Butterflies In Progress

Butterflies III – Cra-Z-Art – 500 pieces

I spent A LOT of time yesterday trying to decide on the next puzzle; for some reason my brain was being extremely fickle and I just couldn’t stick with one choice. Several times the decision was made, and several times I changed my mind. At one point I thought the best way to come up with the next puzzle was to go shopping and find something new – my brain is so weird sometimes.

Eventually everything finally came to rest on this set of 18 butterflies and I was able to get them sorted while I was in bed watching tv. I’ve only gotten a few of them finished this morning; either they’re more difficult than usual or I haven’t had enough coffee yet. Or it could be both.

There are some large butterflies in this set and some beautiful (but difficult) patterns. I’ve found myself staring at the pieces, completely engrossed in the assembly; I forget there’s coffee next to me, I forget everything until that mini puzzle is done. Then I come out of my stupor to find that much time has passed and my coffee is cold!

Some of the sets are quite easy to assemble, and some are more challenging. So far I’d put this one in the more challenging category. Last night was a terrible night for sleep and I’m dragging and feeling stupid this morning – that could be a part of the problem. Perhaps I should go watch a couple episodes of the current show I’m binge-watching; I can have a few cups of coffee and make sure I’m more awake and aware before I attempt to put together any more pretty butterflies.


It’ll probably be about a month before you start seeing the assembled flutter-bys being posted, but please don’t expect names and bios; although they’re beautiful creatures they just don’t have personality to speak of.

If I can’t see faces I can’t see individuality, identity, charisma, or emotion. Without those I’ve got nuthin’!

Gone Fishing

Gone Fishing by Jen Cameron – MicroPuzzles – 150 pieces

This little cutie was harder than we thought it would be, but truly so much fun. Hubby enjoyed the challenge of it this time instead of leaving all the hard work to me; he told our daughter when she came to visit that “it is a hard one, but we’re both having fun”. Great puzzle!

It looks to me like Jen Cameron is the go-to artist at MicroPuzzles, so many of their images that I’ve assembled so far are her work. According to their website she is their “chief doodler and crayon evangelist” – what a fantastic title! Her work is always so colorful and interesting, I’ve completely enjoyed taking all the little pieces of her works of art and putting them back together again.

Whether we’re putting these micro puzzles together a few pieces at a time in our powder room or all in one sitting on my puzzle board, my love for these minis hasn’t dwindled at all. I’m a member of their subscription program and get two new puzzles every month – and I don’t see myself ending that any time soon. I’m still smitten with these little guys!💜

Dog Selfies – Day 4

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

Sadly we have come to the final day of Dog Selfies; but never fear, there are four more sets of Cra-Z-Art puzzles here that need to be assembled – including main street buildings, butterflies, and two different sets of “selfies”. Those will be a treat to post about!

Have you tried any of these puzzles yet, or are you just having fun reading about them and have no interest in assembling them yourself? Just wondering. I highly recommend them, and am always on the lookout for new sets or old ones that I may have missed. My hope is that Cra-Z-Art continues to make them and come up with new ideas for new sets; they make me very happy indeed.

And now, the final three mini biographies…

Wesley. Dear, sweet Wesley. He is one of the kindest and most patient pups out there, and he needs to be. Wesley works as a sober companion living with and assisting recovering addicts. His current client is a recovering leather addict and has refrained from chewing any shoes or furniture for almost 17 weeks. When he isn’t working with clients Wesley enjoys teaching himself new skills and is at the moment learning cross-stitching and all forms of needlework and embroidery.

Rhonda works from home as a medical transcriptionist, which leaves her plenty of time for her other passion – pretending to work in the yard so she can keep tabs on her neighbors. She’s a busybody who is always minding everyone else’s business and you DO NOT want to get on her bad side; she tries to watch and see all, and is the worst gossip there is. Don’t be fooled by that face – Rhonda is a know-it-all backstabbing b*tch.

This is Bubbles, and she is a professional cheerleader for the Burbank Badgers. Her expressive face and killer dance moves have seen her rise to the rank of captain of the squad, and she loves to help choreograph their dance routines as well. When she’s not cheering on her team Bubbles enjoys spending her time searching flea markets and antique stores for hidden treasures, and is hoping to find a that one rare item that could finance her retirement. Good luck with your treasure hunting Bubbles!


I hope you’ve enjoyed the journey through my weird and warped mind with these posts of dog selfies. Creating names and backstories for these little puzzles is, at times, an entertaining break from real life. They may not be as engrossing for you as they are for me, but I do the best I can. 😎

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.