Cake Shed In Progress

Cake Shed IP
Cake Shed by Steve Read – Buffalo – 2000 pieces

There hasn’t been as much progress on the Cake Shed as I’d have liked, but a family member was visiting this week and I didn’t spend as much time at home as I normally do. I’m back at home now; a bit worn out, but ready to get back to my big puzzle. 🧩

My apologies for the wonky picture, it looks to me as though it’s leaning at the top – it makes me tilt my head to the left every time I look at it!

The green dresser and shelf are next up, and hopefully that will fill things out a bit – but there are many, many green pieces so it may also take a bit of time. It’s been a pretty entertaining puzzle so far, and I’m enjoying it very much.

*I do admit to wishing it were only 1000 pieces at times; it’s taking up most of my puzzle board, and it’s sometimes anxiety-inducing when I walk into the puzzle room. #anxietysucks 😐

I hope you’re working on a fun puzzle today. Happy puzzling!

Vintage Tin Toys

Vintage Tin Toys
Vintage Tin Toys by Lewis T. Johnson – Milton Bradley – 1000 pieces

My beautiful daughter bought me this puzzle for no reason other than she saw it at the store and thought I would love it. She was right – and sweeter than sugar!

It was a pretty challenging assembly, but I absolutely adored it. Such bright colors and interesting toys, not to mention an excellent quality puzzle. The fit was a bit loose, but otherwise the pieces were thick with varied shapes, and the image reproduction was beautiful! I haven’t done many 1000 piece Milton Bradley puzzles, but I was happily surprised at the quality of this one. If we find more amazing images like this one, I hope to be doing more of them very soon!

Vintage Tin Toys 1
Umm…..a bartender?

Wow, they certainly didn’t mind unconventional toys back in the day, huh? A bartender toy for a child? This actually made me laugh out loud! I wonder what the mechanism made the little tin bartender do? A toy that pours and serves little drinks? Wow. Just, wow.

Vintage Tin Toys 2

This is silly, a tin chicken – but I suppose who am I to judge right? I didn’t even realize this was in the puzzle because the stupid people who designed the puzzle box decided to put a banner over this portion of it. When I realized what the pieces were and set them aside, I couldn’t wait to see what it looked like all put together. A silly chicken!

Vintage Tin Toys 3

Ventriloquist dummies must have been all the rage, I love how fun and silly these toys are! Perhaps a young boy or girl wouldn’t care what it said on the side of it, they would most likely be happy with any toy car. Still, this one gave me a chuckle.

Sometimes it amazes me that a box full of hundreds of pieces of cut up cardboard or wood pictures could bring me so much joy – but they absolutely do. But it isn’t only joy – serenity, smiles, laughs, concentration, fixation, obsession, happiness, sadness, exhilaration, peace, victory, pride, and too many more to name. Puzzles are a gift to ourselves and our minds, and I, for one, intend to keep on giving. 🧩💖

Mansfield Air Spectacular

Mansfield
Mansfield Air Spectacular by Charles Wysocki – Buffalo – 1000 pieces

I had a fantastic time with this puzzle; it was great fun to assemble, the image by Charles Wysocki was excellent, and it had the usual outstanding Buffalo quality – it was one of those all around wonderful puzzles. Though it was a bit more challenging that I’d assumed; that sky took much more time than I thought. Yikes!

There have been many, many Buffalo puzzles that I’ve assembled, and I can’t recall ever having a major quality issue with any of them. The pieces are thick, fit together well, and there are a very good variety of piece shapes. The image reproduction is stellar, and in general they are an excellent quality puzzle that I never have any hesitation in purchasing.

Mansfield 2

The stands where the people sat were great fun to do, so many arms, legs, etc. I found it to be quite enjoyable, and a bit more difficult if you don’t look at the box.

Mansfield 1

Love that all the pilots were women! Once I started sorting pieces and saw that the faces were all female I said out loud (to no one) “Props to the ladies!”. 👩‍✈️💪 Yes indeed, I talk to myself and my puzzles while I’m assembling them; I am not ashamed to admit it.

I’m enjoying Buffalo puzzles in the larger piece counts much more than I used to, and even find them soothing for some reason that I can’t quite put into words. They’re wonderful quality and have a large and varied catalog of images to choose from. If you haven’t tried a Buffalo puzzle before, give them a go – they even have these fun zig-zag shaped pieces that no one else does – sometimes it makes it easier, and sometimes it does not.

Mansfield Air Spectacular was a great time in a small box. Puzzles Rock! 😎

Almost In Progress

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Cake Shed by Steve Read – Buffalo – 2000 pieces

While I have chosen the next puzzle, I haven’t gotten any work done on it yet – it’s still mostly in the box – it’s almost in progress. 😉

I have sorted a bit of it, but it’s 2000 pieces so it takes a little longer to get through them all. I think it’s going to be really fun once I get going though, I just have to get through my least favorite part, the sorting. Hopefully I’ll have time today to at least finish sorting and get ready for some actual assembly.

Bread Baking

Bread Baking
Bread Baking by Kim Jacobs – Milton Bradley – 500 pieces

This image would make for a lovely wall hanging in someone’s kitchen. But it made for a  challenging jigsaw puzzle – at least for me. The color palette is so pale and sometimes indistinct; and for someone who loves bright colors (me), it made the assembly a little more difficult to get through.

It was a gift though, and even if the colors aren’t to my choosing or the image isn’t one I’d pick out I thoroughly appreciate the thought that went into it. Someone took the time to select this puzzle for me because they thought I would like it, that is what’s really important – not the image, the quality, or the size. Even though it isn’t a puzzle that I would have chosen for myself I love it for who gave it to me, and the thought it represents. 💝

Bread Baking 1

I loved the red oven – not only would I love to have a red oven because it’s my favorite color, I loved this one because the pieces were easy to pick out. There really wasn’t anything else red in this image besides the rug. It was a good place to start. 🙂

Bread Baking 2

So many cats! There must be cat hair all over that kitchen! I’m not sure I’d want them hanging around sticky bread dough being shaped and proved.

I’ve never had any major quality issues with these smaller piece count Milton Bradley puzzles. The fit on this one was a bit loose, but not too much so. Otherwise it was good quality; thick board, nice variety of shapes, and very nice image reproduction. For me they’ve always been a good quality puzzle that I never hesitate to purchase when I find them.

The colors and brush strokes made this assembly a challenge for me, but I conquered it anyway – like the Goddess of Puzzles that I am. 👑