Downtown Freemont…In Progress…

Downtown Freemont, Las Vegas, Nevada by Susanne Kremer – Cra-Z-Art (Kodak) – 350 pieces

I’ve had a pretty terrible week, puzzle-wise. It started quite well, with a collage of musicals from stage and screen, obviously I loved that one. It began going downhill after that into a series of three different puzzles from three different brands that were disappointing, frustrating, and upsetting. I told my bestest puzzle pal that apparently I’m not supposed to actually enjoy puzzling this week. That day was a bad day and I felt the depression creeping back in.

So, after a day spent almost entirely in bed I decided I was getting back on the horse and I was going to find a puzzle here to make me happy – no matter what! Not an easy task when you’re in a black sort of mood and nothing looks good…or like fun…or the right one for the right time. I hope you have some inkling of what I mean, otherwise I’m just rambling here.

After much searching through all my new purchases, my thrift store finds, and all the puzzles on my shelves I came across this one; I have hopes that the assembly will be both entertaining and a balm for my bruised and battered puzzle mojo.

  • smaller piece count – ✔
  • bright colors – ✔
  • easy to moderate difficulty – ✔
  • relatively good brand – eh, we’ll see, this one’s hit or miss

So far this is all I’ve done, but it’s been a bad week in the pain department as well so there wasn’t much time that I was able to actually sit in front of the puzzle board and work on it. I’m about halfway done, and I’m happy as a clam that it hasn’t disappointed me yet. 🤞

Review: Dream Cottage Retreat

This post is sponsored by Puzzle Warehouse. 

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Dream Cottage Retreat by Cra-Z-Art – Kodak (Lafayette Puzzle Factory) – 1000 pieces

Dream Cottage Retreat is a gorgeous puzzle! Several family members commented on it while I was assembling it, that isn’t something that usually happens around here. They all said how colorful and pretty it was and I agree. 🙂

This was my first experience with Kodak, according to Puzzle Warehouse they are manufactured by Lafayette Puzzle Factory. I was impressed with the overall quality although I did have some minor issues. There were several sets of pieces that weren’t fully separated; this is not a major issue as it’s easy enough to separate them without damage to the pieces. There were, however, 3 sets of pieces that weren’t cut completely through and couldn’t be separated without damage. Both of these issues are most likely the result of the puzzle being the end of the run when the die isn’t as sharp. This didn’t lessen my enjoyment of the puzzle, and the overall quality of this puzzle was very good. The pieces are a good thickness and fit together well, if somewhat loosely. The image reproduction especially is excellent and looking at the other puzzles in the series, the images they’ve chosen look to be amazing as well. Click on the link to see all the Kodak Premium Puzzles in stock now at Puzzle Warehouse.

This was a random cut puzzle, which I find is a nice change every once in a while. It takes my brain a few minutes to make the switch, I solve these puzzles differently than grid cut. It’s good exercise for my brain, keeps me on my toes! Being random cut, some of the pieces of this puzzle seemed quite small, so if fine motor skills or eyesight is an issue it’s something to consider.

I love cottage/cabin puzzles, they are what the British would call “chocolate box” puzzles. I had to look it up, but it means an image or picture that is pretty in a idealized or conventional way. They seem pretty ideal to me; places that I would love to go, or a cottage that would be my dream getaway. Wouldn’t it be lovely to sit in the gazebo with a puzzle on a beautiful summer day?

I enjoyed this assembly, and it went quicker than most 1000 piece puzzles for me. It was hard to stop working on it to do all those annoying life things like eating, walking, etc. As always, I come back to my puzzling – it keeps me sane. ☺

Details:

  • Title:                  Dream Cottage Retreat
  • Artist:                Cra-Z-Art
  • Brand:               Kodak (Lafayette Puzzle Factory)
  • Piece count:     1000 pieces
  • Size:                  Approx. 19 x 27 in. (50 x 68 cm)
  • Purchased:      n/a

Quality:

  • Board:               Very good
  • Cutting:             Fair
  • Image:               Excellent
  • Box:                   Very good, small and square
  • Fit:                     Good, somewhat loose
  • Puzzle Dust:     Small amount
  • Piece cut:          Random cut
  • Piece shapes:   Very good variety
  • Finish:               Slightly shiny finish, lays flat

Overall Rating:      Very good, recommended

 

I received this product at no cost in order to facilitate this review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are truthful and 100% my own.