Yosemite Fall by Alexander Chen – Wentworth Wooden Puzzles – 40 pieces
Another hospital puzzle, but at least the whimsies in this one made sense. It’s a beautiful image that was a bit more challenging than Fuyune, but luckily my daughter helped me with this one too. I love working puzzles with her. ❤
I liked the whimsy pieces in this puzzle, they went along perfectly with the picture; a squirrel, a butterfly, a rabbit, a bird, and a tree. The assembly took a little more time than what seems to be the average for these micro puzzles, but I had plenty of time for concentrating and puzzle assembly.
This image isn’t one I would normally buy, but because there were only 40 pieces there was absolutely no hesitation when purchasing it. In fact, of all the micro puzzles available at the time there was only one that I didn’t buy – an image of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip; I’m not much of an anglophile, and it didn’t interest me at all. There are several puzzles that I did buy that I would never purchase new in a large piece count. There’s something about such a small amount of pieces that it gives me confidence; I can absolutely do that one, it’s only 40 pieces! 🙂
I should have pushed the pieces together to take a better picture. Still, even with the less than perfect picture this puzzle is beautiful with a stunning image by Haruyo Morita – so pretty!
My daughter helped me assemble this puzzle, it seemed to be a popular pastime when visiting me. I’m a little cranky and not fun to be around when I don’t feel well so perhaps it was easier to deal with me when I was working on a puzzle? 👼
I can’t figure out why the whimsies in this puzzle are holiday themed, it doesn’t seem to lend itself to the image. It was still a fun assembly, but the incongruency of the whimsy pieces took me out of picture a bit. All in all it was a beautiful puzzle that was fun to put together, I’m really glad I have so many small puzzles that can be done almost anywhere; they’re the best!
We Are All in this Together by Sandy Miller – Springbok (Thingies) – 60 pieces
I really loved this little puzzle, it was challenging enough to not be boring, small enough to fit the small bedside table I’ve been working with, and very nice quality.
Mom brought me a few puzzles that I can do here in the hospital so I won’t be bored out of my mind staring at the tv, this one was so interesting we assembled it right away, together. I know, a person doesn’t need assistance with a puzzle this small, but we like doing puzzles together and she came to help keep me entertained. It worked!
I’ve never heard of these Springbok Thingies, what a neat concept! Small, round puzzles in small, round boxes that you can take and assemble anywhere. From what I could find online the Thingies were produced in the late 60’s, all with the designs of Sandy Miller, and were quite popular for several years. The one we purchased has a copyright date of 2013, so it seems they have been reissued, I would love to find more of these! They’re rather like the micro puzzles from Wentworth – excellent quality, small piece count puzzles that you can take with you and assemble almost anywhere.
I love that although they are only 60 pieces and they aren’t childish images, they’re actually a bit more challenging and take a little bit of focus. Mom and I had a great time assembling this one. The finish on the pieces didn’t feel the same as larger piece count Springbok puzzles we’ve assembled, it was almost soft and feels really nice in your hand.
I’m hoping mom finds many more of these, we enjoyed this one very much! 🙂
Details:
Title: We Are All in this Together
Artist: Sandy Miller
Brand: Springbok
Piece count: 60 pieces
Size: Approx. 7′” in diameter (18 cm)
Purchased: Used, thrift store
Quality:
Board: Excellent
Cutting: Excellent
Image: Very good
Box: Small, round, heavy cardboard, very portable
Fit: Very good
Puzzle Dust: Very small amount
Piece cut: Random
Piece shapes: Very good variety
Finish: Matte finish, lays flat
Overall Rating: Very good to excellent, highly recommended
The Night Before Christmas by Steve Crisp – Wentworth Wooden Puzzles – 40 pieces
Love, love, love these puzzles! I had to post The Night Before Christmas today, it’s Christmas Eve – Santa’s coming tonight!! 🎅
I haven’t done any of the Steve Crisp houses before, and having seen the detail on this tiny one I’m really wanting to try one of the 1000 piece house puzzles. It looks like they would be lots of fun; I’ve never really looked at them before, though I’m not sure why. Probably because there are so many puzzles and so little time. I guess that means the wish list is going to be getting a little bit bigger. Perhaps it’ll get smaller as well, if Santa brings me a puzzle or two. I’ve tried to be good this year – I’m not always successful, but trying has to be worth something right? (Besides, being well-behaved isn’t nearly as much fun as being a little naughty now and then! 😈)
This was another Christmas puzzle that isn’t the “normal” scene, and the assembly was wonderful. You can see on the roof of the house the whimsy piece of Santa, it’s incredibly detailed; there was also a stocking, a present, a snowflake, and a Christmas tree. I loved this little puzzle!
Santa and his Team – Wentworth Wooden Puzzles – 25 pieces
This puzzle was the easiest of the “cracker” puzzles, but still fun to put together. You can see all the whimsies clearly in this puzzle because of the lighter color; a reindeer, penguin, snowman, Christmas tree, and Santa. 5 whimsies in a 25 piece puzzle, that’s a pretty good ratio!
I love the reindeer’s faces in this one, they’re just so darn cute! I get distracted by the snowman right on Santa’s face, but that’s one of the drawbacks of wooden puzzles that I’ve found. When the puzzle image is light the piece shape is very obvious and can pull your eye from seeing the picture as a whole. If you scroll back up and look at the house, on the bottom floor the piece shapes aren’t as obvious as they are on or near the roof. Still, for me, it doesn’t detract from my enjoyment of the assembly, they’re still fun to put together.
These were the last 2 of the “cracker” puzzles, and you won’t be surprised to hear that I loved every one of them. There are a few more Christmas micro puzzles that I haven’t put together yet, but I’ve sent them with my mom on her trip to visit one of my sisters for the holidays. They’re the perfect size for traveling; they don’t take up much room in your luggage and they don’t take up much room when you’re assembling them either. I guess I’ll save them for Christmas in July on the blog – only 7 months to go! 🙂
Playful Santa – Wentworth Wooden Puzzles – 25 pieces
It doesn’t look like it, but this micro puzzle was more difficult than it looked. I’m almost embarrassed at how long it took me to put these 25 pieces together! It’s interesting to me how such a small puzzle with very few pieces can be cut to make the assembly so much more challenging. Aside from the whimsy pieces, the cuts don’t seem that unusual, but they’re the just the right amount of difficult.
The Christmas cracker puzzles are so beautiful and come in such interesting packaging; they will make excellent stocking stuffers for next year. I can’t wait to see if there will be new micro puzzles to choose from! (I think I’d better start saving now)
Festive Angel by Louise Anglicas – Wentworth Wooden Puzzles – 36 pieces
This beautiful angel had a much more intricate cut which added to the challenge, in addition to being shaped. Loved it!
As someone who usually does 1000 piece puzzles (and has even assembled the world’s largest jigsaw puzzle) it’s amazing how much I enjoy these micro puzzles. It’s wonderful to work with the wood pieces, and even though it doesn’t seem like they would be much fun, they are astonishingly entertaining. I think they might even have helped me enjoy Christmas puzzles more, because I had absolutely no hesitation about ordering every single one they had available! 🎄
My Jigsaw Journal 