Chat Noir by Steinlen – Eurographics – 1000 pieces
This is an interesting image, but in my opinion it isn’t ideal for puzzling. There’s too much flat color, and with a random cut it was extremely difficult to find the proper piece. We’ve found that sometimes the “coolest looking” puzzle isn’t one you’d want to assemble; that was definitely the case here.
Mom did the majority of this one, I helped when I could; but it was a bear! Boy were we ever happy when we finally finished it. And I don’t think I’ve ever said this about a puzzle – I’m glad a piece was missing. I truly am. There was something very satisfying about putting this bleeping puzzle in the trash once we had conquered it. 😈
Best Places in the World by Lewis T. Johnson – White Mountain – 1000 pieces
Collage puzzles make me so happy! 🙂 Best Places in the World went together quickly, but wasn’t so easy as to be boring. Just the right amount of challenge in my opinion.
The new White Mountain puzzles have just come out in the past couple of weeks, and so many of them are out of stock already! It’s easy to see why they’re so popular, images that are fun, nostalgic, bright, and many other adjectives my coffee-deprived brain can’t think of. More have been ordered I’m sure, and will be back in stock hopefully very soon. They are very good quality puzzles with an excellent catalog and the best collages around. Click here to see all the puzzles from White Mountain currently available at Puzzle Warehouse.
As usual for a White Mountain 1000 piece the finished puzzle is 24 x 30 inches (61 x 76 cm) so make sure you have a large enough work space. The pieces were undamaged and separated and there was little to no dust in the bag. The pieces were thick and sturdy, with a variety of piece shapes, and fit together well. The image reproduction was very nice with beautiful, bright colors and a slightly shiny finish. I did have a small issue with image lift occurring because I placed a piece incorrectly; when I lifted it out the image layer came up a bit. This only happened on a couple of pieces, and was mostly my fault for placing it in the wrong spot – but it’s worth mentioning.
This image is not one that I would normally purchase. While it is a collage, it doesn’t jump out as something that I would HAVE to have. Of course, as usual, I was completely wrong in my assumption and I had an awesome time assembling it. It was hard for me to walk away from it, I didn’t want to stop! You would think I would learn, but that doesn’t seem to be the case; on the plus side, that means I get to be surprised a lot by how much fun these puzzles are. 😉
Lewis T. Johnson is the artist, and his artwork has been made into many a gorgeous puzzle. He does beautiful collages and much more. Click the link to see all the puzzles from this artist available now at Puzzle Warehouse. Sea Turtle World looks like a fun challenge, and check out all the travel themed collages he’s done – they look like great fun!
Best Places in the World is a beautiful collage that makes for an excellent puzzle. If you’re a travel buff or know someone who is, this would make a great gift. Highly recommended! 👍👍
I received this product at no cost in return for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are truthful and 100% my own.
This assembly was definitely a family affair – fitting for all the family movies in this puzzle. My sister-in-law, 2 nieces, a nephew (in-law) and myself all worked on this puzzle. Whew!
I sent this puzzle to my sister-in-law as a hostess gift of sorts. My husband and I, along with his two brothers were going to be staying with her for a few days. As a gift for being so brave in putting up with all of us I sent her two puzzles – for a few reasons. One, she enjoys puzzles; and two, it’s nice to have a puzzle sitting out in the house, especially when you have guests. Also, I may have wanted to make sure that I wouldn’t have to go 5 whole days without working on a puzzle. 😇
It’s hard not to stop and look at a puzzle in progress, and you end up adding a piece or two if you can. Before you know it people are sitting and working on it together and having a great time. That’s exactly what happened here. This puzzle sat out for a couple of days and several family members stopped to look and to help assemble it. It takes a bit of pressure off of the host feeling that the guests need to be entertained, we were entertaining ourselves with the puzzle! 🙂
The image here was perfect for a puzzle many people were assembling, it wasn’t too difficult to pick out the pieces for one section to work on. So while one person was assembling A Bug’s Life, someone else was working on Monsters Inc. We all had a great time working on it and were pretty proud of ourselves when we finished it. Excellent Ravensburger quality, with an image both kids and adults could enjoy. Great puzzle!
Star Wars – Ravensburger (Silhouette) – 1098 pieces
This giant puzzle was a monster! 42 inches tall, so I had to work it sideways on my 3×4 foot board. My boys both love Star Wars, so this puzzle was for them. My oldest says he wants to hang it on his bedroom wall. I think rather than framing it, it would be more striking the way it is, so I’m going to have to learn how to attach it to foam board to make a wall hanging out of it. 🙂
Honestly I’m glad he wants to keep it, because it was a quite a challenge for me and I don’t know if I would want it taken apart – it gave me a run for my money! The darkness of the mask and around the edges is actually in shades of blue, purple, and black and it was sometimes very challenging to see which piece was the right color. I only have artificial lighting in my puzzle area so there was a glare issue. That being said, what a gorgeous puzzle! It’s beautiful and I’m proud of myself for sticking with it. The force was with me. 🙂
As usual, the Ravensburger quality was excellent – thick pieces, quality finish, nice variety of piece shapes. The fit for most of the puzzle was very good, but there were a lot of pieces just sitting next to each other (pet peeve! 😦 ), I am not a fan of that. Having whimsies makes it so that you’ve got to create a space around them, and that means not every piece connects. I know it’s part of the package when assembling with a puzzle with whimsies – so I deal with it. The edge pieces that just sit next to each other though, that is so frustrating!! I don’t know the difficulties of manufacturing and cutting a shaped puzzle, so perhaps there’s a reason for not all the edges connecting. But wouldn’t it be lovely if they could all click into one another? Just my opinion.
Aside from the connecting pieces issue, this puzzle was a challenge – but worth it. It’s a stunning puzzle that my sons love, and one of them gets to keep it in his room. And apparently I’m going to learn something new, how to mount it on foam board! 🙂
Country Kitchen by Janet Kruskamp – White Mountain – 1000 pieces
Country Kitchen was a moderately challenging but beautiful puzzle that made me wish I still lived in the country! The stove looks just like one my great grandmother used to use, and the canning pot on the stove looks exactly like one my mother used to have when she canned tomatoes, peaches, and many other tasty treats for the family. I didn’t always appreciate the work that went into feeding us, and the taste of home grown and preserved foods, but I sure do miss them now! Obviously, this puzzle is making me feel a bit nostalgic. 🙂
White Mountain doesn’t just have an excellent catalog of collages, they also have beautiful artwork, photography, landscapes, maps and educational puzzles as well as a new line of children and family puzzles. Their quality is very good with larger, thick pieces that fit together well and excellent image reproduction. Click the link above to see all the puzzles from White Mountain currently available from Puzzle Warehouse.
White Mountain 1000 piece puzzles are larger than most at 24 x 30 inches (61 x 76 cm), so be sure you have a large enough work space before you begin. There was some puzzle dust in the bag but not too much, and the pieces were all separated. There were a few slightly bent pieces but they weren’t so damaged that you couldn’t use them; a quick little bend in the other direction and they were fine. The pieces were thick and sturdy and fit together well. The image reproduction seemed a little muted and fuzzy at first but that was just the artwork style (and my aging eyes). The box is about the average size for a 1000 piece puzzle with the name of the title, artist, manufacturer, and piece count on all 4 sides. 2 sides have a smaller complete image of the puzzle, and 2 sides have a small partial image, making it suitable for shelving either vertically or horizontally.
This assembly was moderately challenging for me because of the art style. The image of the puzzle looks as if it would be easier, but the brush strokes and soft lines made it a bit more difficult for me. That’s a good thing in my mind though, I like a bit of a challenge – it exercises the brain cells. The curtains were the easiest to pick out, along with the stove, sky, and flowers. After those were complete it seemed to get a little easier and went together more quickly for me. It was an extremely enjoyable assembly, and I look forward to working more puzzles by Janet Kruskamp – I like her style! Check out the other puzzles from this artist by clicking the link above, The Blossom Shoppe is gorgeous!
The new puzzles from White Mountain have sold extremely quickly, so if Country Kitchen is sold out at the moment you can always leave your email and sign up to be notified when it’s back in stock. If this image speaks to you I would definitely recommend it. It’s beautiful, nostalgic, and a little challenging – an excellent combination! 👍👍
I received this product at no charge in return for an honest review, all thoughts and opinions expressed are truthful and 100% my own.
