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Archive for the ‘Needlepoint Belts’ Category

Finding Needlepoint Belt Design Inspiration In Unlikely Places

With the warmer weather upon us, we definitely take notice of the living creatures that have been missing all winter; only to have made new homes and habitats in our backyards. Some of these creatures are sweet and friendly; the rabbit that likes to eat your flowers. Some annoying; the wasps that have made a new nest in your wind chime. And some . . . we’ve just never seen in our backyard before. This month at NeedlePaint, we’ve taken inspiration from nature, and have created two new needlepoint belts canvases. 

gecko belt blog

Our first new creation is the Southwestern Gecko needlepoint belt canvas; inspired by a sighting in my own backyard, and from some ancient cliff dwelling drawings. We’ve added a modern southwestern color twist to this gecko who runs along the length of our needlepoint belt. These gecko’s are clever, and secretive, and famous for climbing sheer vertical surfaces, walking up a wall, or hanging from the ceiling. What’s not to love about this lizard.

frog blog

Another NeedlePaint nature inspired creation, is our Green Frog needlepoint belt canvas. Jumping across the length of this belt, who doesn’t have a vivid childhood memory of trying to catch that one elusive frog at the nearby pond or ditch. Too bad Mom, wouldn’t let you keep him! 

These belts are both colorful, both playful, both great for young and old. Available as a belt canvas you can stitch yourself, or a completely finished belt. This is the perfect sized needlepoint project to take on a vacation; it’s smaller, more manageable, and will fit into your carry-on, or in your car’s glove box.

We hope that you enjoy your summer, and embrace what nature has to offer. Even if it’s not cute and fuzzy!

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A “never seen before” visitor to my back yard . . . design inspiration!

Our English Bulldog Needlepoint Kits Are Packed Full Of Personality!

It is probably no surprise to you, that here at NeedlePaint we love our dogs! They are all so different in size, shape, and personality; and the perfect inspiration for designing new dog themed needlepoint kits, such as belts, pillows, wallets, and flasks. It’s hard to pick a favorite dog breed, but I would have to say the English Bulldog is definitely one of my favorites. This dog is clever, devoted and has so much personality both in physical appearance and attitude. There is a lot of love in all of those wrinkles!

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We’ve designed this English Bulldog needlepoint belt canvas with three perfectly playful poses. 

This breed of dog has a special spot in my heart, after once dog sitting my next door neighbors English Bulldog. This dog was getting on in years and I know her people were a little nervous about leaving, as she did everything with them. I would check in several times a day, and by day three, I could tell she desperately missed her people. It didn’t look as though she had been sleeping in her bed, but on the rug by the front door. I decided to bring a book with me on my next visit, found a comfortable spot next to her bed and began to read out loud. Two hours later, I think she enjoyed the book as much as I did or maybe having someone nearby was the remedy. Finally falling asleep in her bed, I could tell she was comfortable and content by the rhythmic snoring that was taking place. Her people came back the next day, and life was back to normal for this sweet old English Bulldog. I wouldn’t have guessed that this dog would have left such a special spot in my heart, but she did.

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Full of personality and interest, our English Bulldog needlepoint pillow canvas
will definitely add some life to your living space.

You’ve heard the saying, “they come into our lives, steal our hearts, and life will never be the same again”, . . . so very true! At NeedlePaint, we feature many breeds of dogs on our belts, pillows, wallets, flasks, and even offer custom dog needlepoint kits taken from your own photos.

These are all available as needlepoint canvases for you to stitch, or if you prefer we will do the stitching for you. This is a great way to celebrate or commemorate, the dog that touched your heart.

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Fun, playful, and practical! Our English Bulldog needlepoint wallet canvas will add some
long needed personality to that tired old wallet in your back pocket.

Needlepoint Belt Finishing – High Quality Leather with Solid Brass Buckles

This has been a long time coming.  NeedlePaint is finally offering leather finishing to our needlepointers at a great value.  You mail us your needlepoint project and we’ll turn it into a beautiful belt.

We’re charging $60 to existing customers for needlepoint belt finishing.  We use top grain leather with a solid brass buckle.  Or, if you prefer, we can use a silver buckle. The needlepoint is glued onto the leather for a crisp clean look.

Choose from 3 colors of leather: Tan, Oxblood (our most popular), and Black.

Needlepoint Belt Finishing Service

Needlepoint Belt Finishing

SIZING:
You will need to stitch 1.25 – 1.5 inches high. The area between the leather ends is 8 inches smaller than the final belt size. We need at least 1 inch of extra needlepoint on each side to be covered by the leather. See the image below for how to measure an existing belt to the most worn hole. If you can’t measure, we suggest ordering 3 inches larger than the pant size.

How to Measure a Needlepoint Belt

How to Measure a Needlepoint Belt

It takes us 3-6 weeks to finish a belt.  As always, we offer a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee you’ll love the quality of our work.

If you are looking for a custom designed needlepoint belt canvas, we’d love to help!  Or browse all of our needlepoint belt designs, we have hundreds and are happy to modify and personalize any design.

A Very Needlepoint Christmas to All

Christmas and Hanukkah are almost here!  Our little workshop has shipped over a hundred belts this past week and almost as many needlepoint kits.  We hope they all arrive and bring smiles to families across the country.

We have a lot to be thankful for this year, and are looking forwards to 2017.  We’ll be offering some new services for our needlepointers and for our customers who are looking for fully stitched products.

Those of you thinking of taking up a new hobby, please check out what an art needlepoint really is.  You’re in for a treat, we have a Customer Spotlight at the bottom of this post.

Needlepoint Christmas Belt

Our first Big announcement for 2017 is that we’re now selling fully stitched custom needlepoint stocking!  We’ve sold some over the years, but finally have put a listing online in our Etsy shop.  Our designers are here to work with you, whether you’re trying to match an heirloom needlepoint stocking, or looking for an updated needlepoint design, needlepoint stockings truly are timeless.

Personalized Nutcracker Needlepoint Christmas Stocking

Our Fully Stitched Nutcracker Needlepoint Stockings in wool with velvet backing.

What better to give than a gift of personal memories!  These custom needlepoint pillows are going to a fishing lodge, but I had to sneak some pictures under the tree.

Needlepoint Fishing Pillows

Needlepoint Fishing Pillows

And those of you who made it this far are in for a treat.  Lisa, in New York just finished her second project ever.  She stitched this amazing Clara Nutcracker Stocking!  It is the same design as above (we did customize the background a bit), but you can see her talent in selecting her own colors and especially choosing fun stitches and embellishments that add even more depth and texture to the stocking.  Nice work Lisa!

Needlepoint is Fun and amazing. I hope you share these images with your friends and help inspire them to learn to needlepoint in 2017!

Fun Stitch Needlepoint Christmas Stocking

Fun Stitch Needlepoint Christmas Stocking

Christmas Needlepoint Ideas

Are you looking for that special gift that will be cherished for generations to come?

We’ve got a LOT of ideas here that are sure to not only show off your talent as a needlepointer, but that are all sure to be loved by the younger generations who often seem to be too busy to learn the art of needlepoint.

For the beginner stitcher.  We’ve recently added some great Christmas Needlepoint ideas that are smaller and simple, but for the experienced stitcher, leave plenty of space for fancy stitches to spice up.

Needlepoint Ornaments are small and quick.  Our custom needlepoint ornament listing lets you decide what to stitch!  Think of a favorite photo, pet, old home, sport, or cherished memory.

Christmas Needlepoint Ornament Ideas

Christmas Needlepoint Ornament Ideas

A Custom Needlepoint Belt will be a huge hit under the tree.  We offer custom designed needlepoint belt kits, or fully stitched needlepoint belts.

Custom Needlepoint Golf Belt

Custom Needlepoint Golf Course Belt

Needlepoint Wallets and needlepoint Flasks are both easy projects for beginners and we now offer leather finishing as optional extra.

And the my personal FAVORITE, a Custom Needlepoint Stocking!  We’re now happy to offer fully stitched and custom needlepoint stocking kits.  We’ve got dozens of designs under our Christmas Needlepoint theme that are made to be personalized, and of course we’d love to design something custom for you!

Custom Christmas Needlepoint Stockings

Custom Christmas Needlepoint Stockings

Last but not least, for the more experienced stitcher, you can Needlepoint your own Photo!  Most popular are dogs and cats.  We’ve also done hundreds of homes, landscapes, and art needlepoint projects.  These can be turned into a pillow or hung up on a wall.  We now offer Pillow Finishing and if you don’t needlepoint, even offer fully stitched custom needlepoint pillows.

***Custom needlepoint kits available with standard shipping until Dec. 12th.  Our order deadline for fully stitched products in 2016 was Nov. 1st.  But we do offer custom designed Gift Cards that show your design that is being stitched, so you would not be empty handed if you decide to give the gift of needlepoint but don’t have the time to stitch it yourself.

Also, a special thanks to Jen in VA, who stitched the two custom needlepoint projects below!  Thanks and happy holidays to all!

Custom Needlepoint House and Cats

Custom Needlepoint House and Cats

Not To Late – Custom Needlepoint Belt Gift Cards still Available

Did you miss the November 1st Christmas deadline for ordering your custom needlepoint belt?

We’ve found over the years that most people do not plan their Christmas gifts 2-3 months in advance. When they finally do decide that a custom needlepoint product would be a perfect gift, (which they really are), they come asking to see if there is any way we can help.

(*Stitch your own Needlepoint Kits are still available for free shipping until Dec. 12, and rush shipping until Dec. 19th)

Since all of our designs are emailed to you for your approval, we developed Custom Needlepoint Gift Cards that show your design that is “in the works”.  These can be printed out and put into a Christmas card with a note saying that their custom needlepoint (or wallet, flask, or pillow) is being stitched and will be ready in a few weeks.  This has turned out to be a big hit for our customers, and many who did this last year have come back this year for another gift (but this year they did order before the Xmas deadline)

Below is an example of what our gift cards look like.  We will put your design into the gift card once it has been approved and email it to you (we can print and mail it, too, on request).

Custom Needlepoint Belt Gift Card

Custom Needlepoint Belt Gift Card

We’re fast with our custom designs, it takes us 3-5 business days to create your preview once your order has been placed, which we email to you for your approval.  We allow unlimited revisions, as we want you to love your design and shop with us again in the future.  We also offer a returning customer discount! We will be taking Gift Card orders until Dec. 19th.

Christmas Needlepoint Order Guidelines and Customer Highlights

Happy Friday!

We’re approaching Christmas again, and I wanted to let you know our timeline this year.

Fully Stitched Needlepoint Belts, Wallets, Dog Collars, and Flask – orders must be placed by November 1st.

Fully Stitched Pillows and Stockings – we cannot finish any new projects before Christmas.

Needlepoint Kits and Canvases (stock designs) – December 12th for free shipping, and Dec 19th for an extra fee.

Hanukkah = same as Christmas this year!

All right, now that is out of the way, onto the fun stuff  🙂  If you’ve worked with us before or follow our blog, you may have noticed that I’ve been lagging behind.  Our customers have been sending me amazing pictures and I have not had time to post them online yet!  Below are two custom needlepoint projects designed from photos:

The first project comes from Chunyen in VA.  She stitched an amazing portrait that she custom designed on our website NeedlePaint.com, she did not skip any details!  Nice work!

Photo to Needlepoint Portrait

Next is a dog portrait turned into pillow by one of our customer’s mothers!  Stunning!

Dog Photo to Needlepoint

Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket Landmark Needlepoint Belts

Summer is coming to an end, shops will be closing and school bells ringing.  We’ve been working hard on some new designs and Love them!  Now you can see our new Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket belt designs, too.  I think they will help you extend the good memories all year round.

These needlepoint belts look sharp around the waist and really can prep up your style.  It is sure to be the choice to wear out to parties or around town.  If you’ve got a favorite spot not listed, let us know, we’re happy to customize a belt for you.

Cape Cod Needlepoint Belt

Cape Cod Needlepoint Belt

The Cape Cod Needlepoint Belt Features (from left to right): Canal Bridge, Woods Hole Marine Biological Lab, Hyannis Lighthouse, Wellfleet Harbor with fishing boat, Chatham Windmill, Chatham Lighthouse, Rail Bike Path, Providence Pilgrim Monument, Race Point Lighthouse and Sand dunes with lifeguard chair.

Marthas Vineyard Needlepoint Belt

Marthas Vineyard Needlepoint Belt

Our Martha’s Vineyard Needlepoint Belt includes Gay Head Cliffs with Gay Head Lighthouse, Larsen’s Fish Market, Grange Hall, Black Dog Tavern, Flying Horses Carousel, Edgartown Yacht Club, East Chop Lighthouse, and the Ferry.

Nantucket Needlepoint Belt

Nantucket Needlepoint Belt

The Nantucket Needlepoint Belt has the Coskata Refuge, Sankaty head lighthouse, Chicken Box, Nantucket Whaling Museum, Hadwen house, The Old Mill, Jetties and the Brant Point Lighthouse.

All of our designs are available as needlepoint belts or you can order it as a needlepoint kit and stitch them yourself.

I’ll be out on the Cape next week, so it may take a day or two to get back to your emails and/or phone calls.  Emily and Karen will still be in the workshop, so we’re not really closed, but customer service will be delayed.

Last are some reviews that have been emailed to us recently.  We love doing a great job and are happy to have so many customers coming back with new custom ideas.  We even offer a discount to returning customers as our way of saying thanks!

“It arrived today and it does look great! Thanks so much.” – Barbara 9-9-2016

“the belt canvas is terrific! Thank you.” -Julie 9-9-2016

hey there, received the canvas, Iuv, luv, luv it. can’t wait to work on it and show u the finished product. thx soooo much.” -Gloria 9-4-2016

“Just wanted you to know that my husband loves his new belt. I will send you a photo soon.” -Janet 7-29-2016

I  love the SpaceX belt.  I am stitching it with paternayan yarn and I will send you a picture when it’s completed. Thank-you so much.  It’s just beautiful.” Beth 7-28-2016

“Everything looks spectacular! Thank you”  -Molly 7-6-2016

“Thank you so much!  The package arrived a couple days ago and it looks great.  I like the color substitutes.” –Chunyen 6-23-2016

“Canvas just arrived. Looks great! Oodles of thanks.” -Sarah 6-20-2016

“My canvas arrived yesterday and it is awesome! Thank you! You’ve done a wonderful job, I only hope I can do it justice. ” -Stellamarie 6-14-2016

“My belt arrived today and it looks great!” – Lisa 6-13-2016

“The canvas arrived today. Brees looks great!  I’m eager to get started with him. Your blog is impressive and I’ll certainly let others know about it.  It has been a pleasure working with you and hope to have the opportunity again.” -Kathy 6-13-2016

“I received the canvas and color palette yesterday.  It looks great, and I really appreciate your help.” -Pat 6-7-2016

And of course we have a bunch of new reviews on our Etsy shop.

Colorado College and University of Colorado Boulder Needlepoint Belts

Finally, we’ve designed belts for two of our local schools!

I’m partial to CC (Colorado College Needlepoint Belt) as that is where I went to school, but as soon as we finished it, we had a request for a University of Colorado Boulder Needlepoint Belt.

Colorado College Needlepoint Belt

Both campuses have the mountains in the background.  They are ever present and bring a smile to the students faces on a daily basis.  The CC belt features Pikes Peak and the Garden of the Gods, and the CU Boulder campus belt features the flatirons.

As always, our designs are available as stitch it yourself needlepoint kits, and fully stitched belts.

University of Colorado Boulder Needlepoint Belt

Way to Go Villanova! – Needlepoint

A 3-pointer at the buzzer! Almost too much to believe. The Cats never won the NCAA while I was a student at VU in the Sixties, but basketball season was almost as important as classes. I don’t think I ever missed a home game. Back in those days our student activities fee entitled us to free tickets, and we crowded into our small field house or took the train in Philly to the University of Pennsylvania’s Palestra to cheer on the Cats. I remember several games that ended with a buzzer shot for 2 points. This was long before the 3-pointers and before several of the buidlings on our Campus at Villanova University Belt.

Villanova Basketball Needlepoint Belt

I have yet to stitch this design but will now have to do it and admit to my age — Class of ’69. That wasn’t just before the 3-pointer and new buildings, but before VU was co-ed. I was one of the first women engineers to graduate and proud of it!

P.S.  We also have custom belts for NCAA tournament teams:  North Carolina and Kansas.  And a lot more college campus needlepoint designs here.