Buffalo

On July 24, 2023July 24, 2023 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 June 14, 2023June 14, 2023 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. 💖

The Seven Chakras – Eagle Update #2

On January 31, 2022January 30, 2022 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles3 Comments

Well, I received my re-worked eagle chakra puzzle, and have finally succeeded in assembling the multipiece whimsy that represents the eagle itself – triumph!

I couldn’t be happier with the customer service I received from Liberty Puzzles, and am grateful for both their assistance with this problem and their fantastic puzzles. Once my request alerted them to my dilemma with the eagle chakra, they wasted no time in communicating with me and resolving the issue. If you ask me, they get an A+ for excellent customer service.

So, here’s the picture that tens of readers have been waiting for – all of the whimsies from the eagle puzzle – including the multipiece representation of an eagle……

See that eagle above our woman in the lotus position? That’s the little bugger that caused me so much grief; I had all the proper pieces pulled, I just couldn’t get them to fit together properly. But a little tweak from the puzzle designer to correct a slight miscalculation and voilà! Success!

This puzzle set was so fun and interesting to assemble, and I’ve also received a hint about how they all connect together (which was what I suspected you could do when it was put together the first time). So I will definitely be working with these beautiful puzzles again, especially so that I can try to connect them all together in the proper order.

And when I do, I will take a picture of the seven of them attached together as one – to show you these amazing puzzles again, and how much intricate design goes into one of their creations.

I’m still astonished by this set of stunning wooden puzzles and how much thought went into their composition and construction. Absolutely sensational!

The Seven Chakras – Day 7

On December 6, 2021December 6, 2021 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles6 Comments

The Seven Chakras by Phil Lewis – Liberty Puzzles – approx. 94/661 pieces

This is the 7th chakra, Sahasrara, and it is the crown chakra. It was the second of these puzzles that I assembled – because of that fantastic color, it jumped right out at me. Absolutely gorgeous!

Today’s word is dazzling, this image is truly dazzling – the colors are perfection. Phil Lewis is an artist from Boulder, Colorado, where Liberty Puzzles is located. What a fantastic marriage of artist and puzzle maker! Another of his images is one of my favorite puzzles, Sugar Magnolia. (One of these days I should make a list of my top 10 or 20 puzzles ever assembled, that would be an interesting exercise, wouldn’t it?)

Dazzling! I love the images with deeper colors, because it’s more difficult to see the piece shapes in the finished puzzle unless you flip it over. I find that I prefer darker images in wooden puzzles because it’s harder to see the piece shapes, then it seems more like artwork than a puzzle – at least from the front. But even when the pieces are very evident, it’s the enjoyment of the assembly that matters most to me. And these seven little puzzles have given me so much joy!

For all of these puzzles the piece shapes are almost invisible, so I wanted you to see the amazing shapes and cutting by flipping them over. It’s always so interesting to see intricately cut wooden puzzles from the back don’t you think?

We have the final three yoga poses, what looks like the sun, and our chakra symbol inside. The lotus was the easiest multipiece whimsy for me to assemble, good thing it’s one of the first ones I did. I’m not sure I would have gotten that lion put together if it had been first – it was much more difficult! (And we all know what happened with the eagle 😳)

I had the best time putting all of these puzzles together, and am so thankful for my sweet, sweet husband who gave me this beautiful gift.

You may come off like a tough guy to rest of the world, but you’re the most thoughtful and kind man I know, and you would do anything to make me happy. I love you to puzzle pieces! 💖🧩

The Seven Chakras – Day 6

On December 5, 2021October 8, 2023 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles4 Comments

The Seven Chakras by Phil Lewis – Liberty Puzzles – approx. 94/661 pieces

I mean, what is there left to say? Today’s word from the thesaurus is striking; this is a striking image, and the puzzle that goes along with it is complex and amazing.

This is the 6th chakra, Ajna, and it is the third eye chakra.

These puzzles are wonderful to work with – compelling even – and the quality is amazing. They’re more expensive than some, but in my mind they’re worth every penny. I know they’re not for everyone, and they’re not in everyone’s budget. But I don’t feel bad about asking for this for my birthday, it makes me happy. Once a year on my birthday or for Christmas isn’t too much to ask for a little bit of joy. 😊

I must confess that although it looks like there are pieces that will make an eagle, I wasn’t able to figure it out. I got the bottom half of it assembled, but couldn’t get the entire thing constructed. There is definitely an eagle there somehow, I just couldn’t figure out the whole thing. I’m blaming pain and exhaustion and my doped up brain; being on painkillers 24/7 seems to have whittled away at my intelligence.

To be honest I felt a little defeated by it. It was a bad day. But I’m not giving up!

I may pull out this puzzle (I’ve stored each one separately wrapped up in tissue paper) and give it a go on a day where I’m feeling like all cylinders are firing. If I figure it out I’ll post it, I promise. And if after several tries it still isn’t coming together – I can always email Liberty to see if they can give me some help. 🦅