Another puzzle my darling daughter insisted that I purchase. It was much more difficult than I thought it would be, but I think I needed something difficult at the time. It gave me a little of my confidence back, and the look of it makes me very happy.
This is one my of favorite vignettes in this collage, so sweet! It reminds me of when my kids were little. Sigh. I’m feeling old these days.
I’m not sure why, but this is another favorite. I think it would make a great puzzle all by itself.
It’s such a nice image, it’s too bad the piece shapes are so prominent. Gluing it might help with that, but otherwise it wouldn’t make a good wall hanging.
The random cut was nice, I haven’t put together a randomly cut puzzle in a while. It took a while for my brain to get back in the right space, but once it did the assembly was quite entertaining.
Ready for a Drive by Kevin Walsh – White Mountain – 1000 pieces
Despite this being a thrift store puzzle with slightly poor quality that had obviously been assembled several times, I still had a good time putting it together. 🙂
There were a lot of bent tabs with image lift, and the image was more challenging than I’d assumed. Those are the chances you take with used puzzle, but most of time even with a poorer quality puzzle I still enjoy the assembly. White Mountain puzzles can be hit or miss; and even though this puzzle seemed slightly the worse for wear, it wasn’t too bad to work with.
Mom and I both really liked the image when we first got this puzzle (quite some time ago), but I’m not sure why it took me so long to get to assembling it. Sometimes I have to be in the right mood for a particular puzzle; but I’m glad I finally got to it.
It took longer than expected to complete, but I kept at it and eventually got it finished. It could be in part that this puzzle makes me think of mom. Perhaps I didn’t want to be done with it, because when I look at it I think of her. Not because anything in the image reminds me of her, but because of the image as a whole and how much we both loved it and thought it would be an entertaining puzzle. It was, and I’m sad that we didn’t get to work on it together.
I think the little girl in the blue dress is my favorite person in this image – she reminds me of myself – a little cranky, in an adorable way. Mom called me cute all the time, but she was probably a bit biased.
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.
I absolutely loved this puzzle! The image is so pretty to look at, and everyone knows how much I enjoy blocks of color – that’s all this puzzle is! The assembly wasn’t too difficult, but it wasn’t always easy either; it was Goldilocks – just right. 😎
Cloudberries is a small, family owned UK company, and they have a wonderfully interesting catalog. Their images are so varied and different than the usual puzzles you normally see, I would love to do pretty much any of their puzzles! Click the link above to see what gorgeous images they have available now, and even some that are coming soon. (When Geometry and Patchwork are available, I’m definitely getting them!)
The puzzles are manufactured in the Netherlands, which is why I think the pieces feel similar to a Jumbo puzzle (also manufactured in the Netherlands) its almost a waxy feel; they just feel great in your hands. They have a very good fit, although some pieces can seem to fit where they don’t belong – but with this image that was more my fault because sometimes you think you know the right color and your brain is just wrong. The majority of pieces were ballerinas (2 prong/2 hole), but there was a variety of shapes; and the image reproduction is gorgeous.
I had a great time with the assembly, and I completely adored this puzzle, both the image and the quality. It is definitely recommended – 2 thumbs way, way up! 👍👍
*Just a note from a personal perspective – This was the first 1000 piece puzzle I assembled after losing my mom, and I have to say that the assembly just drew me in and allowed me to stop thinking and just become absorbed with the puzzle and which piece came next. It was a lovely respite from everything that was going on, and was exactly what I needed – the perfect puzzle at the perfect time. *
Details:
Title: Pixels
Artist: Cloudberries
Brand: Cloudberries
Piece count: 1000 pieces
Size: Approx. 19 x 27 in. (48 x 69 cm)
Purchased: N/A, sent for review
Quality:
Board: Excellent
Cutting: Excellent
Image: Excellent
Box: Very good, 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.
Pretending to be Normal by Suzy Toronto – White Mountain – 1000 pieces
I’ve been putting off writing up this post because sadly this is the last puzzle my mother and I assembled together; happily though, I love Suzy Toronto and this puzzle was a joy to put together – I have wonderful memories. I’m planning to reassemble it and hang it on the wall in my puzzle room.
Good quality, lots of words, great fit, fun colors – but it really doesn’t matter, because it was our last puzzle together I will cherish it forever.
We started with all the little words, of course – we both enjoyed assembling words in a puzzle – like mother, like daughter. 🙂 Everything was put approximately where it goes and then the harder part began.
These were our two favorite quotes; mine was the hissy fit and mom’s was the sofa. And they both describe each of us perfectly. 😇
Thank you so much Penny for swapping puzzles with me and sending this one. I loved it when mom and I put it together – not knowing it was our last. Now that I do know, I love it even more and it will always have a special place in my heart (and in my puzzle room too). 💖
My Jigsaw Journal 