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Archive for the ‘NeedlePaint Inspiration’ Category

Needlepointing Health Benefits Projects are Fun!

The New York Times this week had a great article on the health benefits of knitting, in case you missed it.  And in it, it says this applies to most types of needlework and creative hobbies (such as needlepoint!)

The main thing that seems to come up again and again, is that if you are engaged in creative hobbies and using your hands and mind, that it helps keep your mind sharp, happier, and reduce stress.  I find the second point to be quite true.

I feel lucky to work with customers who truly are almost always nice and patient people.  They are often creating projects not for themselves but giving them to others and thinking about others first.  This makes our work more rewarding, and also enjoyable, so to our customers, a big THANK YOU!

Onto the fun stuff, below are some amazing custom needlepoint projects recently stitched, and below that are some more customer reviews…

American Gothic Needlepoint Pillow next to a Custom Dog Needlepoint Pillow that we stitched

American Gothic Needlepoint Pillow next to a Custom Dog Needlepoint Pillow that we stitched

We stitched this custom needlepoint dog pillow for as a gift for Casey!

Denison Field Hockey and Lacrosse Needlepoint Stool

Denison Field Hockey and Lacrosse Needlepoint Stool stitched by Susan in CT

diagonol giant scotch stitch

She did the background using the Diagonal Giant Scotch stitch.

Custom Needlepoint Christmas Stocking

Custom Needlepoint Christmas Stocking by Mary in California

I love the background stitches on the last two projects.  They give extra detail and also make the projects quicker to stitch!

Custom Cat Needlepoint by Erica in Canada

Custom Cat Needlepoint by Erica in Canada

We love to help create new designs, so if you are looking to needlepoint something that does not exist anywhere but your mind, please get in touch with us!

Here are some recent reviews from our customers that came in over the holiday season:

“We received the canvas yesterday. All my husband could say was ‘Oh my! Oh my!!  She’s going to cry. You nailed the gift of the year!!’…

I appreciate you taking the time and special care with such a special gift. Your customer service has been uncommon in these low-personal interaction digital age.”  Tina  2015-12-01

“It arrived and looks great!  Thanks.”  Janet  1-25-2016

“It arrived today!  Looks great.  Will send a picture of the final product.” Colleen  1-13-2016

“Just to let you know the needlepoint arrived, they are great and I can’t wait to get started!”  Laurie  12-15-2015

“It came yesterday!  I love it.  Thanks so much.”  Kippy  12-21-2015

“Canvas has arrived and it lovely.  Can’t wait to start (after the holidays!)”  Joanne  2015-12-10

“Just wanted to let you know that I received the belt canvas yesterday and it looks great! Already started on it! Thanks for all of your help!” – Annie  12-8-2015

“Received!—looks GREAT if a little daunting. Gulp.”  Libby  12-9-2015

“This was perfect! Better than I even imagined!!’  Carly  1-3-2016

“Seth was very responsive! Help me create a custom design for my son! He is so excited about his new belt that his mom is making for him! Will order more for sure!”  12-18-2015

“I cannot wait to start stitching my new belt. It is perfect and exactly what I hoped to receive when I ordered it. Thank you!”  Allison  12-15-2015

“Needlepoint was so easy to work with and accommodated my custom request quickly. Thank you! Beautiful work!”  Jennifer  12-15-2015

“Seth was wonderful! New to needlepoint, wanted to make a belt for my son, just told him ideas and he put it all together! Sent the color chart along with the thread. Looking forward to working with him again! Thank you!”  11-16-2015

 

Category:

NeedlePaint Inspiration, Needlepoint, Needlepoint Stockings, Personalized Needlepoint, Testimonial Reviews

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Christmas Needlepoint Stockings and Holiday Notification!

Happy Holidays!

We’re closing our shop this year from Dec. 20th until Jan. 1st to spend time with our families.

Feel free to message us over the holiday about new ideas, and we will get back to you when we return. We would not want your ideas to be forgotten!

If you have an existing belt order, we will be shipping on Monday the 21st and they will arrive on Dec. 23, or per the latest update you should have received via message or email.

To add some Holiday Cheer, we’re featuring some personalized needlepoint stockings our customers finished this year in time for Christmas!

Susan in Colorado did the Partridge and the Nutcracker, she added jewels to the partridge which look great!  Denise, also in Colorado, stitched the reindeer, beautiful stitching!

Needlepoint Chirstmas Stockings

Needlepoint Chirstmas Stockings

 

Category:

Christmas Mantle, Christmas Stockings, NeedlePaint Inspiration, Needlepoint

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The Needlepoint Stockings were Hung by the Chimney with Care

The Christmas season is long anticipated all year by adults and children alike for the celebratory feeling that is nearly magical. Friends and families around the world gather to celebrate and enjoy the festivities of the season. With so much going on at Christmas time, it can take a long time to find something new and special each year to commemorate the day. Our custom needlepoint Christmas stockings are perfect for any Christmas lover.

Hanging a stocking is a long standing tradition dating back to a legend from the days of Saint Nicholas. It was said that he left gold in the stockings of people in his town on Christmas Eve. While you’d have to be really good all year to get gold in your stocking from Santa, the decoration is still a favorite of families around the world.

custom needlepoint stocking kit

Mary Ann from Illinois stitched a beautiful Shrek stocking for Julia.

Above, we can see our friend Mary Ann in Illinois created a beautiful and creative stocking showcasing Julia’s favorite movie characters, the cast of animated movie Shrek. This came out beautifully, and we’re sure Julia will enjoy her stocking for years to come!

Our Christmas photo stocking needlepoint kit is a hit for those looking to craft something unique for the holidays. It can be customized with any design or photo, such as your children’s favorite movie characters, your husband’s favorite sports team, or your favorite pet. These stockings will look great for years and will always be something you and your family look forward to hanging up.

For more inspiration, check out all of our Christmas needlepoint designs and contact us to design your own!

Category:

Christmas Gifts, Christmas Stockings, NeedlePaint Inspiration, Needlepoint

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Dive Into Needlepoint – Personalized Scuba Diving Belt

Seasoned scuba divers regularly see some of the most beautiful, rarely seen sights in the world underwater. Each dive is a chance to get away to a personal paradise and enjoy all of the beauty that nature has to offer. As most divers can attest to, a lot of time on land is spent thinking about the next dive. If you’re looking for a great reminder of your next adventure, look no further than the scuba diving needlepoint belt.

scuba diving needlepoint belt

Our custom needlepoint scuba diving belt is perfect for any diving enthusiast!

The belt showcases some of the most majestic sea creatures known to man. From the Black Tip Reef Shark, to the Hawksbill Sea Turtle, and even the Spotted Eagle Ray, the belt will remind you of the animals you’ve seen or hope to see in the future. The animals and the scuba diver on the belt are split with the traditional scuba diving flag, recognizable by aficionados everywhere.

You can customize your scuba diving needlepoint belt with a monogram to make it really yours, or customize it with a friend or family member’s initials to make a perfect gift for any occasion.

If you love to needlepoint and would like to stitch your own scuba belt, you can order the scuba diving needlepoint kit here.

Category:

NeedlePaint Inspiration, Needlepoint, Needlepoint Belts

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Paying in Style – Custom Needlepoint Wallets

It’s important to have a few statement pieces in your wardrobe that show off your personality and spark up conversations. One of our most popular products, our custom needlepoint belts, is a great way to break away from the average dress belt and into something a little bit more fun. We decided to take that same idea and put create customized needlepoint wallets to add some color to an accessory you use every single day.

custom-monogram-needlepoint-wallet

A spotlight on our custom monogram needlepoint wallets!

There are few accessories as perfect for needlepoint customization as wallets. The healthy surface area on the outside of the leather allows for big, colorful, and detailed designs showcasing whatever the owner’s favorite hobbies are, giving plenty of room for you to customize 100% of the wallet. One of our most popular styles is a custom needlepoint monogram wallet. Some choose to have a dual-sided monogram, while others go for a classic design like nautical flags or golf clubs.

Whether you’re looking for a way to spoil yourself, or the perfect way to spoil a loved one, our custom needlepoint wallets should do the trick. As always, our products are stitched by hand, just for you. If you prefer to stitch your own, we also provide custom wallet needlepoint canvas kits that make for a great project.

 

Category:

NeedlePaint Inspiration, Needlepoint, Needlepoint Inspiration

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A Drink and a Stitch – Custom Needlepoint Flasks

Sometimes, a momentous occasion, or the end of a long week, just simply must be celebrated with a stiff drink. Many times, we find ourselves wishing we had a quick way to add a little bit of our favorite libation to a drink when we’re relaxing on the beach, camping, or attending an event. Drinks are meant to be shared with friends and a custom needlepoint flask is the perfect way to start a conversation to go along with a drink.

custom-needlepoint-flasks

Our needlepoint flasks can be 100% custom designed by you to ensure the personality shines through. Each flask can be designed with a simple monogram, a design of your choice, or a combination of both. Some of our most popular flask designs have been nautically themed, with anchors or burgee flags, animal themed, with dogs, deer, or birds, or a combination of interests and hobbies.

One of the most popular uses for this product is custom needlepoint flasks for weddings. The flasks make great gifts for groomsmen and can be customized to have a wedding design on one side, and each man’s monogram on the other, giving the groomsmen something they’ll be able to use for years to come that will remind them of their participation in the wedding.

Flasks are also a popular gift idea for formal events, date parties, or simply for the holidays. We’ve seen many fraternity brothers gift these flasks to each other as “big-little gifts,” or for birthdays and graduations.

No matter the occasion, we at Needlepaint can provide you the perfect design for your custom needlepoint flask. Check out some of the designs we’ve made and customize your own here!

Category:

NeedlePaint Inspiration, Needlepoint, Needlepoint Inspiration, Personalized Needlepoint

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Customer Spotlight – Wedding Ring Bearer Needlepoint Pillows

Celebrating a marriage is undoubtedly not only an exciting time for the two people wedding, but it is a great time for others to celebrate their friends’ and families’ new chapter of life. It’s no secret that nearly every detail of a wedding ceremony can be planned, so sometimes it can be hard to find something special to add to an already perfect day.

Joanna, from Virginia, knew that she could add a little something special to a wedding day when she stitched a beautiful custom needlepoint pillow for the ring bearers to use during the ceremony.


rose-ring-bearer-pillow

Joanna took a rose idea and turned it into something beautiful! She artfully decorated the roses onto the pillow, with the perfect colors to really bring the roses to life. The names of the bride and groom are stitched nicely into the pillow and accented with a well tied bow underneath.

Needlepoint pillows for ring bearers are a unique way to add another bit of accent to a wedding. The gift is fun, unusual, and always loved. After the wedding, the pillows can serve as a decoration on the living room couch, a windowsill, or simply your bedroom.

You can shop for this canvas here and create your own rose pillow customized with the names of the bride and groom. We’re also happy to send you the pillow fully-stitched, ready to be used in your wedding or gifted.

Our needlepoint pillow designs are not limited to roses – look at all the designs we’ve worked on, or reach out to us to create your own custom canvas design or finished pillow.

Category:

NeedlePaint Inspiration, Needlepoint, Needlepoint Pillows, Wedding

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Fishing Needlepoint Belts

Pulling up to the docks or leaving the waders behind?

Don’t leave the fish on ice, now you can take them with you to the bar for a beer, too!

This week’s blog features two of our favoite fishing belts.  The Tropical Gamefish Needlepoint Belt, and the Moutain Fly Fishing Needlepoint Belt.

Our belts are made to order and can be personalized with a monogram.  All designs are also available as DIY needlepoint kits.

Fly Fishing Needlepoint Belt

Fly Fishing Needlepoint Belt

Tropical Gamefish Needlepoint Belt

Tropical Gamefish Needlepoint Belt

 

Category:

NeedlePaint Inspiration, Needlepoint, Needlepoint Belts, Personalized Needlepoint

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Custom Wedding Needlepoint

We love helping design custom needlepoint kits for our customers!

This week’s blog post features some custom wedding needlepoint designs that we’ve done recently.

Below are four canvases for pillows, and a cummberbund needlepoint canvas.  We’ve also done a lot of belt canvases recently.

We post a lot of our customer reviews on our blog, and if you are interested in reading some we’ve recently recieved, see the botttom of this post.  We love to hear from you and help make your ideas come to reality.

Wedding Needlepoint

Wedding Needlepoint for Pillows

Next is a custom needlepoint cummerbund canvas we did featuring the old well at UNC.

Needlepoint Cummerbund Kit

Needlepoint Cummerbund Kit

Last are two foxes taken from a wedding invitation.  We helped create these desgins from a sketch!

Wedding Needlepoint Foxes

Wedding Needlepoint Foxes

Last but not least, are some recent reviews from our customers:

“I received the needlepoint canvas and stitch guides in the mail today.  I am so happy with the way it turned out and appreciate the extra information that you sent with the canvas.  I’ll be sure to send you a picture when it is finished.  I’m sure it will take awhile but I’m looking forward to getting started. Thanks again for doing such a great job.  I will be happy to recommend NeedlePaint for custom canvases.”  Susan 2015-07-13

“It looks great and I’m excited to get started.” Jessica 2015-07-13

“Just received my kit… Can’t wait to start it. Thanks again for being so helpful. Will be ordering more soon”  Deborah 2015-07-10

“Thanks so much for everything, I am loving working on the canvas.” Mills 2015-07-05

“got it. love it. will keep in touch. thx again”  Gloria 2015-06-23

“needlepoint arrived today and it looks fantastic.  Thanks for doing on awesome job.  Hope to have another project for you soon.”  Sylvia 2015-06-16

“I received the canvas this morning and have already got to knitting!  It’s beautiful, thank you for the help.”  Joanna 2015-06-16

“I received the needlepaint of the Ganesha image- looks great!”  Jyoti 2015-06-16

and onto some older feedback I just found that was never posted.

“I received the needlepoint kit. It looks great! I hope I can do it justice.”  Eileen 2015-04-18

“Just wanted to let you know I got the canvas Monday and it looks awesome.  I got thread and have begun to stitch.  Thanks so much for your help on this. I will definitely recommend you to others and order more canvases”  Ilese 2015-04-15

 

Category:

NeedlePaint Inspiration, Needlepoint, Needlepoint Pillows, Personalized Needlepoint, Testimonial Reviews, Wedding

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Quick Open-Stitched Custom Needlepoint Belt Kits

Plate 119, The Needlepoint Book

Plate 119, The Needlepoint Book

If Jo Ippolito Christensen can leave backgrounds unstitched as shown in this piece from the 3rd Edition of  The Needlepoint Book, why shouldn’t I? (Click on the image to view the detail of the background. It is only partially stitched and the printed canvas is exposed.)

I was almost there with my Four Hour Needlepoint Ornament but this is one step further. A belt would be my test piece. Many of our Needlepoint belt designs are ideal for this technique. The backgrounds are solid and the images, like the surfboards and sailboats, are colorful and sharp.

Stitching Detail

Stitching Detail

Stitching these two belts went as fast as riding the waves. The only thing one needs to pay attention to is keeping on the thread ends within the stitched areas because the background will be unstitched canvas through which the thread ends will be visible.

Looking closely at the stitched surfboard, you can see that I also look the liberty of slanting the continental in two different direction. The top slants to the left and the bottom to the right, while in the center I used a straight stitch over one canvas thread. (Note: a straight stitch over one thread needs to be worked very loosely, and only works here because it was worked after the top and bottom of the surfboard was completed.) Working the top and bottom of the surfboard with two different slants has the advantage of giving smooth edges to the circle and rounded edges of the design. I used this technique on some of the surfboards and on part of of the sailboats. I was please with my finished canvases!

Quick Stitch Needlepoint Belts

Quick Stitch Needlepoint Belts

Category:

NeedlePaint Inspiration, Needlepoint, Needlepoint Belts, Needlepoint Inspiration, Uncategorized

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