Remember a few months ago when I tackled the making the super cute Charley Harper needlepoint canvas myself? I graphed it myself, marked it out, got my own floss and dug in, saving myself about 50 bucks.

With Colleen’s wedding on Saturday already I thought it was high time I finished her present!

I ended up giving it a little background color. I took Julie’s advice and just did a half stitch around the little birds.

Charley Harper Needlepoint, Ready for Framing!

I thought it added a lot! I went to JoAnn and got some framing supplies.

Charley Harper Needlepoint, Framed?

Lackluster, right?

Charley Harper+Water Color

So I decided I would try to give it a water color wash. I dug around and found some old paints with a yellow and orange I thought would work. I was a little scared!

Testing... testing...

I tested the colors in the corner of the fabric to see how much running there was and what the colors would really look like. Then I just dug in! The half stitches made it easy to not get the paint on the birds and I could play with actually painting the stitches and including those colors in the wash.

Water Color Drying in the Sun

I let the wash dry in the sun when I was finished. The water color adds a fun dimension to the piece! I’ve never seen water color and needlepoint and I love the look of it.

Voila! Charley Harper Needlepoint Finished!

Quite a difference! I love these little birds, I love the half stitch outline, and I love the water color wash. The green frame mat adds focus and the dark brown frame isn’t too harsh for the colors in the needlepoint. I hope Colleen feels the same way!

Total cost of project? Less than $15. Of course this project wasn’t about saving money, and lord knows I spent HOURS AND HOURS needle-pointing that damn thing. I might as well have knit her a damn plane they can use to fly to Italy for their honeymoon.

Never. Again.

But I love how it turned out and I hope Colleen does, too!

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