Once upon a time, long, long ago, pet rocks were a fad. Kind of inexplicable because pet rocks would just sit there. But if you’re into low-maintenance company, they’re perfect because they require little care and whatnot.

So, if you’re going to get a pet rock, at least get one that’s cool:

You’ll find these lovely rocks — real Montana river rocks, no less! — at Samaria Project.

These rocks come in all kinds of shapes and sizes and are handpainted. In addition to the birds and monsters, there are also some jellyfish.

If you’re still looking for a low-maintenance pet but want something more animal-like, do check out the amazing selection of plush animals in the shop. This one is very delightful:

These baked goodies are really made out of felt and the descriptions suggest they be used as pin cushions. But they might be too yummy-looking and too good-looking to stick a bunch of pins in!

You’ll find these wonderful little creations at Tutto Bello. All the creations in the shop are unique and made from original patterns. Start a veritable bakery on your shelf and make your friends drool!

When you were a kid, did you have some really crazy-colored socks that you used as hand puppets? I mean, that was such a fun activity, making different voices (I personally did a super high-pitched squeal really well … but I couldn’t do male voices really well), thinking of outlandish conversations and trying to remember not to use dirty socks as your puppets. Maybe if you were really lucky, you had other friends who shared in your puppeteering and you could even make a stage out of a box and have more than two actors involved in your story.

Well, now there are finger puppets. Now you could put on a show with 10 fingers! And with these finger puppets, the storylines are endless:

Toilet paper puppets? Brilliant! Especially the pirate toilet paper. Or maybe the ninja is my favorite. Again, the story ideas are limitless!

If you’re into these puppets, you can find them at Stacey Rebecca’s Etsy shop.

Now, toilet paper isn’t the only thing you’ll find in the shop. Oh no. There is an entire selection of food — including this angry pizza — if you wish to have a culinary-themed play. Or you can check out the various creatures from bees to ghost kitties to frogs to unicorns. (Maybe you could have an entire fairy tale puppet show).

Or you could just collect them all and wear them on your fingers to trip your friends out. Whatever you please.

Nothing makes me smile like a few colorful, fat sea creatures:

I’m especially a fan of that blowfish at the top. Such a positively scary-looking thing has been made into cuddly form. And it’s awesome-looking.

You’ll find this plush at Zooguu. Zooguu was originally Sweetestpea on Etsy, and in fact, both stores are still open and sell plush. More stuff is in the Sweetestpea store for the moment, but it’s well worth it to check out both shops. The selection is vast — there’s everything from sea creatures to chicks to monkeys to one-eyed monsters and even this rice ball.

And there’s this cute elephant:

The roly poly style of all the animals is a fun one, and that just means there’s more to squish.

In addition to plush toys in different sizes (from tiny to extra large), you’ll also find ornaments, cozies and a pillow cover.

It never ceases to amaze me what kinds of things people come up with when it comes to knitted goods. I’ve seen foodstuffs, plants, televisions, even a knitted Atari (complete with joysticks and game cartridge) and TV once. But this has to take the cake:

That is the coolest thing ever! So much less squeamish than the real thing. You’ll find it at The Crafty Hedgehog.

(For the record, there are other dissected frogs in the shop … not all of them are on actual dissection tray, though that’s a mighty fine touch.)

And if you’re not feeling the cut-open frog, there are regular frogs too.

You’ll also find knitting patterns for various other animals, and more neat toys like these:

(The bunny is called Blob the Bunny, by the way, which I find positively hilarious.)

When it’s cold and you’re in need of some comfort, there’s nothing better than a stuffed toy. And I don’t care if you’re a kid or you’re an adult. We can all use something to hug, right?

Perhaps you could try one of these:

If you’re craving one of these plushies, you’ll find them at tiddlywinks. Each plushie is totally unique, and custom orders are available. There are plenty of animals and dolls, and a particular favorite of mine is the Awake/Asleep doll, which has a sleepy face on one side and an awake face on the other. What a neat idea!

There’s lots of brightly colored animals and some wearing fun clothes … whatever your fancy, you’ll probably find something that fits the bill.

Awwww, they’re cute, aren’t they?

These fuzzy animals are the work of Marjji on Etsy. They’re all made from a combination of upcycled and new wool. There are many variations on the hedgehog, cat and mouse if you want your animal to have a different pattern than say, houndstooth. All of them are totally adorable.

I saw this on Etsy and immediately started singing in my head, “He’s got the whole world in his hands … ”

This is from Cozy Cottage Creations. Both wet felting and needlefelting techniques were used to make this globe, which is pretty amazing in its detail. The clouds are a nice touch! If you want the world in your hands, you’ll have to wait a little bit, as these Earths are made to order only!

There are other lovely felt goodies around the store, from trinket boxes to bowls to things you can use to decorate your house, and even huggable things. Take a look:

If you ever sit around and debate with your friends over the old adage of “which came first, the chicken or the egg?”, you can get yourself a visual representation to make your case:

It’s actually a knitting pattern for a plush toy that turns inside out, from cracked egg to spiffy chick. How ingenious!

This pattern was dreamed up by Anna Hrachovec of Mochimochi Land. In her shop, you’ll find all kinds of fun plush patterns, many of which involve a) some whimsical character and b) lots of individual moving parts (the more for you to play with, silly)!

Among my favorites: Sleepy Snake and Mischievous Mouse and Sausage Dogs (I have a great love of Dachshunds).

And there are, of course, the stackable cats:

There are just so many fun things to choose from. And each pattern is a mere $5! Knit up some fun toys for yourself. If you don’t know how to knit, Anna occasionally has toys in her store, but that’s very rare, so you’re best served finding a friend to knit the toys for you.

If you really think about it, needlefelting is probably a great way to relieve some stress. You take a tool that holds a bunch of needles and you stab, stab, stab at wool until it bends to your will and makes shapes and whatnot.

(Well, of course, it’s stress-relieving until you poke yourself by accident. Ouch!)

If you still believe that stabbing wool is a stress reliever, then Michelle of Sunfleur must be the most relaxed person on Earth! Check out her felty goods:

You’ll also find some hangable art/one-of-a-kind ACEOs in the shop, like this awesome piece:

There are all kinds of wonderful goodies in the shop. You’ll find beaded jewelry. Some hats. Accessories. Watercolor paintings.

Even the felt items run the gamut, from the aforementioned critters to pins to earrings to magnets.

Michelle is a talented artist indeed, and it’s nice to see her work across different mediums.

So the next time someone tells you that something won’t happen “until pigs fly,” you should give this to said person as an illustration of that tried-and-true adage:

This adorable little guy is the work of Amy at A Beautimus Hodgepodge. Amy is an engineering student, but when she’s not buried in studying that, she is creating little cute things like these:

Amy also does illustrations and even takes commissions! If you want more info about her art, check out her Etsy profile, or visit Tesla Bunny. You can also find some ACEOs in the Etsy shop!

I have an uncle who hunts big game, and he’s got a bunch of animal trophies around his rather enormous house in Idaho. Animal heads kind of freak me out.

But here is a less scary (and positively hysterical) version of the deer on the wall:

It’s just so much cuter and more cuddly, don’t you think?

Said deer is hand sewn from an original pattern by Girl Savage. Yes, there’s nothing like having fun with felt! Especially when it gets sewn into some colorful and unusual animals like pachyderms and jackalopes:

If you’re looking for a great decoration for your desk at home or the office, it’s worth a look. Because you know people would start talking if you had a jackalope on your desk. Especially a yellow one.

Do you ever wish you could take your favorite pet with you in a convenient manner? You know, like stashing him/her in your pocket.

You may never be able to shrink your Great Dane or your 20-pound Maine Coon cat down to pocket size, but you could carry a reasonable facsimile around (or another really cool animal):

Yay for cute animals!

These Pocket Pets are put up for adoption by Eskimimi. It’s a pretty neat thing. You purchase a pet, but you don’t know what animal you’re going to get. Seal, giraffe, monkey, squid … who knows? There are 150 different pets. You get a certificate of adoption, and each pet has a unique name.

And, as an added bonus, every one in six adoptions turns out to be twins! You could be the lucky one!

So if you’re feeling the need for a cuddly animal, this might be the way to go.

According to Wikipedia, “kawaii” pretty much equals cuteness in Japanese culture.

Now, Japanese or not, I’d say these plush animals are pretty cute:

You may find these cuties at LaLa and Co on Etsy.

If you buy a plush toy at LaLa and Co., you’ll also get other goodies, such as a free sticker, a button and wallpaper featuring the character. This is an exclusive to the LaLa Etsy shop, and that’s a nice touch. There are also bags for sale, and those include plush toys too.

If chickens weren’t well, chickens, they could be superheroes. And maybe they’d look like this:

This wonderful character is actually called the Chicken Bandit. And he (or she, you never know) is the creation of Claire over at Absolutely Small.

If you like the Chicken Bandit, you might like this chicken-inspired ACEO as well.

Chicks and chickens populate the world of Absolutely Small, but inspiration comes from other animals too. Even imaginary ones. Like this fuzzy one:

It’s a liger! (Combination of lion and tiger — it’s a Napoleon Dynamite thing.) And it’s got chicken traits too.

You’ll find many whimsical paintings, prints and pompom animals at Absolutely Small, and Claire does personalized pet portraits too. So if you’re an animal lover, it’s a pretty neat place to look.