Just Ducky by Richard Wolfe – Sunsout – 500 pieces
This cutie was more fun than I thought it would be. I don’t always enjoy Sunsout puzzles, as some of them have such a tight fit, it’s off-putting for me. But the fit on this one was quite good and just the right amount of hold.
I actually put off assembling it for quite a while, because I thought the background would be awful to get through. I had a great time with the assembly though, and the background didn’t take nearly as much time as I feared it would.
I’m still surprised by puzzles; ones I think will be great fun turn out to be boring or tedious, and ones that I dread assembling turn out to be charming and much more pleasant than anticipated. You’d think after the hundreds and hundreds of puzzles I’ve assembled that I’d be a better judge of what I will enjoy. Nope. Still as clueless as ever.
But I’m cute, with a great sense of humor – so I’m still a catch! ☺
It was no surprise to me that I absolutely loved this puzzle, the image is so different from the “normal” puzzle pictures that you usually see of countrysides, cats, and collages. I love that it’s unusual and colorful, and it made for a challenging but thoroughly entertaining assembly. (My apologies for the slightly wonky picture – I am obviously not Ansel Adams!)
Cloudberries is a newer puzzle company with a small catalog of interesting images, and I have found the quality to be excellent. The pieces are a good thickness, with a good variety of shapes, and fit together well. The image reproduction is stellar, with bright colors, sharp lines, and no areas with fuzzy or blurred images.
There are more ballerinas (2 prong/2 hole) than anything other shape, but that’s usually the case with most puzzle companies. It was a bit of a pain when I got to the all white pieces, but didn’t bother me with the colored areas at all.
The color wheel was the first thing I assembled and I really love the look of it (that it had words was a bonus!)
The darker of the two globes had me spinning my wheels for a bit, but I got it done in the end. I work under artificial light and it was hard to distinguish the right pieces and where the lines were. It looks pretty darned cool though! I absolutely loved this image; it’s so unusual and colorful, and much more interesting to assemble than a landscape. (At least it was for me.)
You can see in the upper right corner where it looks “dirty” for lack of a better word. It’s part of the image, but was a little confusing at first. I thought the box was a little dirty in places too, but it’s part of the “Canvas” image. On the plus side, it did make it easier with the white pieces. 😉
I adored this puzzle; the assembly was entertaining and interesting, with just the right amount of challenge. I definitely recommend you give Cloudberries puzzles a try if you have the chance. They have some fantastic images in their catalog, and they make a great puzzle! 🌦🍒👍
Details:
Title: Canvas
Artist: Cloudberries
Brand: Cloudberries
Piece count: 1000 pieces
Size: Approx. 19 x 27 in. (49 x 69 cm)
Purchased: N/A, sent for review
Quality:
Board: Excellent
Cutting: Excellent
Image: Excellent
Box: Very good, quite sturdy
Fit: Very good
Puzzle Dust: Moderate amount
Piece cut: Grid cut
Piece shapes: Good variety
Finish: Slightly shiny finish, lays flat
Overall Rating: Excellent, highly recommended
I received this product at no cost in order to facilitate this review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are truthful and 100% my own.
There’s something about tiny little pieces that draws me in, and I find them so interesting to work with. You can’t really tell by just looking at the puzzle how small it is, unless there’s something beside it for scale – they’re about 6 inches tall and 3 inches wide. (I did show the scale on Air Vent Kitty, you can see that picture by clicking the link).
I’m not a fan of wine, but I love the look on the cat’s face behind the stem of the wine glass, it’s like she’s been dealing with the kittens all day and just needs a little mom time. 🐱
I’ve done quite a few of these mini puzzles that come in test tubes, most of them with my mom; we really enjoyed working on them together – it was a little sad for me to assemble it alone. She loved working with the teeny tiny pieces as much as I did, and would sit with me on my bed and either help me or just take the tray away from me and do a lot of the assembly herself.
I don’t know what it is about the little pieces that made them so enjoyable to work with, but we both were completely enthralled with the little test tube puzzles and loved working on them together. At only 150 pieces they went together pretty quickly, but it was always time well spent. 💗
The is the second of two puzzles from this company that I’ve assembled to review, and I found the quality of this one was even better than the first. The image was a little more of a challenge, but I still enjoyed the assembly very much.
FairHope Promise Puzzles is a subscription service that sends you a new puzzle every month, and they also come with a 30-day devotional included in the box. You can also purchase the puzzles separately – click here to see the puzzles they currently have available. They make and sell other Christian-themed items, including greeting cards, books, and music cds.
I found the quality to be very good, with thick pieces that fit together very well and have a good variety of piece shapes. They are larger pieces, easy for both younger and older puzzlers to grasp and hold – I quite like working with the large pieces – it makes the finished puzzle seem larger and more of an accomplishment. The image reproduction is beautiful, and the image in this puzzle especially is lovely.
This is everything included in the box; the accompanying devotional, the poster to help with assembly, and the puzzle itself. I always appreciate a poster with a puzzle, it’s nice to have the complete image that is a bit larger than the one on the box, and it’s great for when more than one person is working on the puzzle. One can use the box and the other can use the poster.
The tree was a bit of a challenge; all the leaves across the top and the large trunk made me slow down and really pay close attention to the shapes and shades of color. I rather like the ones that are a bit more difficult; if they’re too easy it goes by too quickly for my taste. It’s a very pretty image and one that was fun to assemble.
I know my readers are a varied group of puzzlers with different beliefs and attitudes, and these puzzles won’t appeal to everyone. But for those who may be interested, I found them to be very good quality and can definitely recommend them. 🌳👍
Details:
Title: I Will Help You
Artist: Promise Puzzles
Brand: Promise Puzzles
Piece count: 300 pieces
Size: Approx. 18 x 24 in. (46 x 61 cm)
Purchased: N/A, sent for review
Quality:
Board: Very good
Cutting: Very good
Image: Excellent
Box: Average
Fit: Very good
Puzzle Dust: Moderate amount
Piece cut: Grid cut
Piece shapes: Good variety
Finish: Slightly shiny finish, lays flat
Overall Rating: Very good, recommended
I received this product at no cost in order to facilitate this review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are truthful and 100% my own.
Atagoshita and Yabu Lane by Utagawa Hiroshige – Wentworth – 40 pieces
It’s hard to see the picture behind all the piece shapes on this one, but it was still a fun little puzzle to put together. I enjoy Asian images, and it’s a pity you can really see the beauty of the artwork.
I love having these micro puzzles around for when I want to do a quick puzzle and don’t have a lot of time to sit at the table, or for when I’m not feeling up to sitting there at all. These are the perfect size to work on in bed; I have trays lined with paper and can assemble a micro puzzle on them while still in bed, and even when I’m lying down.
I love the whimsies for this one, the snowflake and flower are so pretty and the Asian themed ones are gorgeous.
