Home Again…

We’re traveling back home today, after another extended stay with family. We had a great time full of memories, laughter, and fun (not to mention a few puzzles).

Just as we’re finishing up with the puzzles from our last vacation here on the blog, we’re coming home from another holiday with more. In a month or so you’ll be seeing the posts of all the wonderful wooden puzzles we put together during this visit – it’s safe to say a fun time was had by all!

I’ll be back at my board this evening, and I am very much looking forward to it. 👵🧩💖

Made With Love

Made With Love – MicroPuzzles – 150 pieces

I started this little beauty before we left on our vacation, and our daughter finished it up while we were gone – a joint effort! I love all the crafts and sewing supplies in this image, it definitely reminds me of my mom. She made everything with love. 💖

My mother was amazing in the craft department; she sewed, knitted, crocheted, cross-stitched, did beadwork, hook rugs, and just about any other craft you can think of. My father had a lot to deal with when she got really involved with a certain craft – the hoarding of supplies started right away! Luckily for him it was a while before the internet made all her supplies readily available, otherwise we might have had to dig them both out of the house with a shovel.

This image absolutely had me going down memory lane, it’s a beautiful little puzzle. 💟

Chilean Flamingo

Chilean Flamingo – Wentworth (Mini Mindful) – 80 pieces

This little beauty was one of the most challenging of the Mini Mindfuls that I’ve done – it’s right up there with Space Flare. But it is a lovely image, and perfect for assembling at my cousin’s boathouse that is decorated with pink flamingos.

Although during our weekend at the boathouse there was a LOT of family there with their kiddos and it was a bit noisy. That made it a little more difficult to concentrate sometimes, but being with family is worth it; and I just decided to finish it later in the evening after everyone had settled down – kids and adults alike.

As a dissectologist I see patterns all the time in the puzzles I assemble, and recognizing the pattern of how these pieces fit together was easy once you got a few pieces together. With so much pink you really had to pay attention, and I placed a few incorrectly at one point – but eventually all was put to right.

Great little puzzle!

Vacation Puzzle In Progress…

Imagine! by Lana Kissinger – Liberty – 284 pieces

Got started on this gorgeous Liberty puzzle yesterday with some assistance from my beautiful niece who spent the day visiting with me. Liberty’s motto is “Sit Long, Talk Much” and that’s exactly what we did. She’s not a puzzle person for the most part, but she seemed to enjoy looking at the interesting shapes and trying to find ones that fit together. She found a few pieces too, so she officially helped me with this assembly!

I hope she had as much fun as I did, it was lovely to spend the day together. We sat long, talked much, did a little puzzling and enjoyed each other’s company. 💖

Dachshund

Dachshund – Crafthub – 75 pieces

This was the best quality puzzle of the three that I purchased, and I’m glad that it was the last one I did. I think if I’d started with this one the disappointment would have been greater when I started working with the other two.

The pieces were bigger, more the size of your average wooden puzzle and much easier to handle. The fit was still loose, but somehow that seemed more manageable with the larger pieces. There were no pieces still connected together, and the colors on the puzzle matched those on the poster. Finally!

I was hoping for more dog whimsies, but at least there are a couple. They’re all cute and only a few of them seemed like they might experience some breakage if the pieces were mishandled or banged around in the box. (The chubby little unicorn is my favorite.😁🦄)

Finally, the colors on the puzzle match the poster! Bang on! Well done, whoever you are.

I started this puzzle immediately after finishing the heart because it was my intention to glue this as well. But the quality was better, and even with the loose fit I wouldn’t feel bad donating this to a thrift store or senior center; I wouldn’t feel as though I were “inflicting” this puzzle on someone. So this puppy got taken apart and brought home, no gluing necessary.

My refrain remains the same though, don’t spend your money here. If you’re taking a chance that only one out of three puzzles is good quality, you’d be better off with a company that you know has quality wooden puzzles – no betting required.

Don’t gamble with your puzzle budget, it’s a precious resource!