Review: Pixels

Pixels
Pixels – Cloudberries – 1000 pieces

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

Pretending to be Normal
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.

In Progress

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). 💖

I miss you mom.

Pop Culture

Pop Culture
Pop Culture by Charlie Girard – White Mountain – 1000 pieces

Ah…collages. I love them so much. I’ve said many many times why I like them, but reasoning aside they just make me happy when I assemble them. End of story.

White Mountain has the best catalog of collage puzzles around in my opinion. They have so many that it’s difficult for me to whittle down which ones I want. They’re not always the best quality – I’ve had problems with before with twinsy pieces still connected, too tight fit, and fuzzy images. Most of the time though, there aren’t major problems with the puzzles and I enjoy working with them.

Pop Culture 1

Any NCIS fans out there? It’s Ducky! I’m a little young to have watched The Man From U.N.C.L.E. on television, but I know that the actor who plays Ducky on NCIS (David McCallum) was a heart-throb back in the day because of that show. That makes me laugh for some reason. 😉

Pop Culture 2

MAD Magazine and Gumby – love them! I had a subscription back in ye olden times when people actually got magazines in the mail and read them. (It’s sort of like a papery kind of blog – if you’re a young’un and not clear on what magazines were) I’ve always been a fan of satire, improv, and standup comedy, even when I was younger. I think I had more comedy albums than musical ones; which might be a clue why this part of the puzzle made the smile. 😀

Dog Tales

Dog Tales
Dog Tales – Re-marks – 1000 pieces

I had a great time with this collage – these are my favorite sorts of puzzles – lots of words, many colors, many textures, they are never dull!

The piece shape is quite obvious in the finished puzzle, which is annoying if you want to frame and hang it, but doesn’t really detract from the enjoyment of assembly as far as I’m concerned. Otherwise the quality was quite good; thick pieces, nice fit, and beautiful colors.

These are a few of my favorite bits…Dog Tales 1

This tiny puppy squaring off with a very big bear – how adorable is that? I don’t know the book or anything about it but the cover is fantastic.

Dog Tales 3

This poor guy looks like I feel sometimes, ugh. He makes me want to sit down next to him and give him a nice belly rub. 🙂

Dog Tales 2

And of course, any book cover with a Boston Terrier is gonna make me happy.  My Buddy is a Boston so the breed itself is one of my favorites, and they have such wonderful expressive faces. So adorable! If that’s a French Bulldog, I don’t even care – it looks like my Buddy. 😉

Pencil Collage Revisited

img_1858
Pencil Collage by Maureen Rupprecht – White Mountain Puzzles – 1000 pieces

I’m not sure why, but this puzzle’s been on my mind the last few days. It was finished almost 3 years ago, and was really a joy to assemble. I haven’t touched a jigsaw puzzle since Sunday morning, and I’ve been thinking about certain puzzles I’ve done and really liked – perhaps just trying to get my groove back.

This puzzle stands out for me, I was almost afraid of it and put it off for quite a while because it was supposed to be very challenging. I found it to be highly entertaining to assemble and not nearly as hard as it was supposed to be. The fit was so tight that I could pick it up and stand it on it’s bottom edge!

I still haven’t started a new puzzle yet, but looking at this one makes me want to find one with lots of words like this pencil collage. Or perhaps I’ll get a few of the educational kids puzzles done, they’ve got a bit of wording and at only 24 pieces it’s not too much of a commitment. 🙂