Review: Fresh Picked Flowers

Fresh Picked Flowers
Fresh Picked Flowers by Jane Maday – Sunsout – 500 pieces

The beautiful, bright colors of this image made this puzzle so much fun; and the quality was so much better than the previous Sunsout puzzle that I assembled. Don’t you love it when a puzzle is so much better than you anticipated? I do!

The last Sunsout puzzle I assembled – Rainy Day Sketch – was purchased at the same time, from the same store. The difference in quality between the two was striking – and that is NOT a good thing. When you don’t know for sure what you’re going to get, it makes it difficult to trust that you’re getting your money’s worth. I’m not a fan of having to guess or gamble when it comes to the quality of the puzzles I buy.

Fresh Picked Flowers had very good quality, in fact I was surprised at how good. Having had a much different experience with the previous Sunsout puzzle, I was dreading this one a little bit thinking it would be equally as disappointing. Thank goodness that wasn’t the case! This puzzle had thick pieces with a very good variety of shapes, and a truly wonderful fit. As you can see the reproduction is bright and crisp, with clean lines – it was a joy to work with.

Fresh Picked Flowers 1

For some reason the dullest colored thing in the puzzle, this brown bird (I have no idea what species this is), was one of the things I really enjoyed putting together. For some reason I can’t really express this bird was lovely to assemble.

Fresh Picked Flowers 2

This bowl of cherries is bright and fun, and was really challenging too. When I look at it the first thing that comes to mind is Erma Bombeck; she was a humorist and columnist that I used to really enjoy reading when I was younger. I’m sure if I had one of her books here now it would still make me laugh. She had a book entitled “If Life is a Bowl of Cherries, What am I Doing in the Pits?” and it seems to pop into my brain whenever I see this.

The artwork by Jane Maday made for an excellent puzzling experience, and the quality of the puzzle itself was wonderful to work with. If only all Sunsout puzzles could be this good! If by some miracle you find this puzzle out there, it’s definitely recommended. I loved it. 💖

Details:

  • Title:                  Fresh Picked Flowers
  • Artist:                Jane Maday
  • Brand:               Sunsout
  • Piece count:     500 pieces
  • Size:                  Approx. 18 x 24 in. (46 x 61 cm)
  • Purchased:      New

Quality:

  • Board:               Very good
  • Cutting:             Very good
  • Image:               Excellent
  • Box:                   Average
  • Fit:                     Excellent
  • Puzzle Dust:     Small amount
  • Piece cut:          Random cut
  • Piece shapes:   Very good variety
  • Finish:               Slightly shiny finish, lays flat

Overall Rating:      Very good, recommended

Mill Cottage

Mill Cottage
Mill Cottage by Debbie Cook – Milton Bradley – 1000 pieces

Such a pretty picture – and it was pretty difficult too! I knew it would be going in of course, I just didn’t know how much. The brush strokes made it quite a challenge; but being the puzzle goddess that I am, I finally triumphed! I’m pretty proud of myself for finishing the pretty picture. 😁

The quality of this Milton Bradley puzzle was good/fair. The pieces were on the thinner side, and some were easily or already bent when I opened the box. The fit was good, if somewhat loose, and the image reproduction was good. Overall I found it a bit disappointing, but of course that is just one person’s opinion; you may find that the quality is perfectly acceptable for you, and in the end that is what matters most. For myself though, I don’t think another new purchase of a 1000 piece Milton Bradley puzzle is in the cards for me unless the image was fabulous and I just couldn’t live without it.

Mill Cottage 1

All the pretty flowers that look so beautiful in front of Mill Cottage were just blobs of paint. I suppose, when you think about it, basically all paintings are just blobs of color the closer you get to them; but these little blobs of color were very difficult to assemble. I should know better than to buy puzzles like this, brush strokes and blobs are no fun for me!

Mill Cottage 2

I loved this little guy, he was one of the first things I assembled. It looks like he’s trying to get the attention of the girl on the shore, and maybe he’s trying to impress her. How sweet. Lovesick little boys are pretty cute, good thing we little girls know how to handle them. 👧

Cottages – Part 4

Cottages 4-1
Cottages (4) by Kim Leo – Cra-Z-Art – 125/500 pieces

And now we’ve come to the close of our trip down cottage lane, and wasn’t it fun? I hope you readers have enjoyed it as much as I have. I think each little piece of artwork deserves to be appreciated, and have had a great time showing them all!

For those of you wondering, the quality of these puzzles is pretty good. The pieces are on the thinner side, but they’re sturdy and have a very nice variety of shapes. They fit together well, if perhaps slightly loosely, and as you can see the image reproduction is lovely with bright colors, crisp lines, and no fuzziness or blurry areas. The added colored backing seems to make it so that the die doesn’t cut all the way through on every piece, and each little puzzle had several pieces still attached. It wasn’t too terrible though, and just a little tug was all that was needed to separate them.

Cottages 4-2

I’m calling this one Heart House, because there are hearts everywhere! From the weather vane at the top of the house to paving stones in the walkway – hearts, hearts, and more hearts! Some of them are easy to miss, did you see the heart on the trim boards at the top of the house? So sweet! How about the X’s and O’s hanging off the porch roof? Hugs and kisses for everyone. This is in my top 3 of the entire set, love it! 😍

Cottages 4-3

Here’s another one with an autumn look to it, the Butternut Bakery. I love the little seating area near the top of the building, and the birdhouse too. Did you notice the weather vane? It’s a rolling pin! The small details like that are adorable; I really do love the work of this artist – it makes me smile. 🙂

Cottages 4-4

And lastly is the Sea Breeze Inn, doesn’t this look like a wonderful place for a weekend at the beach? I’m not a fan of sand, so I don’t think I’d be doing much at the beach, but it looks like a lovely place to sit on the porch and relax. All they need is a table there so I could work on a puzzle or two – then it would be perfect! 🧩

Did you notice? This is the only cottage without a cat!

Cottages – Part 3

Cottages 3-1
Cottages (3) by Kim Leo – Cra-Z-Art – 125/500 pieces

Back to the sweet cottages, I’m having a really good time showing each of the puzzles in the set; I’m sure there was much effort involved in painting every one of these, and it’s so nice that we’re able to appreciate each of them separately.

This series would be great if you have young children in your house, or grandchildren who visit. Each puzzle is small enough that they wouldn’t lose interest too quickly, and even sorting is fun with all the different colored backings. The bright colors and interesting images are kid friendly as well, and also great for those of us who are just kids at heart. 🤩

I may have to dig through my stash and see which of the puzzle sets from this series I still have; reassembling this set has been so entertaining that it makes me want to reassemble the rest of them and show each small puzzle like I’ve been doing with the cottages. I’ve given several of them away to my “grandson”, but I still have a few of them here. Anyone out there interested in Small Shaped Puzzles, Part Deux? 😉

Cottages 3-2

When I first saw the name of this little bakery it didn’t make any sense; then I said it out loud. Thistle Do = This’ll Do. What a great name! I love the autumn look of this cottage, with the corn stalks, apples, pumpkins, and gourds – and the wreath on the chimney is perfect!

Cottages 3-3

I’m not a cat person, so I’m not sure if the cat is trying to get at the tomatoes or the herbs on the table. Do cats eat tomatoes? Or perhaps it’s just trying to cause some mischief, I know for sure that they love that! This little cottage reminds me of home; we used to live in a town with many a summer cottage on the lake shore, and quite a few have this sort of feel. Love it!

Cottages 3-4

And lastly is my favorite of today’s three – a bright, fun looking cottage with a little pond/moat out front. I love the wrought iron gate on the side, and how the bright purple flowers stand out against the yellow of the house. I would love to spend a summer here – but perhaps not with a cat – my Buddy wouldn’t like it. 🐶

Cottages – Part 2

Cottages 2-1
Cottages (2) by Kim Leo – Cra-Z-Art – 125/500 pieces

Day two of adorable cottages by Kim Leo. I really do love these small shaped puzzles! Reassembling the cottages makes me want to go back and reassemble all the ones I still have. I’ve kept quite a few of them, and given some away to my “grandson” who loves puzzles as much as I do.

Each of the puzzles has a colored backing so that you can sort them easily, or if you prefer more of a challenge you can ignore the colored backing and make it a true 500 piece puzzle. I prefer to use the colored backing and sort them into twelve piles. I don’t always assemble the entire box all at once, so it’s nice to be able to sit down and grab a pile of pieces and put together one or more of these shaped beauties.

Cottages 2-2

Lilacs -n- Lace Bed & Breakfast – gotta tell you I love the bright color of this one. I would LOVE to have a bright purple house with a green porch, but I don’t know that the neighbors would be too pleased. The lilac bushes on the side of the house make me a little homesick for Michigan. The don’t grow here in Florida, and I miss their beautiful scent and seeing the brightly colored lilac bushes everywhere.

Cottages 2-3

We’ve got two black cats in this one, and it looks as if they’d like to take that bike for a spin while the dog doesn’t seem to want to get involved. He looks as if he wants to say “Mom wouldn’t like it if you messed up her bike.” I love the look of a yellow house, it always seems cheery to me. Although I’m not so sure about the neon pink door. Ah well, at least it matches the bike!

Cottages 2-4

What a sweet little cafe, with lots of flowers everywhere. Doesn’t this look like a relaxing place to have a nice meal, with lots of small talk? This one definitely reminds me my home state, it must be because the artist lives there. She seems to perfectly capture the quaint feeling of small town homes and businesses.

These puzzles make me so happy! 💖