A custom kit is not sitting on a shelf waiting for a label. We look at your photo, trace it into a numbered canvas, mix the paints to match it, and only then does the parcel leave the workshop. That takes a few days before the carrier even gets involved, which is why the order-by dates for a custom paint by numbers kit fall earlier than most people expect.

Below are the dates we would use ourselves for a US address this year, worked out from the worst case of our published timeline rather than the best one.

The timeline behind every date

Two numbers do all the work, both taken from our shipping policy:

• 1 to 3 business days to check the photo, print the canvas and pack the kit.
• 7 to 15 business days in transit, with tracking, once it has shipped.

Business days means weekends do not count, and neither do US federal holidays for the delivery leg. Add the two ranges together and a custom kit reaches a US door somewhere between about a week and a half and a little over three and a half weeks after the order. Shipping to the US is free with no minimum, so the date is the only thing to plan around.

Order-by dates for US delivery, 2026

November 27 is Black Friday. If a custom kit is going under the tree, that is the last day we would place the order with a straight face.

Ordering between November 28 and December 7

Plenty of kits ordered in this window will still arrive before Christmas, because most parcels do not take the full 15 business days. We just cannot promise it. If you order in this stretch, plan for the possibility that the box lands a few days after December 25, and consider wrapping a printout of the photo you chose as the thing to open on the day.

After December 7

At this point the honest answer is the Artistry By Numbers gift card. It is delivered by email, and the person receiving it picks their own photo, size and color count. For a custom kit that is often the better gift anyway: they choose the picture they actually want on their wall.

What can push your date back

The clock starts when we have a photo we can use. Most delays we see come from the file, not the carrier.

• A photo that is too small. We ask for at least 1500 pixels on the shortest side, and 2500 for the 20"x26" size. An image saved from Instagram or Facebook, or a screenshot of a photo, is usually too small. We will email you for a better one, and every round trip costs a day or two.
• A dark or yellow-tinted photo. Pictures taken at night or under warm indoor bulbs carry a color cast, and the tracing follows it. Daylight shots come out truer.
• The wrong orientation. A landscape photo on a portrait canvas loses about a third of the picture. Pick the size that matches the shape of the photo.

Our guide to what makes a good photo for a custom kit goes through each of these with examples. Five minutes there is the easiest way to protect your date.

Picking a size and color count that finishes in time

If the kit is a present, the recipient also needs time to paint it. Most people finish a 16"x20" canvas over two or three weekends. A few quick rules:

• 12"x12" or 12"x16" for a first project, or for someone who wants to hang it before New Year.
• 16"x20" is what most customers choose: enough room for detail without taking over every evening.
• 20"x26" or the 23.5" square when the painting is meant to be a centerpiece and nobody is in a hurry.

On colors, 24 works for bold, simple images. Faces, pets and anything with soft shading look far more lifelike with 36 or 48. Our color guide explains what each level can render.

If a pet is what you have in mind, the pet portrait collection has examples of how fur and eyes come out at each color count.

Buying more than one

Custom kits count toward the multi-kit offers running on the store, so a family photo for your parents and a pet portrait for your sister can share one order and one discount, shown in the cart before you pay. Each kit needs its own photo upload. Our Christmas gift guide has ready-made designs if one of the people on your list would rather not choose a photo.

Quick answers

Can I pay for faster shipping?

No. There is one standard service with tracking, and it is free to the US. The order-by dates above already assume it.

Do orders placed on a weekend count?

They are processed on the next business day. An order placed on Saturday, November 28 starts moving on Monday, November 30.

Will I know when it ships?

Yes. You get an email with a tracking number as soon as the parcel leaves.

Can the kit ship straight to the person it is for?

Yes. Enter their address at checkout. The box contains the canvas, the paints, the brushes, a small print of the photo and instructions. Double-check the address before you pay, since the kit is made for that one parcel.

Start a custom kit from your photo and upload the picture on the product page. The earlier the photo reaches us, the more room you have on every date in the table.