The new puzzles are here! The new puzzles are here! Happy dance! 💃💃💃
I’d seen the Colorful Bottles around online and I thought it looked like an entertaining puzzle, when my PADS flared up last weekend and the opportunity presented itself – what else could I do? It’s an Aimee Stewart, I can’t possibly be held responsible for my lack of restraint. Of course once that puzzle was in my cart I couldn’t just buy one puzzle, I had to buy enough puzzles for free shipping – I mean, you wouldn’t want me to lose money would you? 😇
Next of course was the Common Quilt Blocks, it’s so beautiful and full of color and interesting fabrics. Gorgeous! It’s the one currently on my board and I’m having a fantastic time so far.
Aimee Stewart’s gorgeous Banana Split puzzle was the next one I picked out, who could resist all of those beautiful colors? As with all of her puzzles I’ll try to hold off a little bit to make sure there’s always a fun, colorful puzzle with her artwork around when I need a bit of uplifting. I don’t think I’ll be able to wait too long though, it looks so fun!
As for the cereal boxes, my inner child is responsible for this one. With six 100 piece puzzles around I’ll have something fun as a palate cleanser between larger puzzles. (Plus, look how cute they are!)
Classic Games is full of very old mostly board and card games; I’ve never seen or heard of almost all of them, but it looks like a great time in a box. Anyone old enough to remember the old tv show McHale’s Navy from the early 60’s? It was over before I was even born, but apparently there’s a board game; most of the other games shown are just as old or even older! This puzzle was the last to go in my cart because I wanted a smaller piece count to round out this purchase. It jumped right into my cart before I knew what was happening. 😮
This was the most difficult puzzle so far from the Sweet & Salty multipack. It took me at least 10 times longer than a 300 piece normally does. Wow. And I have to say it looks amazingly real – if it were also a scented puzzle I wouldn’t be able to keep my son away from it!
Again, I’m naming these myself as they aren’t named on the box or in the foldout poster enclosed. I started the first few with just plain, boring, descriptive names like Donut and Macaroons. Yawn. Then I decided to punch it up a bit with What, No Chocolate?! and today’s Oh My, What a Pie! I’m hoping to keep finding more fun and interesting names, and perhaps I’ll come up with some enigmatic, bizarre sounding name that has absolutely nothing to do with the picture. 😁
Ceaco puzzleshave a great selection of images to choose from, although sometimes I find the quality to be lacking. The quality of these puzzles has been better than I expected, especially from a multipack. The fit is excellent, the images are beautifully reproduced, and the pieces are a good thickness. Sometimes the chipboard is fanning on the backs of the pieces, and there are some that aren’t cut all the way through; overall though, the quality is good. Click the link above to see their puzzles currently in stock at Puzzle Warehouse.
This image was quite difficult, and had me working it completely differently than I normally would. I started off by separating all the pieces by shape, which is something I usually only do near the end of the puzzle or when there are large areas of one color. It doesn’t look as though it would be so challenging, but it really was! So much so that it overwhelmed me and I set it aside for several days and only worked on it a few pieces at a time.
As usual though, the closer you get to the end, the more you get excited to finish and see the entire puzzle completed. It’s not an easy one, but I was so proud when it was done! If you enjoy a challenge, consider the Sweet & Salty multipack by Ceaco, I’m enjoying it very much! 4 down, 4 to go. 👍
Details:
Title: Oh My, What a Pie!
Artist: iStock
Brand: Ceaco
Piece count: 300 pieces
Size: Approx. 14 in. (36 cm)
Purchased: N/A, sent for review
Quality:
Board: Good
Cutting: Good
Image: Very good
Box: Average, 8 puzzles in 1 box
Fit: Very good
Puzzle Dust: Moderate amount
Piece cut: Grid cut
Piece shapes: Good variety
Finish: Slightly shiny finish, lays flat
Overall Rating: Good, 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.
I thought this puzzle would be pretty easy. Once again, I thought wrong. This puzzle, which I have named “What, No Chocolate!?” is another from the 8-in-1 multipack called Sweet & Salty. I was going to name it something mysterious and weird, but when it came time to think of something my mind went blank! It isn’t an enigmatic name, but it makes me smile, and it’s a little more creative than just “Fruit”. 😉
This particular puzzle looks so inviting and fun to assemble on the box, and it was! Although it was more of a challenge than I anticipated it was still great fun. The bright colors of the fruits helped in the sorting, but it wasn’t as quick and easy as I thought it would be. I was going to start with the blackberries, but once the puzzle was sorted I changed my mind and started with the cut orange. I had to just go with my gut and assemble it as it played out, not with a set strategy. It’s a great image, and looks amazing once complete!
Ceaco puzzles have a great selection of images to choose from, although sometimes I find the quality to be lacking. The quality of these puzzles has been better than I expected, especially from a multipack. The fit is excellent, the images are beautifully reproduced, and the pieces are a good thickness. Sometimes the chipboard is fanning on the backs of the pieces, and there are some that aren’t cut all the way through; overall though, the quality is good. Click the link above to see their puzzles currently in stock at Puzzle Warehouse.
Puzzle Warehouse has so many puzzles to choose from, in so many different categories! If you’re a fan of food & drink puzzles, click the link to see the pages and pages of awesome choices. They have so many interesting collages of different foods that I’ve added several to my wishlist (which is getting way out of hand). There’s a gorgeous 2000 piece Springbok called Tin of Treats that looks like so much fun – with some of the same chocolates from a puzzle I completed last year called Chocolate Artistry. Gorgeous!
I’m having a great time with these food puzzles and have started assembling another from this box. It’s more difficult than all the others so far, and it may take me a while to get it done – but it’s going to look so cool when it’s finished! What, No Chocolate!? was a fun challenge and it’s definitely recommended. This Sweet & Salty box has been very entertaining so far!
Details:
Title: What, No Chocolate!?
Artist: iStock
Brand: Ceaco
Piece count: 500 pieces
Size: Approx. 14 x 18 in. (36 x 46 cm)
Purchased: N/A, sent for review
Quality:
Board: Good
Cutting: Good
Image: Very good
Box: Average, 8 puzzles in 1 box
Fit: Excellent
Puzzle Dust: Moderate amount
Piece cut: Grid cut
Piece shapes: Good variety
Finish: Slightly shiny finish, lays flat
Overall Rating: Good, 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.
Chocolate Sensation by Ali Mocabee – Springbok – 400 pieces
With my favorite candy holiday coming up in just a couple of weeks, what better time to assemble some candy puzzles? Chocolate Sensation is the first family puzzle from Springbok that I’ve put together – it was very entertaining, and quite unusual too!
I’ve put together family puzzles from several different manufacturers, and find them engaging and fun to assemble. If you’re not familiar with a family puzzle, they have small, medium, and large pieces in the same box so that the whole family can work together to assemble the puzzle. I enjoy them very much even though I’m working solo most of the time. Puzzle Warehouse has family puzzles from many different companies, with many images to choose from; Click here to see all the family puzzles currently in stock.
For the most part, family puzzles are set up the same way; with all the large pieces on one side, medium pieces in the middle, and smallest on the other edge. I found it interesting that this puzzle was set up completely differently; the largest pieces were on the outside (the entire edge), with the pieces getting smaller towards the center. I don’t have a preference for how family puzzles are set up, I just found it curious that this is the first time I’ve seen this. Although if the family is supposed to work together on the assembly, perhaps this isn’t the best configuration. Most people assemble puzzles starting with the edge, so once the edge and the first inside row are completed the kids would be done; all that would be left is for the adults to continue working towards the center. Just my opinion, of course.
Springbok puzzles are good quality, with thick pieces that fit together very well (if at times too tightly for my taste), and beautiful image reproduction. The random cut keeps you on your toes, and the interesting shapes mean you never get bored. Their catalog is varied with everything from Americana to sweets and holidays; piece counts start at 36 pieces for their Alzheimer’s puzzles to 2000 pieces for the very brave! Check out all the Springbok puzzles available at Puzzle Warehouse, you’re sure to find something interesting and beautiful.
The assembly wasn’t as difficult as I was thinking it would be, and it went together pretty quickly. The M & M’s weren’t as much of a challenge as I thought they’d be, and the chocolate non-pareils were much more challenging than I assumed! It was an extremely tight fit (which I’m not a fan of), so much so that I was able to take my usual standing-on-it’s-edge picture…
Overall, I enjoyed Chocolate Sensation and had fun working with the 3 different sizes of pieces. The image is bright and colorful, and has me looking forward to the day AFTER Halloween, when all the candy is 50% off! 🙂
Details:
Title: Chocolate Sensation
Artist: Ali Mocabee
Brand: Springbok
Piece count: 400 pieces
Size: Approx. 21 x 27 in. (53 x 69 cm)
Purchased: N/A, sent for review
Quality:
Board: Very good
Cutting: Very good
Image: Very good
Box: Average
Fit: Good, extremely tight
Puzzle Dust: Moderate amount
Piece cut: Random cut
Piece shapes: Very good variety
Finish: Slightly shiny finish, lays flat
Overall Rating: Very good, 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.
Cow Parade was a wonderfully entertaining puzzle that made me happy with each piece that I put into it. The collage aspect made it so much fun for me, and the interesting artwork on the cows was beautiful (and sometimes very funny).
Cobble Hill Puzzles are very well made, and I find their quality to be very good. The pieces are a good thickness, with an excellent variety of shapes that fit together well. The image reproduction is excellent, with bright, beautiful colors and crisp lines. The finish is linen-covered, which has a great feel in your hands. Even their boxes are covered with linen and have a luxurious feel to them. Click the link above to see at the Cobble Hill Puzzles currently available at Puzzle Warehouse, they have an excellent catalog of puzzles to choose from. (check out Red from their rainbow collection of collages in 7 different colors – I want them all!)
The fit can sometimes be loose, making it difficult to move smaller sections around, but I don’t find it to be too much so. The piece shapes can be very prominent in the finished image, which is not optimal if you wish to display it; but I find that it doesn’t make the assembly any less fun. Most times, applying glue to a puzzle can lessen the appearance of the piece shapes.
This puzzle is a collection of some of the cows designed and decorated by artists all over the globe for CowParade, the world’s largest and most successful public art event. Over $20 million dollars has been raised by charitable organizations all over the world by the auctioning of the cows. Wow!
It was such great fun, I enjoyed learning about the charity/art installation, and I loved assembling every single cow. They all were beautiful in their own way, but these are my favorites…
Jacques Moosteau, he made me laugh out loud! The writing is so small that it’s difficult to see the information for each of the cows; the title, artist, and city of display was listed near each one.
This gorgeous head of hair is worn by Woodstock, he’s got quite the outfit on, and I love the rose colored glasses!
This interesting beauty is Homage to Picowso’s African Period, perfection!
This one was so much fun to assemble, the bike made it larger and a bit more challenging than his other friends. He is Lait Triporteur, which I found means basically Milk Scooter (a triporteur is the name for the 3-wheeled cargo bike shown). I learned a new word in addition to having a great time!
I specifically chose this puzzle to review, because I’d had my eye on it for a while; it was on my wish list at Puzzle Warehouse for quite some time – it just looked like so much fun. I was hoping that it would be, and I was absolutely right! I love to find puzzles like this for review, ones I think will be entertaining and well made that give me the chance to let others know about them.
Cow Parade was a great quality puzzle that was extremely entertaining to assemble. I found it to be about medium difficulty, there aren’t as many plain white pieces as you’d think. I absolutely loved it – and it’s highly recommended. Moo! 🐄
Details:
Title: Cow Parade
Artist: Cow Parade Holdings
Brand: Cobble Hill
Piece count: 1000 pieces
Size: Approx. 27 x 19 in. (68 x 49 cm)
Purchased: N/A, sent for review
Quality:
Board: Very good
Cutting: Very good
Image: Excellent
Box: Good, sturdy
Fit: Good, slightly loose
Puzzle Dust: Moderate amount
Piece cut: Random cut
Piece shapes: Very good variety
Finish: Matte finish, lays flat
Overall Rating: Very good, 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.
My Jigsaw Journal 