Author: Nikki Zeo

The Labubu Craze

The Labubu Craze

Nikki Zeo

It all began in 1972 when the character was created by Kasing Lung. This character, despite what some people believe, is actually a mischievous and happy little girl monster. She was introduced in The Monsters Trilogy and it is a story of her, her boyfriends and other friends. I have yet to see this story and I really want to read it but if you search, it is out of print and very expensive on eBay. If anyone has the story please let me know because I would be very happy to see its contents. There are those who say that Labubu is evil but when you watch a video about it, Kasing Lung tells a story about a harmless little monster.

There’s really nothing evil about her. I think social media just likes to spread things like this to scare people and get views. There are more terrible and sad things on social media nowadays and we should really spread nicer things on the internet. There is no use discouraging people from collecting this little cutie. I have a theory that just because this character is so hard to get, this story just spread like wildfire.

So I got into the game pretty late and I was only able to find them on eBay and sites like that. For some reason it fakes didn’t really come to mind when buying these so I just went on and impulse bought the first one I found. It was a fake and you guys probably saw me post a video about it asking if it was a Labubu or a Lafufu (a name given to fake Labubus). It wasn’t bad and I gave that one to my son. My second and last fake was so demented looking. I filmed that one too. It had hands and feet that turned. The image on her right food was a plastic cutout of a Labubu. Her smile was creepy and her head was crooked. Both the colors of the fakes were a brighter light green. The boxes were all wrong too. There was no QR code on any of the boxes. The tags on the doll didn’t have codes either. Also, the little tag for her keychain was backwards. After I got my first 2 fakes it was easy to spot the fakes. The fake posts are the ones with big capital letters in the descriptions and there are also a lot of asterisks. The wording of the descriptions are off and the company name is something like “blah blah blah auto store” or something similar to that. Why would an auto shop be selling collectibles and there were quite a few of those shady sounding stores too. Also, some of the posts share the same generic pictures. Some even take “real” pictures from other posts where it shows a person holding the Labubu or the box. I’ve seen a couple of different accounts have the same exact picture. Its crazy how many fakes and how crazy this trend has been. It all started when a Korean star, Lisa, from Blackpink used it on her bag. After that, Labubu became sort of a household name. Labubu has a cult following wherever she goes. Labubu even made a guest appearance at the 2024 Thai Festival in Beijing.

I was lucky enough to find a couple trustworthy sellers I buy my Labubus from. They were both selling their extras because they were searching for the secret. The exlusive secret on blind boxes that are rare and hard to find. I haven’t seen it or found it yet. I’ve only been buying confirmed ones to complete my collection. So far I have acquired most of the Have a Seat Labubus (I’m still waiting for Dada in the mail. I placed an order today). I bought one Exciting Macaron. Green Grape because she is in my favorite color. I think that might be it for now because I’ve purchased too many. I haven’t been able to get any of the V3 ones because on launch day, the site crashed and there were too many bots buying up all the Labubus. V3s are also very expensive on eBay and everywhere else. One tip I have is to not purchase them on Amazon. Those are probably fake and you can’t tell if they are authentic because there are no pictures posted except the generic ones from the official Pop Mart. So for now I will be content with the ones I have gotten and will wait for the V3 Labubus to come down in price. Right now they are going for at least $60. It’s not as crazy when you look at other collectibles but they are suppose to be about $25 MSRP. I don’t think a $60 price tag is worth it.

I do want to crochet a Labubu for those who want to get one but can’t find one. I will be filming the tutorial tonight and probably will have the video up for next Fridays weekly tutorial. I also have a few other tutorials I have posted recently if you want to check them out. One for Usahana, Tophat and a Long Bear Bag. Please give them some love…like, comment and subscribe! Thanks for being awesome 🙂 Until next time!

YouTube Crochet Inspirations: Channels to Follow

YouTube Crochet Inspirations: Channels to Follow

Nikki Zeo

Recently I have been watching more and more crochet market vlogs and crochet studio vlogs. But let’s backtrack to the beginning of this year in January. I was asked, along with other small business owners, to apply to sell our items in their cafe shop. I had sold my items there before so I gladly said yes. Several day went by and I had started to make some inventory because I didn’t have anything. I don’t normally sell my items in my Etsy shop so I didn’t have anything made. So I frantically started crocheting bubble tea keychains. I also started going on line for more ideas. I’m not sure how I came across it but I happened upon someone who made something with chunkier yarns. In the past I stayed away from these because they were very expensive. They cost twice or three times as much as Red Heart Super Saver. Many times I would buy Red Heart on sale and it was a great deal.

So I finally caved and ordered several skeins of Premier Parfait Chunky. They were so soft and amazing to crochet with but I went through them very fast. I also tried out Bernat Blanket. Oh and to finish my story about the cafe shop, I was turned down so I had this extra inventory I had to sell. I also bought so much extra yarn. I wanted to make my money back so I decided to make more dolls to recoup my losses. I was planning on doing a market this year, sometime in the Fall or Winter but I already spent so much on yarn that I didn’t have enough to get packaging, a tent, display items and other things I needed to make my booth look nice. Meanwhile I started watching market videos on YouTube. I had seen one crocheter (madewithapril) make crocheted flowers and I thought I would try to attempt it. Crochet flowers were actually the ones I wanted to initially make for the cafe. I bought the wire and everything. So now I’m left with a whole bunch of wire that I have to use. Crocheting flowers is pretty easy but taxing on my hands. I only created a few. I might make more in the future but my 41 year old hands need a rest.

So I continued to grow my inventory and started watching market videos/vlogs. From Instagram, I found madewithapril. Her video style is so down-to-earth that I continued watching her other videos as well. Then I went on to watch many other videos from amazing YouTubers who don’t get quite as many subs and views as they should. Here I want to list the YouTubers I really enjoyed watching. They’re videos are so informative and friendly. They’re cozy vibes really makes them a wonder to watch and listen to.

I want to start with Made With April. She’s already got quite a following and her videos are amazing. I posted all the channels below. Just click on the image to go to their YouTube page.

How to Crochet a Sackboy: Step-by-Step Guide

How to Crochet a Sackboy: Step-by-Step Guide

Nikki Zeo

Key:

Rnd – Round
FO – Finish Off
St – Stitch
Sc – Single Crochet
Inc – Increase meaning 2sc in one stitch
Dec – Decrease meaning crocheting 2 stitches together
BLO – Back Loop Only

Materials:

  1. 1 skein of medium worsted yarn. I used Red Heart Super Saver in Coffee.
  2. 4mm hook. I used the Tulip brand.
  3. Darning needle. I used Clover Chibi.
  4. Scissors. I used two kinds, one for the yarn and a sturdy large one for the zipper.
  5. A zipper of your choice. I got mine off of Amazon.
  6. Black shank buttons.
  7. Thread to help you put yarn through the back of the buttons

Head:

Rnd 1. 6sc in magic circle. (6)
Rnd 2. Inc x 6. (12)
Rnd 3. (1sc. Inc.) x 6. (18)
Rnd 4. (2sc. Inc.) x 6. (24)
Rnd 5. (3sc. Inc.) x 6. (30)
Rnd 6. (4sc. Inc.) x 6. (36)
Rnd 7. (5sc. Inc.) x 6. (42)
Rnd 8. (6sc. Inc.) x 6. (48)
Rnd 9. BLO. 48sc. (48)
Rnd 10-14. 48sc. (48)
Rnd 15. (7sc. Inc.) x 6. (54)
Rnd 16-19. 54sc. (54)
Rnd 20. (2sc. Dec.) x 13. 2sc. (41)
Rnd 21. (1sc. Dec.) x 13. 2sc. (28)
Rnd 22. (1sc. Dec.) x 9. 1sc. (19)
Rnd 23. (1sc. Dec.) x 6. 1sc. (13)
Rnd 24. 12sc. We are skipping the last stitch. (12)
Rnd 25. Chain 1. Inc x 12. (24)
Rnd 26-32. Chain 1. 24sc. (24)
Rnd 33. Chain 1. (7sc. Inc.) x 3. (27)
Rnd. 34-36. Chain 1. 27sc. (27)

At this point sew the zipper on. Make sure that your zipper is the right size. If it’s not the right size, cut it shorter. I used a backstitch to sew it on.

Rnd 37. BLO. Dec x 13. 1sc. (15)
Rnd 38. Dec x 7. 1sc (9)
Rnd 39. Dec x 3. (6)

Finish off here and sew any gap closed. Weave in the ends.

Hands (make 2):

Start with the fingers. There will be 10 fingers in total. The thumb will be 1 row less than the rest of the fingers.

Rnd 1. 4sc in magic circle. (4)
Rnd 2-5. 4sc. (4)

Finish off for the first 3 fingers. Do not finish off for the fourth finger because you will continue to crochet onto the other fingers from here. Please watch the video for more clarity. Take any finger and crochet 2sc. Then take another finger and crochet 2sc. Take the last finger and crochet 4sc. Then continue onto the next finger as you crochet around the hand. Crochet into the next 6sc. You should have a total of 16 stitches. This is Rnd 6. Place a marker here.

Rnd 7. 16sc. (16)
Rnd 8. This is where you connect the thumb. The thumb is the same as the other fingers but with one less row. Continue to crochet onto the thumb with 4sc. You should have a total of 20sc. Do 1sc to completely join the thumb. Add a marker here.
Rnd 9. 20sc.
Rnd 10. 20sc.
Rnd 11. (2sc. Dec.) x 5. (15)
Rnd 12. (3sc. Dec.) x 3. (12)
Rnd 13-19. 12sc. (12)

Stuff the arm. Flatten the arm. See what this looks like in the video. Crochet both layers together. Chain 1. 6sc. FO. Then sew the arm onto the body with a whip stitch at Rnd 24 of the head/body. Position the arm about 3 stitches away from the zipper.

Leg (make 2):

Rnd 1. 8sc in magic circle. (8)
Rnd 2. Inc x 8. (16)
Rnd 3. BLO. 16sc. (16)
Rnd 4-8. 16sc. (16)
Rnd 9. (6sc. Dec.) x 2. (14)
Rnd 10-13. 14sc. (14)

Stuff the leg. Flatten the leg like you did with the arm. Chain 1. 7sc through both layers. FO and sew onto the body. Sew the leg on the BLO row of the body at the bottom. Make sure that the leg lines up with the arm.

For the eyes, please see the video for clearer instructions. Position the middle of the buttons 10-11 stitches apart. Insert them between Rnds 14 and 15 of the head. The total height of your doll is approximately 9.5 inches.

The Perfect Tool

The Perfect Tool

Nikki Zeo

I’m always in search of the perfect crochet hook set. I started with Boye and Susan Bates. Those are the cheapest ones you can buy. They are great when you are young but now that I’m older, my hands get more tired. With my pregnancies I got carpal tunnel and the thinner hooks make it hard to crochet. As a gift from my husband, I searched on Etsy for wooden ones, not for ergonomic hooks but just as a nice set. They were from Russia and really nice. The downside to wooden hooks, however, are that they tend to break. I’m not gentle on my hooks and sometimes my stitches are tighter than usual. My favorite size (F) broke and I had to glue it back together. I don’t use my wooden hooks anymore because I don’t want to break every single one. I just keep it in my crochet bag because they are beautiful hooks and my husband got them for me.

So then I got clay ones from Etsy. You know, the ones that are molded onto Boye or Susan Bates hooks. They are very nice and pretty but they fall apart after so many uses. The adhesive that attaches the different clay pieces come apart. I got a really nice Harry Potter one and the hat on the top came off. They are also fragile so pieces can break off if you aren’t careful. I’m pretty rough with my hooks and with kids, they aren’t the best investment.

I then went on Amazon to get Prym hooks. I didn’t read the description and so I didn’t realize they were plastic. All I saw was “ergonomic.” They also had great reviews and were recommended by other crocheters. Plastic isn’t going to go well with me. I had a plastic darning needle once and broke it. I need all the metal tools. Plastic and wood aren’t going to work.

The next ones I tried were not bad. They were from Boye. They are metal ones and have silicone wrapped around the handle. These were nice and were way better for my hands. They also do not fall apart.

I also tried various ergonomic hooks that were not branded. A few were from Temu. They were alright but when it comes to hooks, brands are important. Recently I went in search of a new set. For Valentine’s Day I searched online for “best crochet hooks.” I found the brand Tulip which I recognized as a brand that sells sewing tools. I always read reviews when it comes to buying anything and they were raving. People were saying that they are the best hooks they’ve used and that they are so smooth. I’m always for smooth hooks because who wants to crochet with a hook that keeps getting stuck. I saw them on Amazon and they arrived pretty quickly.

The set I got is Etimo by Tulip. They are so pretty and they are as smooth as people say. I already made a hat with the size 7 and it was just a dream to crochet with. Comfortable and smooth, just like crocheting is suppose to be. The set also comes with a small ruler, 2 needles and a roll-up case. If you are looking to upgrade your crochet game then these are it. They are available on Amazon. Happy crocheting!

Happy Birthday Little One!

Happy Birthday Little One!

Nikki Zeo

It was my daughter’s 1st birthday on the 8th and I thought I would cry but I didn’t. It was definitely the most sentimental 1st birthday because it’s the last. I heard a song on the radio and I’m going to share it here. It’s called These Are The Days by Cory Asbury.

I cried the first time I heard this song. The line where he says, “Darlin’ before we know it, This old house will be quiet”….that line hit me the hardest. I can already feel it now. When it’s quiet or when they are just sitting there watching their shows I look at them and I just want to freeze that moment. Because we’ll never get these moments back. There will come a day when they won’t want those bedtime stories. There will be those days when they won’t come crying to us when they fall. So when I feel frustrated and tired, I will think about this song and try to cherish every moment. No matter how hard parenting is and how mad we get sometimes, these are days we’ll really want back.