Dog Selfies – Day 2

Dog Selfies by Howard Robinson – Cra-Z-Art – approx. 125/500 pieces

If you ask me Howard Robinson is a master at capturing animals, and to give them such silly and cute faces is probably not an easy task. I love all of his animal selfies, they really make me laugh – and smile.

Hubby loved seeing this set on the table as I was completing them (we share the “office” now as he works primarily from home), and I explained that normally when I post about puzzles like these they are given names and small backstories about who they are. He decided to name these three. I commented that one looks like an idiot, one looks sweet but a little stupid, and one looks like the most intelligent of the bunch. Hubby said that we should name them after family members, which made us both laugh out loud.

Now, I’m certainly not saying that our family members are less than intelligent, this just made us both laugh and I decided to go with it. So if you know my family please don’t rat me out! 😉

Steve. Poor Steve. He tries, he really does. Steve is “between jobs” at the moment, but wants to be a husband for rent, so to speak. He wants to basically be a handyman who helps out at the homes of single people who cannot do their own home repairs. If only he knew how to actually do repairs of any kind, then he’d be all set. Steve enjoys putt-putt golf, making his own jerky, and hanging out with his friends. He isn’t a complicated guy, but he means well.

Meet David everyone. David is serious, studious, and a meticulous planner. He can keep everyone in line and on schedule, even with the unruly bunch that he sometimes associates with. David works in quality control for a manufacturing plant and makes sure that everything is as it should be with every single part produced – which is the perfect job for his personality. In his free time he enjoys playing computer solitaire, watching tv with his wife and children, and deep-sea fishing.

Billy here is very sweet, but doesn’t really understand much. He’s on his fourth career and gets by well enough, but doesn’t really comprehend as much as he should. Billy would be happy to help you out with whatever he can, but he’s very busy chasing leaves and squirrels in the front yard much of the time. He enjoys getting his hair brushed, watching cars racing on tv, and many many naps.

Dog Selfies – Day 1

Dog Selfies by Howard Robinson – Cra-Z-Art – approx. 125/500 pieces

Here we go again – more adorable little mini puzzles! This time it’s silly puppy faces with Howard Robinson’s selfie images; there is much cuteness to be had. ❤🐶❤

These mini puzzle sets from Cra-Z-Art are exactly my pile of pieces. Being able to separate them by their colored backing and then assemble each small puzzle one at a time is great for when you may not have the time or inclination to work on a larger piece count. Or if you’re feeling like a challenge and want to assemble this as a straight up 500 piece puzzle, this set in particular would be more difficult than most as the colors aren’t as bright or varied as many of the other sets.

Every dog here has been given a name and small backstory straight from the warped and weird mind of yours truly. Because they’re all drawn with funny selfie faces they make me think of more “out of the box” or “different” names – I’m not sure why, but that is where my mind goes. Also, I’m not immediately familiar with every breed in this set so giving every one a name that starts with the same letter as the breed (as I did with the birds) wasn’t something I could do.

This is Gunther. He is an enforcer for a loan shark, and his reputation does all the work for him. He doesn’t have to do any actual harm to anyone, he just leaves a “gift” in the yard of any dog who is late with a payment and before you know it things are as they should be. Gunther enjoys short walks on the beach, taking the ladies out to the clubs, and binge-watching metal working shows on tv. He’s a complicated guy.

Irina here is a ballerina with the Houston Ballet. She has been working to become the prima ballerina of the company but to be honest I doubt she’ll get there (those short legs are a hindrance). Irina loves to choregraph for all types of dance, and I believe she’ll be an excellent choreographer when her dance career is over. She lives in a small apartment with her husband Jake, and they spend all their free time working on the fixer-upper house they’ve purchased.

Everyone, meet Cletus. Cletus means well, but is always getting things messed up. He is a security guard at night, only because sitting and watching monitors is about all he can reasonably be counted on to do. He tries, but usually does the opposite of whatever he should do. Cletus loves making his own homemade ice cream and watching cooking videos on YouTube. He’s a sweetheart and he means well, that makes up for a lot.

Animal Selfies

Animal Selfies by Howard Robinson – Cra-Z-Art – 500 pieces

Normally I would post these puzzles in groups of three or four over multiple days, but I just wasn’t feeling it this time. There’s nothing wrong with the puzzles or the images, it just wasn’t in the cards for me right now. Don’t worry though, there are plenty more sets to be assembled and many more silly names and backstories to be shared.

If you’ve been here for a while you know how much I adore these sets of mini puzzles from Cra-Z-Art. With the colored backing you can separate them first and make each one it’s own little puzzle from start to finish. Or if you want to challenge yourself you can keep them all mixed up and assemble it as a 500 piece puzzle – the choice is yours. They’re good quality puzzles and I enjoy working with them every time.

I started these the day after Christmas, and was just completely worn out by the holiday, which is probably why I decided to do these as one post. Then a few days before the New Year I developed a serious infection (not the plague) that I am still not fully recovered from yet; all I can think of is getting back into bed and sleeping for another whole day – or seven. 💤🛌💤

Love Coffee

Love Coffee – Cra-Z-Art – 300 pieces

I was in the mood for a quick collage, and this beautiful 300 piece fit the bill just right! And as a coffee lover, of course the image spoke to me – gotta have my coffee in the mornings. ☕

The quality of this Cra-Z-Art puzzle had me pleasantly surprised. Excellent fit, beautiful image reproduction, good variety of shapes, and sturdy chipboard – all of these were better than I’d assumed they’d be. Don’t you love it when things are better than you thought? I do!

This was my favorite section, the hands cupping the mug make almost a heart. LOVE me some coffee! Black with two sugars please. 🖤

I love being able to do this with a puzzle. And I was so sure of this fit that I took this picture BEFORE I took any other pictures. I knew it wouldn’t fall apart, so there was no fear at all – I just picked it up and stood it on it’s bottom edge. That is not how things usually go, I always take my regular pictures before standing up a puzzle, just in case things go pear-shaped. The fit on this puzzle was exceptional!

Christmas Town – Day 4

Christmas Town by Joseph Holodook – Cra-Z-Art – approx. 125/500 pieces

These 500 piece puzzles by Cra-Z-Art are really some of my favorites to assemble. One of these times I should assemble them as a true 500 piece instead of separating them according to the colored backing. Maybe I’ll do that on one of the next ones. (Although I really do enjoy being able to just grab a pile of pieces and put a whole little image together in just a few minutes)

Some of these scenes seem a bit more modern than others, some have electric lights like this one, and more modern vehicles. You can see by the car and the clothes that this seems to be early 20th century. One of yesterday’s buildings had no lights and there were wagons being pulled by oxen and horses.

This looks like it could be the parsonage of a church. You can see a portion of a stained glass window from the building next door on the far left. I’m not crazy about the color palette for this one, but it’s incredibly detailed for such a small puzzle.

Rufus E. Dunclutter – now that’s a name! Too bad there aren’t any quilts that we can see, you know I love a puzzle with some quilts in it; unfortunately there is only a sign. Rufus seems to be a man who does whatever he can, he sells quilts, old books, antiques, and “what nots”. Go for it Rufus!

I love that there are two older men tipping their hats to each other in the foreground; it’s so old timey and polite. 🎩

The florist sells Christmas trees apparently, very cool! And there’s an enterprising young man with his shovel looking for driveways or sidewalks to clear – perhaps for some extra spending money for the holidays.


I hope you’ve all enjoyed our trip through Christmas Town, with all of it’s delightful buildings. I enjoyed putting every one together, they make for such fun little puzzles!