Ice Cream Social

Ice Cream Social by Lars Stewart – Milton Bradley – 300 pieces

Such a fun and colorful image, I really had a good time putting this one together! This was a thrift store puzzle, and although it was pre-loved and had a few bent tabs it was good quality and all the pieces were there – what more could a PADS sufferer ask for?

The quality of this puzzle was better than anticipated. There were the bent tabs, but otherwise I was more than happy with every other category. There were a very good variety of piece shapes, the cut was nice, the fit was exceptional, the finish was matte and it had a nice hand feel.

Exceptional fit, you say? Hmmm. Is she gonna take another stupid standing up puzzle picture? Of course she is!

These pictures and standing up a puzzle really do make me happy. I have no explanation and I make no excuses. 😎

Ice Cream Social In Progress…

Ice Cream Social by Lars Stewart – Milton Bradley – 300 pieces

It took me forever to decide which puzzle to do next; my last puzzle of 2023 was a 1000 piece puzzle that was a bleeping nightmare to work with and my first puzzle of 2024 was a little 101 piece puzzle that my son got me for Christmas. I wanted the next one to be entertaining and relatively good quality and seeing this Lars Stewart image made my decision for me – bright colors, lots of words, and lots of yummy, colorful ice cream!

This is a thrift store purchase, and there are a lot of pieces with bent tabs, but otherwise the quality has been good so far. The fit is nice, the finish is matte and has a good hand feel, there are a good variety of pieces and the image reproduction is gorgeous.

Here’s hoping it’s a complete puzzle and it remains fun to assemble!

Rocks, Crystals and Minerals

Rocks, Crystals and Minerals by Lars Stewart – Wentworth – 250 pieces

This beautiful collection of rocks and crystals is absolutely stunning, even more so than the picture can show. It made for such an interesting and entertaining assembly that I was really sad when it was over so quickly – I wished I had purchased a larger piece count!

Beautiful whimsy pieces that go along with the puzzle, although I was surprised to see the excavator along with the other digging tools. It does make sense though, there has to be some way to get those beautiful stones out of the Earth, and the excavator would make it much easier than hand tools.

I think I got the image upside down when I took this picture, although I didn’t notice it until right this moment. I could go back and fix it, but it would take time to change the image and then re-upload it, and to be honest in my opinion it doesn’t matter enough to take the time. I’d rather spend that time working on my next puzzle!

This beautiful image by Lars Stewart (Aimee’s boo) is absolutely striking and the colors are amazingly lovely in person – pictures definitely don’t capture it properly. This is one puzzle that will definitely be assembled again.

I give it five out of five diamonds!💎💎💍💎💎

Fun Fair Food

Fun Fair Food by Lars Stewart – Buffalo – 300 pieces

What a great image for puzzling! It’s not too simple, but not too difficult, and at only 300 pieces it’s perfect for when you’re wanting a quick puzzle to complete. Of course I adored this – it’s a colorful collage of food – what’s not to enjoy?

A quick check of the blog tells me that this was my first puzzle with an image by Lars Stewart, Aimee’s husband. He obviously has learned some things from her about color choices, don’t you think? They’re bright and beautiful, and it made for an extremely entertaining assembly.

This was a great first puzzle back after our 10 day vacation; and I loved every piece. 💙

How fitting it’s also the first puzzle posted after our second 10 day trip to Michigan, I’m so glad to be home!

Fun Fair Food In Progress…

Fun Fair Food by Lars Stewart – Buffalo – 300 pieces

There were several 300 piece puzzles I considered before choosing this one, it was the colors that decided it for me. It’s a Lars Stewart, so most likely it’s because it seemed as familiar as an Aimee Stewart. Thank goodness we have digital artists like the Stewarts and Ciro Marchetti to make us such colorful and entertaining images to puzzle!

There hasn’t been much work on this, but it got started because I needed some “me time” doing an actual puzzle in between writing up all the posts of the puzzles that we did on vacation.

My family and I assembled eight puzzles during our holiday; all I did was take pictures when they were complete. I’ve spent the past couple days writing up posts so I don’t forget any of the little things about the assemblies – my memory isn’t what it used to be – if I don’t get things written down now there will absolutely be forgotten details. But in this midst of typing up all those posts I felt the need to put my hands on an actual puzzle and fit some pieces together. 🧩💚