Hound of the Baskervilles

Hound of the Baskervilles
Hound of the Baskervilles by Charles Wysocki – Buffalo – 300 pieces

This is another interesting but entertaining Charles Wysocki image, and even at only 300 pieces it made for a little bit of a challenge. The tree in the foreground, for example, was more difficult than I gave it credit for. I thought this one would be a breeze, and some parts were, but it wasn’t as easy as I’d assumed it would be.

The name didn’t make sense to me until I really started to look at the image; obviously the storyteller in the foreground is telling the story of The Hound of the Baskervilles to his audience. At least that is the conclusion I came to.

Hound of the Baskervilles 1

Traveling storytellers used to be a thing. Back before radio, television, and telephones, all you got was the information found in the newspapers. There were serial stories in some papers, but unless you lived in a city or town you didn’t have access to a paper every day or week.

Hound of the Baskervilles 2

This man seems as though he’s not just telling a story, he’s acting parts of it out and giving it all he’s got. Good for him! Without access to anything other than stories from their families, I can imagine that it would have been terribly exciting to have a professional storyteller in the neighborhood to tell stories you’d never heard of. Imagine having a Sherlock Holmes detective story told to you in such a dramatic fashion, it must have been so entertaining!

Hound of the Baskervilles 3

I’m admitting that I have no idea what this sign means. If this town is where food processing is done, it’s possible that marinating was done specifically in one place. But this doesn’t look like a food processing plant, it looks like someone’s home. I’m intrigued, but confused about the name.

This puzzle was fun to put together, had great quality, and a beautiful image. There’s not much more you can ask for, is there?

Coastal Getaway

Coastal Getaway
Coastal Getaway by Alan Giana – MasterPieces – 300 pieces

Coastal Getaway is such a pretty scene, and it made for an entertaining assembly. There are only 300 EZ grip pieces that are thick and sturdy, with a nice fit and stellar image reproduction. I always enjoy puzzles with large pieces, for some reason they make me extremely happy. 🙂

Coastal Getaway 1

I love lighthouses; the color of the light is so beautiful on this one, and the trees all around it are gorgeous.

Coastal Getaway 2

The stairs leading down to the beach were really fun to assemble, and I love the shells tucked up at the top; it’s something I would have done when I was younger so I wouldn’t forget to take them with me when I went home.

Coastal Getaway 3

There’s something about this sailboat, and the lone person sailing it – I love the look of it; Alan Giana’s artwork is colorful and beautiful. This whole puzzle was a great image with lovely quality and I had a great time!

Happy Father’s Day!

To all the dads out there, I hope you enjoy today and that instead of a tie or another tool your family gives you the gift of their time and love. There is NOTHING in the world better than that, and it cannot be replaced.

Happy Father’s Day!

Mixed Flowers in an Earthenware Pot

Mixed Flowers
Mixed Flowers in an Earthenware Pot by Pierre Renoir – Wentworth – 40 pieces

This puzzle is one of my large collection of micro puzzles from Wentworth, and the image is one that spoke to me recently. It reminds me of my mom, it’s beautiful, and it is also one that I absolutely would not like to assemble in a larger size.

There are quite a few images that I have in a small size particularly and especially because I enjoy the artwork but would never want to assemble them in a 1000 or even a 500 piece count. I put this image in that category, along with Starry Night by Van Gogh; there’s no way I’d be assembling either one in a larger count, it would be too frustrating for me.

That’s part of the reason I love these small puzzles from Wentworth; not only are they relatively inexpensive, they have many images that would be too tedious, difficult, or frustrating for me in a large piece count and the micro puzzles are the only way you’d find me assembling such difficult images.

Mixed Flowers whimsies

I’m not sure exactly how these whimsies tie in with the artwork, these seem more suited to an outdoor scene. But then again I don’t know for sure what whimsies would be best – other than just flowers.

I love my micro puzzles collection from Wentworth, and it’s nice to be able to revisit them. 💖

Review: Paws Gone Wild

Paws Gone Wild
Paws Gone Wild by Sergio – Vermont Christmas Company – 100 pieces

Paws Gone Wild is a wonderful puzzle for children, and it has fantastic quality! Such great quality is hard to come by in puzzles geared towards children; I find that most of them aren’t as sturdy as they need to be, but this one was a delightfully sturdy surprise!

Vermont Christmas Company has one of the largest catalogs of puzzles for children that I’ve seen; there are plenty of puzzles for holidays, but regular images too. The pieces are wonderfully thick, have a great variety of shapes, fit together well, and have absolutely gorgeous image reproduction. They are in the top two brands for children’s puzzles that I’ve ever worked with, and I’m very picky about puzzles for kids.

I always give puzzles as gifts to younger children, they are not only entertaining and great for getting kids away from all the screens in their lives (phones, tablets, tv, etc.), they help developing brains learn essential skills that they will use the rest of their lives. Problem solving skills, spatial awareness, fine motor skills, dexterity, concentration, patience, setting goals, and soooo much more. And in my humble puzzle-nerdy opinion, kids need to do more jigsaw puzzles – puzzles are the best!

Paws Gone Wild 1

Ok, we all know I’m not a cat person, but this is adorably cute. Kittens are just so sweet. Those tiny little paws and the innocent look on that face – awwww!

Paws Gone Wild 2

I mean, come on! That face! Part of the reason I took this closeup is to show the detail in the reproduction – you can read this paper! The overall image is bright and colorful with clean lines and no fuzziness unless it’s part of the image. I was delighted with the quality of the puzzle, most especially the image. (The other reason I took this closeup is…..that sweet face!)

Paws Gone Wild is one of the best kids puzzles I’ve put together in quite a long time, and I’m happily looking forward to assembling another very soon. The quality is wonderful, the image is fun, and I highly recommend it. Two thumbs and four paws way up! 👍👍🐾🐾

Details:

  • Title:                  Paws Gone Wild
  • Artist:                Sergio
  • Brand:               Vermont Christmas Company
  • Piece count:     100 pieces
  • Size:                  Approx. 19 x 13 in. (48 x 33 cm)
  • Purchased:      Swap/Used

Quality:

  • Board:               Excellent
  • Cutting:             Excellent
  • Image:               Excellent
  • Box:                   Good
  • Fit:                     Very good
  • Puzzle Dust:     None
  • Piece cut:          Grid cut
  • Piece shapes:   Very good variety
  • Finish:               Slightly shiny finish, lays flat

Overall Rating:      Excellent, highly recommended