Let’s Celebrate – A Giveaway!

As many of you know, we opened January 1st, meaning we are in our 7th month of business.  July is always a fun month so in honor of this we are going to do a fun mixture giveaway:

If we reach 600 fans on facebook and 300 orders before July 31st at midnight then we will giveaway a wetbag filled with goodies, valued at $50.00, to one of our Facebook Fans!  If we only make one or the other, than we will still giveaway a $10 gift card to the store.

Additionally, we are going to copy Rockin Green a little bit and add a couple random order extras during this time.  Each order is listed below with the extras that will be included:

Order 286-CJ's Natural Diaper Cream
Order 287-10 extra rewards points
Order 291-Monkeysnuggles Wipes
Order 294-10 extra rewards points
Order 298-Rockin Green Pail Sprinkle
Order 300-100 Extra Rewards points
Orders 301+ through July 31st midnight CST will receive 10 extra rewards points

Oh and I forgot the best part, check out I heart Fluff's facebook page for some great giveaways between now and the end of the month, including a $20 gc from Top to Bottom Baby Boutique.

And...finally....if it can't get better...we are going to be randomly posting some "sales" on our facebook page during the rest of the month for discounts on products that you love.

So tweet it, facebook, it whatever it! We’re lucky to have some great fans, and we can’t wait to show you all how much we value you!!

Twitter say what? Explaining Twitter

Some of you have no idea what the buzz is surrounding twitter. Some of you have twitter accounts, and have NO idea the potential they hold. Others are twitter pros, and probably will not even read this post. Either way I’m here to explain the benefits of twitter to you, your blog, and to your friendships.

Twitter is a social media website that lets you write out and read messages of up to 140 characters, including all punctuation and spaces. These messages are public (unless you change it to private) and you decide what sort of messages you want to receive. You can send and receive messages, or tweets, equally from your desktop or mobile phone.

So how do I get started?

• Head on over to www.twitter.com where you’ll find a box like this:
  
• Go ahead and click on Sign Up
• You’ll be asked to put in your name, and some info about yourself as well as choose a Username (aka twitter name). Make it something fun, something that people will know you by. If you have a blog/website this is a great place to use that name as well. This way people will associate your twitter name with your blog/website.

That was simple, now wasn’t it? Now that you have a twitter account what do you do with it. First you need to decide what you want to do with it.

Do you want to promote your blog/website? Go ahead, put it out there. A sample tweet might read “ Top to Bottom Baby Boutique is a great source for all your #clothdiapers needs.  www.ttbbb.com ". You’ll want to find # (hashtags) that others are searching to help promote your tweet.

All I want to do is enter giveaways. You may read blogs and only want to use your twitter account to enter giveaways. That’s fine! Sample tweets are usually included in the giveaway post that you’re entering.

I want to learn more about something….and make a few friends along the way. You’re going to want to learn more about #(hashtags). Hashtags are a way of “searching” twitter. You can search for many things. (these are also used in twitter parties to stay on topic) You can pretty much hashtag anything, and find something on it. Some of my favorites include : #clothdiapers #bfcafe (breastfeeding chat) #bfing #babywearing

Now you’re thinking, okay I get how to tweet, but I’m never going to use it, because let’s face it using it on the web isn’t the easiest thing in the world. I have a program that will make your twitter life easier!

Tweet Deck is an application that you download to your desktop, ipad, ipod, or mac. With Tweet Deck anyone can tweet like a Pro. Customize your Twitter experience effortlessly with columns, groups, searches and automatic updates.

Once you get Tweet Deck downloaded you’re going to want to customize it for your needs. It’s pretty simple once you play with it. You can add things like @replies (which is whenever someone wants to talk to you), # searches, and DM’s (direct messages only you and the person who sent them can see). Really this program is pretty easy to use, but if you’re having problems with it feel free to email me (toptobottombaby@cox.net) with any questions you might have.

You now will probably start to make friends on Twitter, you’ll probably want to follow them as well, so you know when they’re on!

And be sure to follow us @toptobottombaby , Jess - @mamajdubs , and Amanda - @amongthemess 

Twitter is a great way to get your name out there in the world. It’s as good of a social media tool as Facebook if you just use it to your advantage. It’s also a great way to make friends. Usually there is someone out there willing to talk with you. I don’t know how many friends I have only known/met through twitter.

Now that you have a better idea of what’s going on on twitter, why not check out our post on Twitter Parties, and how to attend them!

Twitter Parties

There are a few of you asking exactly what a Twitter Party is, and how you go about participating. After some looking around at the best way to explain it, I came across this post done by Eco Chic Parties, a website dedicated to all sorts of eco friendly Twitter parties.  It’s a great blog post, and so I thought I’d share the main points that I felt helpful here!

"reprinted with permission of 'eco chic parties"

Tips for Following a Twitter Party:

1.  If you don’t already have a Twitter account you will need to set up an account.  Visit www.Twitter.com and select Sign Up Now to create your very own account.  You will need to select a Username, this can be your real name or a nickname of sorts.  For instance my Twitter Username (or handle) is EcoChicParties.  (Ours is ToptoBottomBaby )  Follow the directions on the screen and then select Create My Account.  You are good to go!  Of course if you want to get really creative you can customize your account with a picture and a background. 

2.  If you want to join a Twitter party you will want to be sure to follow all of the party hosts and sponsors.  There are several ways you can find the party hosts and sponsors on Twitter.  If you are joining an Eco Chic party I have links on the party page that will take you directly to the hosts and sponsors.  Another way is to search for them under Find People on Twitter.  Once you have logged into your account select Find People and then enter @EcoChicParties (or their Username).  The @ sign will help you find a specific person if you know their Twitter Username.  You can also search for them by name or email address.  Once you find the person you want to follow you select Follow (it’s the person icon with a plus sign).  Be sure to follow all of the party hosts and sponsors so you can see their tweets (or messages).  You can follow people before the party begins to be sure you receive any party updates and to receive notifications of upcoming events.

3.  Most parties will encourage you to pre-register for the event.  For Eco Chic Parties Twitter parties there will almost always be extra prizes or incentives for pre-registering.  

4.  When it’s time for the party you can follow the tweets using some external sites.  Sites such as www.TweetGrid.com and www.TweetDeck.com will make it easier to follow the chatterings of the event.  My personal favorite is TweetGrid; I prefer TweetDeck if I’m following on my iPhone.  For TweetGrid you can create a unique party grid by entering the party #Hashtag, party hosts, and your username.  A #hashtag is specific to the party or event topic.  For instance, if you are joining the Get Real (past party from April 2010) twitter party the #hashtag would be #GetRealDiapers.  After you enter all of the information and select Join Party a tweet grid will appear.  To tweet you enter your username and password at the top (under the message or tweet) and begin tweeting.

5.  A tweet is limited to 140 characters so your messages will need to be brief.  You can follow the number of characters you have in red after the tweet box.

6.  Most Twitter parties ask that you participate in the chat in order to be eligible to win the prizes.  Feel free to join the conversation, meet new people, and learn about the topic being discussed.  Chances are you have valuable questions and/or comments to add to the party chatter.  Don’t just be a lurker, we want you to join in and will try to include everyone in the tweeting.  We will be asking you questions and encouraging you to respond; sometimes it will be a requirement to win a prize.  Speak up, you’re valuable…without you it wouldn’t be a party!

7.  Have an important question you would like to ask the hosts or sponsors?  You can send them a Direct Message (DM) or tweet directly to them.  A direct message is private and only that user can see your message.  All other tweets are public (or shared with your followers…depending on how you set up your privacy settings) so if you include @Username or #Hashtag of the party and party hosts your tweet will be heard.

8.  Reply!  When a party host asks a question you can reply directly to that host by selecting reply next to their message.

9.  Retweet!  Did someone say something that was valuable?  You can retweet (RT) their message so that all of your followers can see the information.  This is a great way to get your friends to join in the party with you.

10.  Have fun!  Your first party might be a little overwhelming but I promise it will get easier.  Some parties move very quickly and you might miss something.  Speak up, and someone will help you along the way.

There you have it. Joining in on Twitter Parties can be fun and exciting. At first you may think this is just too much for me to participate in, but stick with it. The more parties you attend, the easier it will become to join in the fun!

Up and Coming party you might be interested in: 
   (click on the link for more info!)

#Rumparooz #ClothDiapers Party 7/22 – Where there will be 2 new prints released, as well as a revision of their KangaCare - Rump-a-Rooz Website!!! Plus 4 lucky people will win the new prints!

Why I Chose to Use Cloth

*This is a guest post written by Amanda. Check out her blog, Mom of Many, where she writes about her cloth diaper adventures, frugal living, as well as informs you of any contests going on!

                                                                                             

When I had my new baby, Isaac, I automatically turned to disposable diapers since I didn’t know much about cloth and was concerned with the expense of buying enough cloth diapers to last for an entire two days. Using disposables didn’t last long, however. I chose to cloth diaper for three reasons: Convenience, my baby’s comfort, and reducing my impact on the environment.

The biggest reason I chose to switch didn’t come until after I used a Pampers that had been given to me as a gift after I had brought Isaac home from the hospital. The skin on his bum actually started to peel off. I know that sounds graphic, but I just couldn’t believe something that so many parents trust to use safely on their baby was doing this to my sweet 2 week old. Since these were the only diapers I had on hand, and I refused to use them, I looked for instructions to make a cloth diaper. I found some simple folds that would allow me to use a t-shirt as a diaper, and used this method of diapering for quite a while. I experimented with trimming the waistline of t-shirts to make the fit less bulky on my tiny baby, who was only about seven pounds at that time.

The rash that my son got from the disposable diapers I had been using started my nearly month long research into diapers, both disposable and cloth. I learned that the chemicals in disposables can actually cause toxic shock in babies (scary!) and that the chemicals had been known to cause cancer in adults. Absolutely not something that I wanted near my son day after day. The cloth options were confusing at first, but I was diligent in learning as much as I could so that I could make an informed choice for my child.

Discovering cloth is overwhelming. I can now say that the best thing I did was to buy a sampler pack that had prefolds, pockets, covers and fitteds to try. I thought that I hated pockets until I got a soft, squishy Happy Heinys. I instantly fell in love! My son wore prefolds for a month or two while I found the brands and types of diapers that I wanted to use. Prefolds are cheap and can be reused, so if you aren’t sure what type of diaper you want, these are an excellent place to begin. You don’t have to spend much for a couple dozen prefolds and some covers, and you can resell them if you decide you prefer another style more.

I also love in a very rural area. It is over an hour to get to the nearest store that carries baby products, so I would have to commit to buying several boxes of disposables at once if I didn’t want to run out. I want to live my life in a green way, and it was hard to do so when I was throwing out dozens of diapers. We didn’t have a trash service in our area, either, which meant dealing with all of these disposable diapers week after week. It just wasn’t something that was convenient for our family.

The last reason I chose to use cloth, although certainly not the least important, was that I wanted to reduce our garbage as much as possible. We have a family of eight, so I already used cloth napkins, dish towels instead of paper towels, and real glass plates instead of paper plates. The cloth diapering community has opened my eyes to tons of products that are better for the environment and my wallet: Unpaper towels, mama cloth, handmade organic soaps and shampoos, and babywearing, just to name a few of the things I am most enthusiastic about. In the end, my choices all come back to my son. I now make the choice to use cleaner, safer, less harmful products because I know that it is better for him and my family.