80s Shows

80s Shows – MasterPieces – 1000 pieces

Sadly this wasn’t as entertaining as I’d hoped. There was nothing wrong with the puzzle, it was mostly my state of mind and partly the image. Even though I love the look of the puzzle as a whole it wasn’t as much fun as I thought it would be. As I said yesterday photographic images aren’t usually my pile of pieces, but I was hoping the small images in collage form would be easier to work with.

The cartoon sections (Smurfs, He-Man, Thunder Cats) were among the first I assembled and I found them the most engaging even though they were NOT shows that I watched in the 80s.

It was relatively good quality, and an excellent fit; there were weird differences in piece sizes though – some were very big, some very small – but overall the quality was good.

I’ve never watched a single episode of MacGyver. I show you this section to point out that in between some of the pictures of tv shows were snippets of 80s video games. Donkey Kong is shown here, with a little bit of Pac Man in the lower right corner. Totally awesome dude!

Murphy Brown was one of my favorite shows in this collage; I found it to be very smart, but still funny. I love the smart shows, the ones where you have to pay attention and the language and issues aren’t dumbed down. I really enjoyed this show in the 80s, but it was one of the last sections I assembled – it was difficult finding all the pieces.

Not just shows, commercials too. Back in the 80s you couldn’t get away from the commercials, and if there was a great one everyone heard about it. The star of this Wendy’s commercial became CRAZY famous because of it, and I can still remember her name 40 years later. Clara Peller. I can still hear her voice too…….WHERE’S THE BEEF?!


I wish I had more enthusiastic things to say about this puzzle, but it was kind of a letdown. The image had me very excited for the assembly, but it just wasn’t as fun as I’d hoped. Most of that was my problem though; I just wasn’t in the right headspace for this one.

Funnily enough, I did the 60s shows puzzle a week or so later and had a fabulous time with it even though I didn’t know many of the shows. I think I just chose the wrong puzzle at the wrong time.

It happens.

The Quiltmaker Lady

The Quiltmaker Lady by Charles Wysocki – Buffalo – 1000 pieces

A little more challenging than I bargained for, but still very entertaining. You know I can’t resist a puzzle with quilts! This was great fun, and a bit difficult at times – but I loved it.

This image was the most “painterly” Charles Wysocki I’ve ever done, I’m used to his puzzle images being crisp and symmetrical. This had elements of symmetry, but the entire image was fuzzier and more brush stroke-y than I’ve ever seen in his work. I’m no expert by any means, and my only exposure to his work has been in puzzle form; but I’ve done MANY a puzzle with his artwork and this is the first time it seems different in this way.

Again, great quality from Buffalo – excellent fit, nice variety of piece shapes, beautiful reproduction – overall just a wonderful puzzle to assemble.

This was my favorite of the three quilts to assemble. I didn’t use the poster image at all, just let the pieces take me where they went. I absolutely adored this section. 💛

You can see from the closeup of grama and the pups how fuzzy and indistinct some of the elements are. It was odd for a Wysocki, from my point of view anyway.

Whether it was fuzzy or crisp, it was still so entertaining to assemble – one of my favorite Wysocki images that I’ve ever done. Trick or Treat Hotel is still my favorite of all time, but I think The Quiltmaker Lady is running a close second. If this one interests you it is highly recommended, two spools of thread WAY UP! 👍🧵👍🧵

Working On…

Lions & Tigers & Bears OH MY by Dean MacAdam – Ravensburger – 1000 pieces

This beauty is going much faster than I thought it would, partly because it’s such a great image and partly because it’s so absorbing that I have to force myself to walk away from it.

I’m having a great time; I feel as if I might want to slow down to make it last longer – I also feel like I want to keep going because it’s so entertaining.

What to do?

Eggcellent

Eggcellent – Buffalo (Vivid Collection) – 1000 pieces

This bright, beautiful, colorful puzzle was truly a joy to assemble. I always enjoy having blocks or sections of color or patterns to work with, and this was perfect for me! 💜💛🧡

The quality of this Buffalo puzzle was stellar, you can see in the picture above what a great fit it had, and the reproduction was beautiful. As always there are a variety of piece shapes and the cut itself was excellent. I think this is the best quality puzzle of this brand that I’ve assembled in a while.

I don’t always remember to get holiday puzzles done in time, but thankfully this beauty showed up at the right moment and I remembered (which is a small miracle in itself) that the holiday was coming up. I’m pretty proud of myself actually. 😊


Happy Easter to those of you that celebrate the holiday. I hope whether you’re celebrating or not that you have a wonderful Sunday.

Happy puzzling my friends! 🧩💖

Hansel and Gretel Beware!

Hansel and Gretel Beware! by Dean MacAdam – Ravensburger – 1000 pieces

This gorgeous image by Dean MacAdam was even more fun than I thought it would be – and I thought it would be GREAT fun! There are two other images by this artist that Ravensburger has out right now, and I think the money in my wallet is straining to get out and buy them for me. 😇

Of course it was great quality, and every time I assemble a Ravensburger it makes me want to do even more of their puzzles. Perhaps there’s some sort of addictive additive in the puzzle dust? Or it could be that it’s just the fantastic puzzles that make me want more. You can see in the above image that the fit is excellent and the piece shapes don’t overpower the look of the completed puzzle. Excellent quality all around.

Creepy bunny here really stood out to me from the first moment I saw the artwork. Love it!

The artwork by Dean MacAdam is absolutely fantastic. It looks too dark around the sides when you’re sorting it, but as you get familiar with the puzzle you begin to see that they’re not just dark and you can tell approximately where the pieces should go. It was definitely my kind of image, and so much fun to get to know this puzzle and reassemble it.

Like the look of this one? It was so entertaining, I adored it! 💖