Although the quality wasn’t great on this kids puzzle, it was a bit of a challenge and took my mind off of things for a little while. Isn’t that one of the great things about puzzles? It is for me. 😎
This isn’t your typical image for a kids puzzle, which is part of the reason that I really like it. It’s different, like me. It’s more difficult than normal too, like me! LOL
The pieces were thinner than I like, especially for a children’s puzzle. The fit was good though, and the entire puzzle could be picked up in one piece once it was finished. There wasn’t any variety in the piece shapes, which added to the difficulty; but it was still an entertaining assembly, and I think the finished image is pretty darn cool.
Chocolate Sensation by Ali Mocabee – Springbok – 400 pieces
With my favorite candy holiday coming up in just a couple of weeks, what better time to assemble some candy puzzles? Chocolate Sensation is the first family puzzle from Springbok that I’ve put together – it was very entertaining, and quite unusual too!
I’ve put together family puzzles from several different manufacturers, and find them engaging and fun to assemble. If you’re not familiar with a family puzzle, they have small, medium, and large pieces in the same box so that the whole family can work together to assemble the puzzle. I enjoy them very much even though I’m working solo most of the time. Puzzle Warehouse has family puzzles from many different companies, with many images to choose from; Click here to see all the family puzzles currently in stock.
For the most part, family puzzles are set up the same way; with all the large pieces on one side, medium pieces in the middle, and smallest on the other edge. I found it interesting that this puzzle was set up completely differently; the largest pieces were on the outside (the entire edge), with the pieces getting smaller towards the center. I don’t have a preference for how family puzzles are set up, I just found it curious that this is the first time I’ve seen this. Although if the family is supposed to work together on the assembly, perhaps this isn’t the best configuration. Most people assemble puzzles starting with the edge, so once the edge and the first inside row are completed the kids would be done; all that would be left is for the adults to continue working towards the center. Just my opinion, of course.
Springbok puzzles are good quality, with thick pieces that fit together very well (if at times too tightly for my taste), and beautiful image reproduction. The random cut keeps you on your toes, and the interesting shapes mean you never get bored. Their catalog is varied with everything from Americana to sweets and holidays; piece counts start at 36 pieces for their Alzheimer’s puzzles to 2000 pieces for the very brave! Check out all the Springbok puzzles available at Puzzle Warehouse, you’re sure to find something interesting and beautiful.
The assembly wasn’t as difficult as I was thinking it would be, and it went together pretty quickly. The M & M’s weren’t as much of a challenge as I thought they’d be, and the chocolate non-pareils were much more challenging than I assumed! It was an extremely tight fit (which I’m not a fan of), so much so that I was able to take my usual standing-on-it’s-edge picture…
Overall, I enjoyed Chocolate Sensation and had fun working with the 3 different sizes of pieces. The image is bright and colorful, and has me looking forward to the day AFTER Halloween, when all the candy is 50% off! 🙂
Details:
Title: Chocolate Sensation
Artist: Ali Mocabee
Brand: Springbok
Piece count: 400 pieces
Size: Approx. 21 x 27 in. (53 x 69 cm)
Purchased: N/A, sent for review
Quality:
Board: Very good
Cutting: Very good
Image: Very good
Box: Average
Fit: Good, extremely tight
Puzzle Dust: Moderate amount
Piece cut: Random cut
Piece shapes: Very 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.
Cow Parade was a wonderfully entertaining puzzle that made me happy with each piece that I put into it. The collage aspect made it so much fun for me, and the interesting artwork on the cows was beautiful (and sometimes very funny).
Cobble Hill Puzzles are very well made, and I find their quality to be very good. The pieces are a good thickness, with an excellent variety of shapes that fit together well. The image reproduction is excellent, with bright, beautiful colors and crisp lines. The finish is linen-covered, which has a great feel in your hands. Even their boxes are covered with linen and have a luxurious feel to them. Click the link above to see at the Cobble Hill Puzzles currently available at Puzzle Warehouse, they have an excellent catalog of puzzles to choose from. (check out Red from their rainbow collection of collages in 7 different colors – I want them all!)
The fit can sometimes be loose, making it difficult to move smaller sections around, but I don’t find it to be too much so. The piece shapes can be very prominent in the finished image, which is not optimal if you wish to display it; but I find that it doesn’t make the assembly any less fun. Most times, applying glue to a puzzle can lessen the appearance of the piece shapes.
This puzzle is a collection of some of the cows designed and decorated by artists all over the globe for CowParade, the world’s largest and most successful public art event. Over $20 million dollars has been raised by charitable organizations all over the world by the auctioning of the cows. Wow!
It was such great fun, I enjoyed learning about the charity/art installation, and I loved assembling every single cow. They all were beautiful in their own way, but these are my favorites…
Jacques Moosteau, he made me laugh out loud! The writing is so small that it’s difficult to see the information for each of the cows; the title, artist, and city of display was listed near each one.
This gorgeous head of hair is worn by Woodstock, he’s got quite the outfit on, and I love the rose colored glasses!
This interesting beauty is Homage to Picowso’s African Period, perfection!
This one was so much fun to assemble, the bike made it larger and a bit more challenging than his other friends. He is Lait Triporteur, which I found means basically Milk Scooter (a triporteur is the name for the 3-wheeled cargo bike shown). I learned a new word in addition to having a great time!
I specifically chose this puzzle to review, because I’d had my eye on it for a while; it was on my wish list at Puzzle Warehouse for quite some time – it just looked like so much fun. I was hoping that it would be, and I was absolutely right! I love to find puzzles like this for review, ones I think will be entertaining and well made that give me the chance to let others know about them.
Cow Parade was a great quality puzzle that was extremely entertaining to assemble. I found it to be about medium difficulty, there aren’t as many plain white pieces as you’d think. I absolutely loved it – and it’s highly recommended. Moo! 🐄
Details:
Title: Cow Parade
Artist: Cow Parade Holdings
Brand: Cobble Hill
Piece count: 1000 pieces
Size: Approx. 27 x 19 in. (68 x 49 cm)
Purchased: N/A, sent for review
Quality:
Board: Very good
Cutting: Very good
Image: Excellent
Box: Good, sturdy
Fit: Good, slightly loose
Puzzle Dust: Moderate amount
Piece cut: Random cut
Piece shapes: Very good variety
Finish: Matte finish, lays flat
Overall Rating: Very good, 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.
Bookmarks by Charlie Girard – White Mountain – 1000 pieces
Even though this puzzle was missing a piece it, it was still great fun. Each bookmark was entertaining to put together, and it made for an excellent all around puzzle.
I didn’t use the image on the box to help me with the assembly – so only shape, color, and patterns were used to solve it. I sometimes enjoy challenging myself by putting the box away and solving the puzzle with no help from the image at all. I don’t always know which puzzle is going to lead me to attempt it without the image; usually it’s the more difficult ones, but sometimes it’s fun collages like this one.
Charlie Girard puts together some amazing images that make for wonderfully fun puzzles, that’s why he’s one of my favorite puzzle artists. His collages make me so happy! I’ve done many of his collages, but there are still many more I’d love to get my hands on. 🙂
These are some of my favorite bookmarks from this puzzle…
I wonder what my choice of these 3 bookmarks says about me. Thoughts? 😉
I haven’t posted a kids puzzle lately, and luckily I found a couple here that I hadn’t yet assembled. Crafty Critters was a quick, fun puzzle that was fair quality and makes for a very cute finished image.
This is only the second puzzle from this manufacturer that I’ve assembled, and overall I would say their quality is good to fair. The pieces are somewhat thin, but sturdy. There are a good variety of shapes and the fit is very nice. The colors are bright and fun; although the finish is a bit shiny. Good enough quality, although I wish the makers of puzzles for children would make them a bit more tough to withstand the sometimes not-so-gentle way children play.
As an added note, the first Creative Edge puzzle I assembled had the absolute BEST GLOW IN THE DARK IMAGE I’ve ever done or seen. It was also the best “glow” picture I’ve ever gotten. Check out Creepy Crawlies! if you’re interested, I got some great images!
My Jigsaw Journal 