I bought a BUNCH of puzzles this past week – which is not something I usually do. Do you ever feel like even though you have plenty of puzzles to assemble that none of them are ones you really want to assemble? I understand that’s absolutely not an actual problem or what is called a “first world problem”. I’m just dealing with a lot right now and not handling it well, and when I was trying to decide on what puzzle was next I was not in a good place.
Add quite a severe case of P.A.D.S. into the mix and you’ve got a recipe for crazed online puzzle shopping late at night – and also a trip to a brick and mortar store earlier in the week. You can see from the picture above that the P.A.D.S. was in control of me and I went a little puzzle crazy. (Surprisingly there is no remorse whatsoever)
I only bought Ravensburger and Buffalo puzzles; I wanted good quality that I wouldn’t have to worry about. Also, I wanted to get some Aimee Stewart puzzles, some that I hadn’t seen before. All the puzzles shown above were online purchases, I forgot to add the brick and mortar buys to the picture – sorry.
From Buffalo I got seven Aimee Stewarts (only four shown here), a Charles Wysocki with quilts, a Ciro Marchetti, a couple of the Country Life series (both with quilts), and one of the Vivid Collection.
From Ravensburger I got a couple of interesting 500 piece puzzles, a Hansel and Gretel puzzle that is too cute for words, and one of their Abandoned series called The Deserted Department Store.
Sixteen puzzles later there are even more puzzles at my house to choose from; I haven’t decided which one is next, but I’m happier with my choices at the moment (and in a slightly better headspace). 🧩❤
My Jigsaw Journal 
I’ve been browsing puzzles so much online lately that I definitely recognize the two Aimee Stewart bookshelf puzzles from Buffalo that are in the lower left of your photo.
When I was at Target I did see a few Barbie puzzles, although I forget the company that made them. From what I remember now, they were collage style but only 3 – 7 images for the puzzle. The Barbie dolls were dressed up (perhaps the fashion was distinct for a certain decade or culture) and set into scenes. I’m not describing it very well but they were pretty cool puzzles.
Which B&M store did you go to for puzzle shopping? As for online, did you cave in and shop Amazon or elsewhere?
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Actually, I was waiting for someone and had time to kill so I went to Walmart for the in person shopping. I rarely go into stores, getting the walker out of the car and moving around in general is difficult – but I had to be out so I spent some time looking at puzzles.
I did cave and shop Amazon even though I hate that I pay more in taxes than they do. I just wanted the convenience of getting them here quickly (and free with my daughter’s prime account) so that’s what I did.
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We are not Amazon Prime Members either but, surprisingly, we got our last two orders insanely fast, within a few days. I think that’s because there’s a couple of folks in our neighborhood that order from Amazon so frequently that the Amazon delivery van is always coming around.
We rarely ever order from Amazon. I never really thought about it from tax perspective (but you are so right!!) but for me it’s just that Amazon has evolved and changed so much from its humble online bookstore beginnings.
With your Ravensburger puzzle haul, had you heard of the Abandoned puzzle series before? I had not. Admittedly I don’t keep up with Ravensburger puzzles that much because they cost a bit more than I’d like to spend on just one puzzle but I know from what you’ve wrote about on your blog that Ravensburger puzzles are consistently of excellent quality. Anyway, back to what I was saying. The Abandoned puzzle series. It seems people (or at least the ones on Amazon complaining) expected the puzzle to be packaged in a green puzzle box — there are so many negative reviews on Amazon for people complaining about the color of the box. Is how the box designed and looks important to you?
I found another Abandoned puzzle on Amazon but I think yours is much spookier!
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I had the arcade puzzle in my cart, and switched it out for the department store – I think they both look like fun.
As far as the box goes, I couldn’t care less about whether or not it’s green. As long as it keeps the puzzle safe the box doesn’t matter much to me. Complaining about something like that is for collectors I suppose – but it’s more about the puzzling to me. I don’t need the box to look a certain way, it’s not important; the puzzle itself is what matters.
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I feel the exact same way about puzzle boxes, it’s the pieces inside that matter. The only thing I care about regarding the box is that I’d at least like one of the four sides of the box to feature a full-color thumbnail or cropped image of the puzzle so I can identify the puzzle when it’s sitting on the shelf.
Ravensburger is headquartered in Germany, right? I wonder if maybe they did green boxes for Europe and white boxes for USA? Either way, like you said, things like that really shouldn’t matter.
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ooooooowwwwweeeeee what a haul! Looks so good. I just finished the Aimee Stewart puzzle, Happy Vibes, that I see in your stash. I was thinking as doing it that it was a puzzle you might like. Quick and sweet with lettering! If you want a few more Aimee Stewarts, I have these 3 ready to pass along: Beach Vacation, Yard Sale, and Good Vibes.
Hope the retail therapy and coming spring smooths your road some!
Diane
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Happy Vibes is the one I was planning on doing! There’s a Good Vibes too? I’m not sure I’ve seen that one. Thanks for the good thoughts Diane, I do appreciate them. I haven’t seen Beach Vacation or Yard Sale, were they fun?
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Happy Vibes was my favorite of the Aimee Stewart puzzles I’ve done so far. The other 3 are 1000 piece, and usually take more than a day for me to do. I like the fewer piece puzzles better. That said, the images on the 3 puzzles I want to send to you are pure A.S. delight – colorful, happy, and full of details. Send me your address, and I will send them to you. stripeydawg@gmail.com
Diane
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💜💚💙
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I don’t actually remember feeling that I don’t have a puzzle that’s just right, but I still can’t stop buying more. I try to place more pieces than I buy during the year, and I’m already about 10 000 pieces behind with that for 2022, and that’s not even a counting a big order that I’ve already placed…
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I can’t wait to see all the new puzzles you do! 😉
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