Magical Jungle

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Magical Jungle by Johanna Basford – Buffalo Games – 500 pieces

I love this image, it’s bright and cartoony and makes for fun puzzling. I had a great time assembling this one, it was quick and easy and took my mind off of stressful things. I definitely needed that!

I like the work of Johanna Basford, and think it is excellent puzzle material; she is a Scottish illustrator who has published many adult coloring books. This image feels like a coloring book, perhaps that’s why I like it so much. Even though my brain isn’t working properly enough for me to articulate why it is that certain images are appealing to me, I still try. 🙂

This puzzle also comes with a black and white poster of the image for you to color. Don’t like the purple elephant? Why not make him bright pink? I haven’t finished coloring it, but I sit and work on it every now and then. I worry about my color choices sometimes, which makes absolutely no sense at all. It’s my picture, who am I trying to please other than myself? If I want to color a sloth bright green, so what?!

Racing Scooby Doo

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Racing Scooby Doo – Pressman Toys – 100 pieces

This was a bit challenging for a kid’s puzzle, but I liked that. If they’re all too easy it becomes boring to assemble puzzles, and I think puzzles are great for training your brain. We should keep kid’s interested in puzzles!

This puzzle was of excellent quality with very thick pieces that fit together well. The background with all the roadway was a little tough but not too much. I enjoyed assembling this puzzle even though it was only 100 pieces, after all the kid’s puzzles we had put together that day this one was a nice change from the super easy ones.

Pressman Toys seems to have wonderful quality puzzles for kids. They’re definitely recommended. 👍

 

A Purrrfect Escape!

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A Purrrfect Escape! Wasgij Mystery #13 by James Alexander – Jumbo – 1000 pieces

A Purrrfect Escape was lots of fun! I really enjoy the Wasgij  puzzles, assembling a puzzle you have no picture for is a great challenge. I never show the entire image for these puzzles that you have no picture for, I don’t want to spoil the fun for anyone. I only show the character on the front of the box that has a before and after image; that way I’m not giving anything away and I’m not showing anything new.

The sense of humor of these artists is on par with mine, and I always enjoy the situations they’ve imagined and how their characters end up. In this puzzle Special Agent Wasgij has been captured by the enemy, he has to think fast and look for a getaway. How can he escape his shackles, distract the guards, and make his way to freedom? The answer is what you have to puzzle, and it’s an interesting result!

The colors on this puzzle were bright and fun and I enjoyed figuring out the solution to Special Agent Wasgij’s tiny problem. There were several people to assemble including guards, scientists, the evil villain and his girlfriend, and even the little old lady who serves the “evil tea”.

I still have a stack of Wasgij puzzles in my closet to assemble, it has been reduced some but is still almost 5 feet high with puzzles yet to be done. I’m tackling them when I can, although I just ordered the four new ones (which add up to 6 new puzzles as 2 of the puzzles have a bonus puzzle included!) I’m slightly addicted to puzzles, and a bit off my rocker; but I’m adorable according to my husband, so it’s all good. 🤗

Surprise Party for Pooh

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Surprise Party for Pooh – Mattel – 24 pieces

Excellent quality kid’s puzzle by Mattel. It’s only a 24 piece puzzle and even though it literally took just a few minutes to assemble I still found it enjoyable. And who doesn’t love Winnie the Pooh?

This image has bright, fun colors and is appropriately easy enough for a 24 piece puzzle. The pieces are thick and sturdy and fit together amazingly well. Great quality!

These are the characters I remember from my childhood – they haven’t been “updated” thank goodness! I don’t care for the makeovers so many older Disney characters seem to be getting. In my opinion they should be left the way they were originally drawn. It makes me sad that the characters I remember so fondly from my childhood are different now or prettied up. Perhaps this is equivalent to “you kids turn that awful music down!” Some things seem better as they were in our memories.

Geez, I sound old! 😮

 

Doc McStuffins

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Doc McStuffins – Cardinal – 135 pieces

This puzzle was lots of fun! Mom and I assembled it together and we both found it very interesting. There are 3 puzzles in one box, 3 different sizes of pieces; you can assemble them one at a time, or do them all and make a panoramic puzzle.

The piece counts are 24, 48, and 63 pieces. They were a good thickness, sturdy, and fit together nicely. It’s a shame there was a piece missing because this was a very nice puzzle; Cardinal does a good job with kid’s puzzles in my opinion.

I liked the irregular border on these puzzles and that the different piece sizes make it an excellent puzzle to work on with someone else. If you’ve got a child who likes Doc McStuffins, I would definitely recommend this puzzle. 🙂