More of the vintage Kellogg’s mascots and boxes – how many of you knew that at one point the mascot for Honey Smacks (which used to be called Sugar Smacks and seems to have been altered for this puzzle) was a seal? I never knew that! A quick search tells me his name was Smaxey the Seal. I watched an old commercial with Smaxey on YouTube and, uh, it was something.
For me, the vintage image of Tony the Tiger is so odd looking with those eyes, I don’t ever recall seeing this version of him way back in the Cretaceous period when I was young. 🦖
Still, even though Tony’s eyes were freaking me out and I was completely in the dark about who the seal was, these puzzles were still entertaining to assemble and I enjoyed myself very much.
Anyone else out there tried these puzzle sets? Aren’t they great fun?
All the mascots have changed so much, it’s interesting to look back on where they started out. You probably can’t read it, but underneath Toucan Sam’s bowl it says “Real fruit flavor in a crystallized oat cereal”. That doesn’t sound very appetizing to me at all – crystallized? Ick. 🤮
If you haven’t tried any of these sets from RoseArt/Lafayette Puzzle Factory I highly recommend giving them a go. There are so many great sets out there and they are good quality. They aren’t premium quality puzzles, but they’re extremely entertaining and great for when you don’t have much time. The backs are color coded so that you can sort them easily and if you want you can grab a pile of pieces and a cup of coffee and complete an entire image. Love it!
After many months of zero puzzling I was too chicken to start with a larger puzzle right away upon my return; so I got one of my multipack puzzles out and worked on these 12 mini puzzles instead. You won’t be surprised to find out I had a great time assembling them – as usual.
It was so fascinating to see all the older mascots for Kellogg’s cereals. Quite a few of them I’d never seen before; and many of the older versions of the current mascots were just as entertaining to see. Vintage Tony the Tiger looks very odd to me. 🐯
Crazy Cuisine Cart* by Iralu – Cardinal – 150 pieces
So disappointing. Not only was the quality pretty bottom of the barrel, but this little guy was missing seven pieces! It absolutely wasn’t my fault, I opened the bag directly onto the table and there’s no way that many pieces got up and walked away. Oh well, as one of the Puzzle Posse told me; If I put all the pieces available together I have completed the puzzle – even if it wasn’t complete.
This was one of the puzzles from the Cardinal multipack that I knew wouldn’t be great quality, but wanted to assemble the images because they are so different and interesting. Still love the artwork!
Cat Selfies by Howard Robinson – Cra-Z-Art – approx. 125/500 pieces
This group has my favorite image – can you guess which one? I’m certain that you can. 😉 I enjoyed these pretty kitties much more than I expected to, and I’m glad they were hanging around the house when a bunch of smaller puzzles was what I needed.
These were good quality puzzles, and as always I recommend you give them a try if it’s something you think you might like. I just ordered two new sets, stay tuned to see them at some point in the future. I don’t know that they’re the kind of images that would lend themselves to names and backstories, but they’ll be great fun to assemble anyway – and that’s the whole point.
And now for introductions to our final three…
Everyone, meet Esther – if you guessed this was my favorite image you win! Esther was taken by surprise when her photo was taken, and isn’t too happy about sharing the spotlight with Bertie Butterfly. She likes to be the center of attention at all times, and no matter what you’ve done she’s done something similar – but much more impressive (you know the type). Esther is a retired grandma who spends most of her time doing absolutely nothing. She doesn’t really have any hobbies, but according to her she’s tried them all and been AMAZING at every one. Her kids and grandkids don’t visit a lot, she’s a bit much to handle too often.
Say hello to Cyrus – he really knows how to pose for pictures doesn’t he? Cyrus likes to keep things light and silly outside of work because his job is very serious (and dangerous). He is a snake milker – he milks snakes for their venom! Snake venom is used in making medicines and it’s extremely dangerous work to milk the snakes. Cyrus has a way about him though, and he’s very good at his job. On the weekends he is a clown at birthday parties and business events, and he also enjoys hosting karaoke parties.
Mabel here considers herself a delicate flower of a cat, but the truth is she’s unbelievably clumsy and awkward and is constantly injuring herself. (That’s why I love her!) Fortunately Mabel’s work keeps her sitting down almost all day, so there are less opportunities for her to get hurt – she’s a graphic designer and spends most of her days on her computer. In her spare time she enjoys completing crossword puzzles, watercolor painting, and growing her own herbs. Mabel is awkward, but she’s got a whole group of friends and family who cherish her, and that’s what really matters. 💗
I always love putting these sets together, even if there are no stories to go with them. I find them to be great fun and love all the different sets they’ve designed so far. They’re good quality and quite entertaining for me – that’s all I really need.
