Etsy Gift Guide Part Two: Toys, Homewares and Crafts

If you’re looking to buy away from the big name chain stores this holiday season, Etsy is a treasure trove of small sellers and handmade goods. Here are some of our favorite stores for crafts, patterns, toys and homewares in 2012! However bear in mind that many Etsy stores sell several different kinds of goods so it’s worth checking any out that might appeal. Part three of our Etsy guide will be up in a few days time featuring even more of our favorite stores.

I can never have too many bags; I use them for grocery shopping, storing things around the house and more. Rubbish Tees make bags, magnets, plushies and more featuring adorable felt appliquéd characters from cute cupcakes to ninja bacon.

Cosplay Scramble make mix and match magnet sets featuring hand drawn characters with separate heads, bodies and accessories. The designs are beautiful and the opportunity for fun limited only by how many sets you can afford. When else could you make your own Rainbow dash with Captain Jack Harkness' head?

I don't crochet but Lucy Ravenscar's Crochet Creatures make me want to learn. The store sells a wide range of highly affordable patterns, even the most die hard anti-Ewok zealot could be swayed by the adorable design here.

If you are looking for the softer side of paper goods, keep up your Downton Abbey style correspondence with the wide range of supplies offered by Winifred Studios. Calendars, cards and letterheads can be purchased as is or customised for your occasion. GeekMom Sarah loves the colors and images they use.

Pixy Stitches sell a wide variety of cross stitch patterns, some deeply geeky and others more widely known. Many of the designs feature quotes and mix traditional flora borders with much less traditional content.

Fat Cat Crafts make pincushion cats that are far too cute to go sticking pins into. Alongside the more realistic cats are all sorts of character cats, from Mr T to Darth Vader and The Joker as well as costumed and seasonal felines.

Periodically Inspired is built around a simple but clever idea: Take elements from the Periodic Table, use them to spell out funny or slightly snarky phrases, and print them on mugs, t-shirts, baby booties and more. Shop owner Courtney Church is an enterprising woman – she practically tackled GeekMom Kathy at the GeekMom booth at Maker Faire, presenting her with a bag containing a Barium-Boron-Yttrium Germanium-Nickel-Uranium-Sulfur onesie (which she promptly shared with a new Mensa mom) and a GeNiUS mug. Sayings range from OMg (Oxygen-Magnesium) to WISeAsS, and you can read more about the component elements on each product listing. The clothing is 100% cotton, screenprinted in Church's home state of Rhode Island, and extremely cute.

Beta Stitch make patterns a little darker and more twisted that many other cross stitch designers. Cthulhu, zombies and weapons all feature, as does some occasionally fruity language.

I'm a sucker for cute clay models and Sweet Geek make some of the cutest I've seen. Figures range from Evil Dead to Ghostbusters and Doctor Who among others, and can be purchased as necklaces, Christmas ornaments, and earrings. The shop also offers hand drawn greeting cards for all occasions; after all, you don't see cards at Hallmark featuring the phrase "I'd eat a horse heart for you".

Time was that ladies would often stitch samplers to display their sewing talents; that time has passed but Steotch have designed a range of samplers for the modern house. From gangster house blessings to Princess Bride themed "mawwiage" samplers and internet meme tree decorations which you can look forward to explaining to your children in ten years time, there's some truly unique ideas here.

The quiet books offered by Julie Bell went viral on my internet circles earlier this year, and rightly so. The amazing felt books were so popular that she now offers the patterns to create your own as well as pre-made felt fingers puppets. I would have far too much fun with a Captain Picard finger puppet...

Crafty Companion make lots of cross stitch patterns suited perfectly for bookmarks. Doctor Who, Firefly and Game of Thrones feature heavily and the designs are simple (not so much that Hogwarts Express one) yet accurate making them perfect for beginners.

I love fabric patches, they help add that extra touch of realism to costumes, add an extra touch of geek to your daily wardrobe and look great on bags or homewares. Storied Threads have a huge selection of themed patches for all your needs. I'll be after that Captain Hammer one soon.

Pixel Power is one of my favorite cross stitch pattern stores thanks to the adorable character designs and alphabet charts available there. There are constant deals for multiple patterns and free patterns weekly on the store's Facebook page where you can also request characters to be made into patterns.