11 Creative Ways to Use Your Needlepoint Trays
Needlepoint trays aren’t just beautiful decor, they can also be incredibly useful, if you want to. Whether you’ve stitched one yourself or received it as a gift, a needlepoint tray can become a special part of your home.
You’ve already put time, creativity, and care into your tray. Now let’s make it shine with ideas to help you use (and show off!) your stitched piece in ways that feel both beautiful and practical :)
Also, FYI: With just one acrylic tray, you can make many different finished products. You just have to choose different canvases with designs that fit the vibe you're going for, and switch them anytime you feel like.
- Shop your next needlepoint tray kit
- Find the perfect acrylic tray to finish your project
- Need help? Here's how to finish a needlepoint tray
1. The Classic: Serve Food in Style
Let’s start with the obvious: your tray is made for serving!
You can use it for:
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Weekend breakfasts in bed (the best feeling in the world, btw!)
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Serving coffee and cookies to friends
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A cozy tea moment
and many other food-related uses!
featured: Blooming Needlepoint Kit + Rectangle Acrylic Tray
2. Display Your Favorite Jewelry
Turn your tray into a mini dressing table:
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Display your favorite necklaces, rings, and earrings
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Add a small mirror and a ceramic dish for an even cuter look
It’s a functional way to keep your pieces visible, easily accessible and not tangled! Plus, it looks fabulous as room decor.
featured: Dancing Blooms Needlepoint Kit + Square Acrylic Tray
3. Your Needlepoint Station
We love using a stitched tray to hold stitching tools:
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Scissors, threaders, needles, anything you need for your stitching session.
It's a joyful way to make your craft area feel organized and also inspiring, with your own piece serving a purpose.
featured: Dancing Blooms Needlepoint Kit + Square Acrylic Tray | Stitching: About Me Needlepoint Kit
4. A Place to Always Leave Your Keys
Always losing your keys? Not anymore.
Place your tray by the entryway to create a designated drop zone for all the things you know you'll need when leaving the house, but most likely forget:
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Keys
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Sunglasses
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Earbuds
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Your go-to lip balm
featured: Dancing Blooms Needlepoint Kit + Square Acrylic Tray
5. Use It as a Mini Bar Tray
Hosting friends? Use your needlepoint tray to hold cocktail glasses, a bottle of something sparkling, citrus slices, etc. It adds an artistic, personal touch to your gathering and is sure to make your guests curious (maybe even interested in trying the craft themselves, who knows?)
featured: Blooming Needlepoint Kit + Rectangle Acrylic Tray
6. A Mini Office Catch-All
Add color to your workspace:
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Use the tray to corral pens, paper clips, sticky notes, washi tape
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Keep your phone or charger in it, too
It's a pretty way to keep your desk tidy and elevate your 9–5 with something unique, made by you, and that reminds you what's waiting for you after work (your WIPs, obviously!)
7. A Candle + Book Moment
Create a cozy and super aesthetically pleasing vignette:
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A small candle, your current read, and a matchbox on the tray
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Add dried flowers or a tiny vase for texture
Perfect on the coffee table, reading corner, living room...
8. Your Own Beauty Station
Your vanity has never looked better:
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Line the tray with skincare bottles, perfume, and a hand cream
This instantly makes your routine feel more luxurious and your space more clean and beautiful!
9. A Bedside Companion
Keep bedtime essentials neat and easy to reach:
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Your glasses
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Lip balm or hand cream
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A scrunchie or sleep mask
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A notebook for nighttime thoughts or the book your currently reading before bed
- a glass or jar of water
No more cluttered nightstand, just calm, cozy vibes for a good night of sleep.
10. A Pet Treat Station 🐾
Why not make the cutest tray for your furry friend?
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Place treats, a brush, or accessories near its spot
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Perfect if you like having things ready by the door for walks
It’s thoughtful and makes these things feel less like clutter and more like an organized, heartwarming piece of decor.
11. Mini Art Display or Shelf Accent
Don’t forget: your tray is already art!
Lean it on a shelf, place it as it is on a table or hang it on the wall like a framed piece. It’s a great way to:
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Show off your stitching
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Add texture to a gallery wall or center piece
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Make your space feel more personal and stylish
featured: Blooming Needlepoint Kit + Rectangle Acrylic Tray
Also...Don't Forget the coasters!
If you love the tray, you’ll love our needlepoint coasters too!
Our coaster kits are just as fun to stitch, perfect for weekend projects (they're super quick to stitch) and we also have the acrylic finishing pieces that instantly turn your needlepoint into a functional piece.
They look beautiful on a coffee table, on your desk, or paired with your tray a completely stitched setup. Also, such cute little gifts!
- Browse our needlepoint coasters
featured: Coffee (Bica) Coaster Needlepoint Kit + Pastel de Natal Coaster Needlepoint Kit + Coaster Acrylic Tray
Which one will you try?
Your stitched tray can evolve with your life and space. Use it to bring creativity into everyday moments, no matter how big or small.
If you’re ready to start a new tray (or want to stitch one for someone special), explore our needlepoint tray kits with everything you need to create a functional and long lasting piece of art :)
- We would love to see how you use your tray! Tag us on Instagram @unwind.studio or send us a photo!!