The Wizard of Oz by W.W. Denslow – Pomegranate – 300 pieces
Pomegranate puzzles have always been, for me, excellent quality. You can even feel the quality when you pick up one of their boxes – it feels luxurious and sturdy. I love their puzzles, and they have a catalog of images that aren’t just the usual kitty cat pictures, Christmas images, landscapes, and cottages. They’ve got some unique and fun to assemble images and I love their puzzles!
I wish I could tell you about this assembly, but I honestly don’t remember assembling any of these puzzles from last August. Steel yourselves for the next few puzzles, because they will pretty much be me saying the same thing – I don’t remember. I can tell you about the quality of the brands, and what the quality looks like from the pictures, but that’s about it. My apologies.
This is not what Dorothy looks like to a troglodyte like myself who has only seen the movie and has never read the books. I’m looking for a teenager in a gingham dress. This girl looks about 6 or 7 years old! How old is Dorothy in the books? Is there someone out there more well read than me who could let us know?
And Glinda the good witch here is supposed to be much younger looking and in a pink, sparkly dress! What is happening?!
The Wizard of Oz by W. W. Denslow – Pomegranate – 300 pieces
I’m starting this puzzle this morning, and depending upon how I feel, it may be finished by the end of the day. 🙂 My son has taken to spending a little bit more time with me in the puzzle room, and he enjoys picking out the “next one” that I assemble. Sometimes I flat out tell him no, but most of the time I take his suggestions because it makes him happy. He’s chosen this puzzle, and it should be on the board in a few minutes!
I have to tell you, as a woman who grew up watching the movie The Wizard of Oz, this image seems quite foreign to me. This is where I confess that I have not read the books by L. Frank Baum nor seen the illustrations by W. W. Denslow – I have only seen the movie. In fact, I have seen the movie A LOT.
When I was young, this movie was shown on television every single year; and every single year my sisters and I sat down in the living room with our parents and watched it. So when you say “The Wizard of Oz”, my memories are of a teenage girl in a blue gingham dress with sparkly heeled shoes, the scarecrow with straw sticking out of his sleeves, Glinda the good witch with her beautiful pink ball gown, etc. That is not what is shown in this illustration from the books, and so it looks very odd to me indeed.
Although this isn’t the image in my mind regarding The Wizard of Oz, I think it’s going to make for an entertaining assembly anyway.
Preamble by Mike Wilkins – Pomegranate – 1000 pieces
Preamble is a beautiful, interesting puzzle that I can’t recommend enough – I had the best time assembling it! It’s a little more challenging than I thought, but it never became tiresome or frustrating; it was fun for me to the very last piece.
I first bought this puzzle last year as a gift for my favorite sister-in-law; she had many family members coming to stay at her house for several days (including my husband and myself) and I sent ahead a hostess gift of a couple of jigsaw puzzles. When there’s a puzzle in progress it’s difficult not to stop and look, and you end up adding pieces if you can – before long people are working together, talking, laughing and really enjoying themselves. I was hoping the puzzles would help take the pressure off feeling as though her guests needed to be entertained all the time, and they absolutely did – we entertained ourselves and enjoyed the time spent together. ❤
Although we weren’t able to assemble this puzzle on our visit, I loved the look of it so much that I wanted one for myself. When it came time to pick a few puzzles for review I jumped at the chance to take this one off of my wishlist. I was not disappointed; it was tougher than I thought (especially when it was only white license plates left) but always entertaining.
Pomegranate puzzles are the cream of the crop in my book, the quality is superb. The pieces are wonderfully thick, fit together exceptionally well, and there are a very good variety of piece shapes. The image reproduction is lovely, with a matte finish that reduces glare; and even the boxes are sturdy and gorgeous. As an added bonus, the puzzles come in a resealable plastic bag for storage and the image of the puzzle on the front of the box is complete and unobstructed – we puzzlers love the extra details like these that make things easier! Click the link above to see all their puzzles currently available at Puzzle Warehouse, they’ve got a gorgeous catalog of images to choose from.
If you haven’t looked closely, the 51 license plates in this puzzle from the 50 states and Washington, DC phonetically spell out the preamble to the US constitution in abbreviated “license speak”. They wouldn’t make sense on their own, but together in alphabetical order they re-create the beginning of one of America’s most famous documents. What an interesting and well-executed idea!
If you’re a fan of collages, or just interesting images that make for entertaining puzzles I highly recommend Preamble. It’s a bit challenging, but only in a fun way if you ask me – too easy can be so boring!
Details:
Title: Preamble
Artist: Mike Wilkins
Brand: Pomegranate
Piece count: 1000 pieces
Size: Approx. 25 x 25 in. (64 x 64 cm)
Purchased: N/A, sent for review
Quality:
Board: Excellent
Cutting: Excellent
Image: Excellent
Box: Excellent
Fit: Excellent
Puzzle Dust: Small amount
Piece cut: Grid cut
Piece shapes: Good variety
Finish: Matte finish, lays flat
Overall Rating: Excellent, highly recommended
I received this product at no cost in order to facilitate this review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are truthful and 100% my own.
The Bridesmaid by John Everett Millais – Pomegranate – 500 pieces
This is one of those images that, when I saw it I gasped; I LOVE IT! There’s something about her face, and all that beautiful hair – gorgeous! I knew that her hair would be a challenge, but I was more than willing to give it a go. Pomegranate chooses the most interesting and beautiful artwork.
Puzzles like this one are the reason mom and I love the thrift stores. She finds amazing puzzles that are no longer being produced; and many times they’re from premium brands like Pomegranate. She cannot pass up any puzzle from this brand, no matter the image – it would offend her sensibilities to leave a Pomegranate on the shelves. The quality is so good that she knows we’ll enjoy the puzzle no matter the image. Luckily for me this artwork grabbed me and I enjoyed every piece, even that long, stunning hair. 😉
Pomegranate quality is excellent; from the thickness of the pieces to the fit and impressive image reproduction. Even their boxes have a premium quality feel – you know when you’re holding the box that you’ve got a top-notch puzzle in your hands. Pomegranate is also one of the few companies that show the entire image on the box lid, there is nothing covering any part of the picture; as a puzzler that is very much appreciated! Their catalog of puzzles focuses mainly on fine art and illustrations and has some of the most interesting and unique images around. They also have a series of beautiful 100 piece mini puzzles for adults with artists from Charley Harper to Renoir that come in a hinged metal box. There’s something for just about everyone.
I would guess about 90-95% of the thrift store puzzles we purchase are complete. You take a risk that you may have missing pieces, but for me the rewards outweigh the risk. We find delightful puzzles at amazingly discounted prices and can enjoy our hobby/obsession/addiction for a fraction of the cost of purchasing retail. Sometimes we find gems like this one, and sometimes we’re disappointed when a piece or two has flown the coop. But even with a missing piece we still get the enjoyment, entertainment, and health benefits that come with puzzle assembly – and that’s what it’s all about.
Monarch Butterfly Tree by Paul Huessenstamm – Pomegranate – 100 pieces
Usually when you see a 100 piece puzzle they are made for children, these are not kids puzzles! Pomegranate has a whole line of 100 piece puzzles with images by Charley Harper, Edward Gorey, Henri Rousseau and many more. They are beautiful little puzzles that come in a metal tin that’s perfect for traveling. Pomegranate knows how to do it right!
The pieces don’t exactly feel the same as their larger piece count puzzles, but they’re still thick and fit together very well. The finish is a little shiny, but the image reproduction is beautiful and bright with clean lines. I love their images, such beautiful works of art!
I find Paul Huessenstamm’s work is lovely to look at, as well as fun and challenging to assemble, I highly recommend trying a puzzle with his artwork. I reviewed his Mandala Fruit Tree last year and thoroughly enjoyed it.
It’s a small little puzzle, and doesn’t take much time. It’s perfect for travel in a very thin and portable metal tin. There are quite a few of these mini puzzles available, all with beautiful artwork; you should check them out!
My Jigsaw Journal 