Dog Selfies – Day 3

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

These three were the funniest in my opinion, and with every name I gave them it made me laugh even more. I absolutely adored these puzzles, especially these three faces!

I mean, how can you look at these three silly puppy faces and not laugh? They’re hysterical, and they lent themselves to names that just immediately popped into my head when I looked at them. Sometimes it’s like pulling teeth and I can’t settle on the right name for the right face; but these three let me know who they were with no hesitation at all.

This is my friend Mingus. Mingus is a freelance photographer who doesn’t sell many of his pictures, but he tries his best. He always seems to catch his subjects at exactly the wrong moment, but sometimes those make for more “interesting” images. Mingus is looking for love on many dating sites/apps, but has so far failed to find a heart-mate (I fear it’s because he took his own picture to put on his profile – the one above). He is a homebody who enjoys making and stuffing his own sausage, and creating elaborate dollhouses. Sweet, silly, simple Mingus.

Henrietta here is the best loved third grade teacher at Precocious Pups Primary School. She loves to encourage her students to study what they love best and are most interested in, and is always ready for a field trip to someplace fun. Her class is the most requested, and every third grader under her tutelage loves going to school. Henrietta loves watching trashy tv in her spare time – dating shows are her favorite, and she enjoys taking ski trips with her partner whenever she can.

Everyone, meet Greg. He is the MOST enthusiastic canine officer you’ll ever find, and loves nothing more than chasing down a suspect and keeping him busy until backup arrives. He’s hoping to be promoted to the drug enforcement unit soon, but he’s having trouble with sinus issues – it’s hard for him to smell anything at the moment – therefore drug detection may be a problem for him. Greg and his wife Millie have 13 pups, and coming home to play with them all is his great joy. Perhaps there’s a budding canine officer or two in the litter – you never know. 🚔🚓

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. 💤🛌💤

Selfies – Part 4

Selfies 4-1
Selfies by Howard Robinson – Cra-Z-Art – 125/500 pieces

Sadly, we have come to the end of our series. These sets are so entertaining for me to assemble, and in addition there’s the fun of coming up with silly names and backstories for each one. I hope you all have enjoyed reading my nonsensical ramblings as much as I’ve enjoyed writing them. 😎

These sets by Cra-Z-Art have truly been the most fun I’ve had this summer (where I live though, it’s basically summer all year round). They are the quickest 500 piece puzzles I’ve ever assembled, because I cannot stop working on them – they’re too much fun!

Selfies 4-2

Thurston, meet my readers; readers, meet Thurston. He comes from one of the hoity toity areas of the ocean – near Palm Beach, Florida. Thurston has never worked a day in his life, and his only responsibility is deciding how to spend his inheritance. He has no ambition, no actual life skills, and no discernible intelligence. He thinks he’s pretty darn amazing though, of course he does. Wait until he finds out that male seahorses are the ones that get pregnant and have to carry the babies!

Selfies 4-3

This almost completely black and white puzzle was a little challenging, and took pretty much all of my concentration. It’s the largest of all twelve puzzles, and although it was difficult, the finished result is completely worth it.

Tracy is an Orca -what some call a killer whale. Tracy doesn’t like the “killer whale” nametag though, she doesn’t consider herself a killer at all; unless you’re talking about her killer moves on the dance floor! She’s a postal carrier by day, and after work she loves to dance the night away at her favorite club – The Barrier Reef. Tracy and her fiance, Oswaldo, met on the dance floor. It was love at first cha-cha.

Selfies 4-4

The expression on this shark is too funny, and it reminds me of an excited puppy. Therefore I have given him one of the most popular pet names – Max. He’s just a little guy in a great big ocean, and he doesn’t mind at all. Max is a toll booth attendant, and although some would find it an extremely boring job he loves it and enjoys meeting so many new creatures every day. In his spare time he enjoys needlepoint, making his own homemade pickles, and binge-watching 80’s tv shows on Tuna-Netflix.


I’ve got four more of these sets that I haven’t assembled yet, and I’m trying not to do them even though I REALLY want to. I need to get myself back in the habit of working on my puzzles more often, as July was the worst month of puzzling for me in a long time. I barely assembled any puzzles and spent most of the month in bed. Perhaps part of the reason is a vicious cycle that self-perpetuates. I’m depressed and hurting and don’t even have the energy to get out of bed, I stay there and don’t work on my puzzles which would help to elevate my mood. No puzzles, no boost to my mood. No boost to my mood, no puzzles. Lather, rinse, repeat.

So, I’m saving them as a reward for when I get myself out of bed and back to the puzzle board every day; it’ll be good to get back into my routine. And once I do, I can give myself the reward of putting together another one of these fantastic sets. 😎