cloth diapering I used Flip and Econobum both made by cottonbabies. They have a nice selection of covers but I always wanted more. .. more colors, more prints more style!

So I made Rock-a-bye Booty, PUL covers for your  soakers, prefolds or fitteds.
Don't have any prefolds or soakers? you can use soakers by Flip or gdiapers 
Prefer prefolds? Cottonbabies.com  has Econobum prefolds 3 for 6 dollars! :)  As well as an assortment of Indian prefolds. Free shipping too!

Want more benefits to PUL covers? this summer.. Get some awesome Diaper Covers from Rock-a-bye Booty, Grab some coordinating t-shirts for your little one and you're good to go!! No need for Shorts or pants! Save Money on diapers AND clothes! <3