Tag: Liberty Puzzles

The Pinwheel Gator In Progress…

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzling2 Comments

The Pinwheel Gator by Alex Beard – Liberty – 512 pieces

It’s sorted, but hasn’t been started yet; and there are SO MANY whimsy pieces that laying them all out to take a picture is gonna take a very long time! Therefore you just get a little preview today of some of the whimsy pieces in this gorgeous puzzle.

Many of the whimsies seem as though they’re Mardi Gras themed, and since Mardi Gras starts this Friday I thought this was the perfect time to get this puzzle going. I’ve had it here for months and months, and have really been looking forward to it. 😍

Hope you all have fabulous puzzles in the works right now, I know I’ll really be enjoying myself putting this beauty together!

Imagine!

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles4 Comments

Imagine! by Lana Kissinger – Liberty – 284 pieces

This is not your typical jigsaw puzzle image, and that’s why I love it! Plus, part of the proceeds from this puzzle go to a program called Imagine! that assists and benefits those with intellectual and developmental disabilities – you know I can’t resist that either. 😊

It was the most difficult puzzle we assembled on our trip, but the challenge was part of the fun. And everyone who helped thought it looked too difficult, but everyone was able to find pieces that fit together. That gave them more confidence, and they kept at it. (I’m working on converting my entire family into jigsaw puzzling loving freaks just like me.)

Such fun whimsies, the couple having a picnic was one of my favorites, and the woman painting at the easel. (Hubby wasn’t thrilled with the bee whimsies, he was attacked by an in-ground nest of yellow jackets that he disturbed by accident and ended up needing medical attention – not the most fun vacation for him) I tactlessly pointed the bees out to him when he was helping me with the puzzle, and for some reason he didn’t think I was very funny. 😉

I love the little tableaus playing out, a couple on a hike, the children playing with the dog, nature everywhere. Liberty puzzles and the design effort they put into their pieces is absolutely fantastic, it’s part of the reason they’re my favorite current wooden puzzle company.

My beautiful niece came to hang out with me one day, and although she really isn’t a puzzle person she did help me find a few pieces that connected. Sit Long and Talk Much is the motto of Liberty Puzzles, and that’s exactly what we did. We sat, visited, talked about family, friends, life, marriage – pretty much whatever came to mind. It was a fantastic day and I’m so happy we got to spend that time together.💛

This was our last vacation puzzle. We didn’t do as many puzzles this time, but worked on more difficult ones. It was a great trip and every person who helped with the puzzles has become a beloved member of my puzzle posse.

Vacations and puzzles go together for me now, why didn’t I think of this earlier?

Vacation Puzzle In Progress…

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzling4 Comments

Imagine! by Lana Kissinger – Liberty – 284 pieces

Got started on this gorgeous Liberty puzzle yesterday with some assistance from my beautiful niece who spent the day visiting with me. Liberty’s motto is “Sit Long, Talk Much” and that’s exactly what we did. She’s not a puzzle person for the most part, but she seemed to enjoy looking at the interesting shapes and trying to find ones that fit together. She found a few pieces too, so she officially helped me with this assembly!

I hope she had as much fun as I did, it was lovely to spend the day together. We sat long, talked much, did a little puzzling and enjoyed each other’s company. 💖

Buffalo

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles6 Comments

Buffalo by Phil Lewis – Liberty – 148 pieces

Is that not a beautiful and interesting image for a puzzle? My favorite sister-in-law and I put this one together in her cabin in Northern Michigan, and of course we had a marvelous time. A great puzzle – assembled with someone you love spending time with – I couldn’t ask for more! 💟

I bought this specifically for my brother and sister-in-law as a gift for having us up at the cabin and putting up with us for an entire weekend. Sis and I put it together just the two of us, but my hope is that their whole family will enjoy putting it together many, many times while they’re up there vacationing.

There were great outdoorsy whimsy pieces, but we especially loved the fox, the elk, and the moose. Perfect for putting together at the cabin; there aren’t any moose in the lower peninsula that I know of, but still it’s a great puzzle for assembling at a cabin in the woods. The whimsies were all so lovely and made for such great shapes on the pieces around them – absolutely fantastic!

We didn’t notice until the puzzle was finished and I turned it over that the swirly pieces were a snake! Such delightful whimsies in a beautifully made Victorian cut puzzle assembled with loved ones – we had a wonderful time with this puzzle and thoroughly enjoyed every single piece of it. 💖

This was the first time I’ve taken puzzles with me on vacation, and let me tell you it will DEFINITELY be happening again (this week, in fact). Spending time over a puzzle with loved ones; talking about everything, nothing, or just the puzzle itself made for beautiful memories that I will cherish for a very long time.

This was the first puzzle of a great vacation. 😊

Merlin

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles4 Comments

Merlin by Phil Lewis – Liberty – 103 pieces

This adorable puzzle is a “Little Liberty”, made for kids. The pieces were much bigger than the usual ones from this company, and the image is an easy one for kids to work on. Although I am a “grown up” this puzzle was still completely entertaining for me – just a big kid at heart I guess.

The image is by one of my favorite artists that Liberty uses, Phil Lewis, he’s a local artist in Boulder, Colorado – where Liberty Puzzles are located. His artwork makes for gorgeous puzzles; he made the image on one of my favorite puzzles I’ve ever assembled, Sugar Magnolia. I love his illustration here of a dreaming doggy with the clouds above showing what he’s dreaming about; you can see a rabbit being chased and a tennis ball, so cute!

Almost 25 percent of the pieces were whimsies, Liberty has the highest percentage of whimsy pieces per puzzle that I’ve ever worked with (from a contemporary company). They’re all appropriate to the image and easy to recognize, which is also excellent in a puzzle designed for children.

After I pulled all the whimsies out I commented to my husband that they all made sense to me in relation to the image, except for one – the standing woman. (I was working on this one in bed, hubby was right next to me while we binged a favorite show) Neither one of us could figure it out, hubby said perhaps she was holding a treat in her left hand that she might be giving to one of the dogs. We decided to wait and see what it looked like from the back once it was completed; sometimes in Liberty puzzles there are tableaus using more than one whimsy in the finished image. Any guesses for what it turned out to be? Hubby and I were both wrong…

At the top near the middle you can see where the lady fits in – she’s walking her poodle! I love how the designer fit in a straight line between pieces as the leash (the only straight line in the whole puzzle). There are a few little scenes in this image, all things Merlin may be dreaming about; barking at a cat, chasing a rabbit, playing with kids, etc.

It went together quickly, but it was a fantastically made puzzle with beautiful artwork by Phil Lewis. I adored it. 💖