Tag: Holiday Puzzles

Christmas Town – Day 1

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles2 Comments

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

You know what I’m going to say here about these images. So I won’t say it. Regardless, I still enjoyed putting them together. There’s something about a small puzzle, completing it in just a few minutes – it’s very satisfying and gives me quite a sense of accomplishment. Some days you just need to feel as though you got something done; these little puzzles are perfect for that.

Just because the average Christmas puzzle isn’t my particular pile of pieces, it doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate the artwork, because I absolutely do. Each scene here is very detailed and would make a great holiday puzzle in it’s own right. These are the first puzzles with images by Joseph Holodook that I’ve done, and I was very impressed with his attention to detail, and the sense of nostalgia in his art. Just lovely.

These Cra-Z-Art sets are great for working with younger children too; you could use the colored backing to separate each little puzzle, and help them to assemble a puzzle with a more “adult” theme. It could help build confidence in their puzzling and problem solving skills; plus, you end up with a beautiful little completed puzzle!

This is perfect little scene on the homefront. Look at those snowmen. I know whenever I tried to make a snowman when I was younger, the snow always had so much grass and dirt in it – they never looked that perfect for me.

This is my favorite of these three puzzles, and I love the quote. “Childhood is the country we had to leave behind, but at the holidays we can go back and speak our very first language.” I couldn’t find the quote anywhere else, so my assumption is that it is by the artist himself; whoever said it, it rings very true.

The blue of this building is beautiful, and made putting together part of this puzzle pretty easy. It’s a lovely scene, isn’t it?

Driving Home for Christmas

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles4 Comments

Driving Home for Christmas by John Francis – Wentworth – 33 pieces

What can I say about this puzzle? It was my absolute favorite of all the cracker puzzles from Wentworth this year, the image is completely charming and colorful and I adore it. The bright colors, the overloaded car, even the license plate – all fantastic!

The cut of this puzzle was odd and wonderful and the whole thing took much more concentration than I thought it would – which was perfect. Have you ever assembled the perfect puzzle at the perfect time? One that was exactly what you needed at that very moment? That’s what this puzzle was for me.

I had a very challenging 1000 piece puzzle on my board, yesterday’s Life Rules, which was there to keep me from getting too burned out on holiday puzzles. It was very tall and thin so that it could be scooted to the back of the board when necessary. That way I could stop when I was frustrated or tired of the tedium and work on some of my small wooden holiday puzzles.

When I was sick of that difficult puzzle one day I scooted it to the back of the board and started working on Driving Home for Christmas; and it was precisely what I needed.

It’s a great puzzle that had me completely absorbed in the assembly from the very first pieces. The beautiful colors and interesting cut wiped away all the frustration I was feeling about the large puzzle; I was just in the moment and enjoying putting this little beauty together.

The perfect puzzle at the perfect time. Perfection!

Stevie the Hedgehog

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles4 Comments

Stevie the Hedgehog by John Francis – Wentworth – 15 pieces

Of the three kid’s puzzles I got from Wentworth, this is the one I’m keeping….for now. He’s too cute for me to give away just yet. Besides, it’s always a good idea to have an extra gift hanging around the house for emergencies.

Stevie is absolutely adorable, and he was a lot of fun to assemble too. The extra big pieces, bright colors, and sweet image made for a great time; Wentworth did such a great job with these puzzles for children, they’re truly lovely.

It makes me wish my kids were still little so I could do these puzzles with them. We would have had so much fun with these. (I miss my kids being little 😭)

Such great whimsies, all ones that even young children will recognize. A snowman and Santa are pretty easy to spot, and there’s also a little representation of Stevie himself. Adorable!

Wanted to show you the extra large pieces that are easier for little hands to hold and work with. Mom always said to give a reference when a puzzle was larger or smaller than normal, so that people can appreciate the actual size. When you see this piece in my hand you can tell that this is a puzzle with extremely big pieces made especially for children.

I loved this one! 🦔💖

Tinsel Town

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles5 Comments

Tinsel Town by Richard Macneil – Wentworth – 40 pieces

Tinsel Town was the last of the micro puzzles from Wentworth that I assembled this season. (Don’t worry, there are still plenty left to show you, this isn’t the end of the holiday puzzles) It was a little more time consuming than it looks like it would be, but it was a fun assembly. I had a good time in spite of myself. 😉

This was purchased a couple of years ago, but for some reason I never got around to putting it together. Most likely it just got lost in the shuffle, it’s probably not because of the image. A couple of years ago I bought EVERY single micro puzzle Wentworth had without regard to image. It’s one of those holiday puzzles I don’t normally care for; however, with such a small piece count it wasn’t nearly as tedious as my brain thought it would be.

Don’t get me wrong, the artwork by Richard Macneil is absolutely beautiful. I appreciate the colors and the use of light – it’s truly lovely. I just have an (admittedly) irrational dislike of puzzles with traditional Christmas images. They just all seem the same, and for me that’s boring. I recognize and appreciate the artwork, they’re beautiful. Honestly, some of them – like this one – are stunningly beautiful. They’re just not what I like to assemble, that’s all.

The usual nicely accented whimsy pieces; my favorite is the snowman with his pointy carrot nose. ⛄🥕

Checking it Twice

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles6 Comments

Checking it Twice by Terry Good – Wentworth – 25 pieces

Another beautiful micro puzzle from Wentworth, this is one of their “Cracker Puzzles” that come in an organza bag inside a Christmas cracker shaped box. Perfect for stocking stuffers, or just a fun treat for yourself!

The quality of these Wentworth puzzles is excellent, I’ve never had a problem with any of their products as far as I can remember. The only time I’ve ever contacted customer service was when I didn’t know what the shape of one of their whimsies was. (It was a symbol for the London Tube *their subway system*) They were very nice in responding to my odd request and got back to me right away. 👍

Wentworth micro puzzles are a godsend when I’m feeling awful and in bed; I can still work on a puzzle and take my mind off of things. All I need is a small cookie sheet lined with paper and I can puzzle while in bed. Because they’re so helpful to me when I can’t sit in front of my puzzle table I’m always happy to order myself a bunch of their small puzzles once a year; I try to get every single one whose image speaks to me. I’m totally worth it!

The artwork by Terry Good is so beautiful, and it would make a fantastic puzzle of any size – all the way up to 1000 pieces. There’s so much detail, and even though the colors seem slightly muted they’re still bright enough to make a captivating image.

Look at these cute whimsies; the detail Wentworth etches into them make them even more special. Most whimsy pieces are just the outline of an image or figure, but they go the extra mile and give them detail – love them!