Apple Pie Kitchen by Kip Richmond – Cobble Hill – 500 pieces
Apple Pie Kitchen is a gorgeous image, and was a fun puzzle to assemble. I love an old country kitchen, I think I may have been born too late to enjoy them though; I was raised in the age of hideous avocado colored refrigerators and enormous microwave ovens.
Cobble Hill Puzzles are excellent quality, and this puzzle was no exception. The pieces are a good thickness with a linen finish, the image reproduction is very good with beautiful colors and crisp lines. The cut is random, which I find makes for a fun and interesting assembly although some puzzlers find working with them more difficult; and the fit was excellent. Their catalog is varied, with plenty of different styles to choose from, and their new puzzles come with a poster to help with assembly. Click the link above to see all the Cobble Hill puzzles currently available at one of their preferred online retailers, Puzzle Warehouse.
This puzzle was a joy to assemble; I love the warm, homey feeling of the image. The random cut of the pieces kept me on my toes and completing each small section gave me a great sense of satisfaction. This puzzle is definitely recommended!
Details:
Title: Apple Pie Kitchen
Artist: Kip Richmond
Brand: Cobble Hill Puzzles
Piece count: 500 pieces
Size: Approx. 26 x 19 in. (69 x 48 cm)
Purchased: N/A, sent for review
Quality:
Board: Very good
Cutting: Very good
Image: Excellent
Box: Very good, poster included
Fit: Very good
Puzzle Dust: Minimal amount
Piece cut: Random cut
Piece shapes: Very good variety
Finish: Matte 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.
I love collages, bright colors, cookies, and puzzles – it’s no wonder I loved Easter Eggs! It pushed all the right buttons for me and was one I had a hard time walking away from. For me, these are the most entertaining puzzles, and I loved figuring everything out piece by piece.
Cobble Hill Puzzles are excellent quality, with the only issue I’ve found being that the fit of their 1000 piece puzzles can be somewhat loose. It isn’t so much as to be overly annoying (not for me, anyway), but it is worth mentioning if you’re someone who prefers a tight fit. I puzzle on a fabric covered board, so the loose fit isn’t as much a problem for me. All other areas of quality I find to be excellent, and I never hesitate to purchase a Cobble Hill puzzle. Click the link above to see all of their puzzles currently available from one of their preferred online retailers, Puzzle Warehouse.
I think this was my first Easter puzzle, though I can’t be sure; my memory isn’t what it used to be. I assembled Cobble Hill’s Sugar Skull Cookies last year and had a great time with it, and was looking forward to assembling Easter Eggs – I wasn’t disappointed. The pieces are easy to sort and the random cut was interesting to assemble. I enjoy taking a bunch of similarly colored pieces and figuring out how they fit together. I don’t need the box to tell me anything, I’m figuring it out on my own. This is basically the thing that all puzzlers enjoy, putting the image back together. Collages like this are the most fun for me because it’s like assembling many mini puzzles all connected together.
I highly recommend this puzzle, it was great fun to assemble and has me looking forward to working on the rest of their cookie series – Halloween Cookies, Ugly Christmas Sweaters, and there’s another Easter puzzle called Easter Cookies (mostly the same cookies in a different pattern – looks like fun!) They also have one called Christmas Bake Sale, but it looks like a little bit too much of a challenge for me!
Details:
Title: Easter Eggs
Artist: Photography by Jo-Ann Richards
Brand: Cobble Hill Puzzles
Piece Count: 1000 pieces
Size: Approx. 27 x 19 in. (69 x 48 cm)
Purchased: N/A, sent for review
Quality:
Board: Very good
Cutting: Very good
Image: Excellent
Box: Very good, poster included
Fit: Somewhat loose
Puzzle dust: Minimal amount
Piece cut: Random cut
Piece shapes: Very good variety
Finish: Matte finish, lays flat
Overall rating: Very good quality, 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.
In Full Bloom by McKenna Ryan – Cobble Hill – 500 pieces
In Full Bloom is an absolutely gorgeous puzzle, but it’s a little harder than it looks! The image is an actual quilt which makes it a little more challenging; still it’s great fun, and would make a beautiful wall hanging.
Cobble Hill puzzles are excellent quality, and this puzzle was no different. Thick pieces with a linen finished image full of bright, beautiful colors. The fit was a little loose and a few of the pieces were still attached by small bits of paper, but not so much as to be a major annoyance. I find that when an image is one I really like that I tend to forgive quality issues a little more readily. A slightly loose fit doesn’t lessen the enjoyment of the assembly, I just have to be sure that I’m paying more attention when moving small sections. Click the link above to see all the Cobble Hill puzzles currently available at Puzzle Warehouse.
The picture above doesn’t do the puzzle justice, the colors are deep and rich and the entire image is beautiful. It takes my breath away! It was harder than I anticipated but the colors and overall image made it worth the challenge. The artist, McKenna Ryan, has three 500 piece puzzles currently with Cobble Hill; in addition to In Full Bloom, there are Back on the Farm and Dog Park. Click the links to check them out, they’re adorable!
I definitely recommend this puzzle, especially if you’re a fan of quilt puzzles like I am, or if you just like a beautiful puzzle of good quality. I had a great time with this assembly, and hope you do too!
Details:
Title: In Full Bloom
Artist: McKenna Ryan
Brand: Cobble Hill
Piece count: 500 pieces
Size: Approx. 18 x 24 in. (46 x 61 cm)
Purchased: N/A
Quality:
Board: Very good
Cutting: Good, some attached pieces
Image: Excellent
Box: Average
Fit: Very good
Puzzle Dust: Moderate amount
Piece cut: Random cut
Piece shapes: Very good variety
Finish: Matte 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.
Cats, Rabbits, Birds, Fish, and Flowers by Makoto Nakamura – Pomegranate – 300 pieces
The title of this puzzle is a mouthful, I know – but if you look closely you can see the reason for the name. All of the “flowers” you see are made up of Cats, Rabbits, Birds, Fish, and Flowers! Click the link to see this puzzle at Puzzle Warehouse.
Can you see them?
Makoto Nakamura is one of the foremost tessellation artists in the world, and I adore his work! If you’re a regular reader of the blog you might remember the Pesky Parrots puzzle I assembled last year, it was by the same artist only the tessellations in that puzzle were the pieces themselves! I love that Pomegranate chose one of his works for their puzzles, isn’t it a striking image even before you recognize the animals?
Pomegranate puzzles are in the top echelon of puzzle manufacturers in my opinion; their quality is exceptional! The pieces are wonderfully thick and feel good in your hands. They fit together with just about the perfect amount of tightness, and the matte finish doesn’t glare under lights. Their catalog focuses on illustrations and fine art, and the image reproductions are crisp and clear and retain the original beauty of the artwork. I don’t normally comment on puzzle boxes, but the Pomegranate boxes are the sturdiest I’ve found; and as an added bonus nothing covers up the full image on the box top – you can see the entire picture! Not many companies do that, and it is very much appreciated by puzzlers. Click the link above to see all their puzzles currently available at Puzzles Warehouse.
Even though looking at the pieces made me think it might be a challenge, it was exactly the right amount of challenge for me. I couldn’t walk away from it! I started with the red and pink fishes in the center, and then worked color by color to finish flower after flower. It wasn’t super easy, but it wasn’t eyeball-crossing difficult either – just right!
If you enjoy this image, I highly recommend this puzzle. It’s excellent quality with a beautiful and interesting image. I loved it! ❤💐
Details:
Title: Cats, Rabbits, Birds, Fish, and Flowers
Artist: Makoto Nakamura
Brand: Pomegranate
Piece count: 300 pieces
Size: Approx. 20 x 20 in. (51 x 51 cm)
Purchased: N/A
Quality:
Board: Excellent
Cutting: Excellent
Image: Excellent
Box: Very good, sturdy with complete image on front
Fit: Excellent
Puzzle Dust: Small amount
Piece cut: Grid cut
Piece shapes: Very 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.
Dog Gallery by Gretchen Kish Serrano – Cobble Hill – 1000 pieces
This puzzle was such great fun, I’m so glad I got to assemble it! If you love a good collage, great works of art, or dogs, you should enjoy this puzzle as much as I did. Gretchen Kish Serrano has inserted dogs into famous works of art, and the result is this adorable, funny, and fun to assemble puzzle.
Cobble Hill puzzles are excellent quality in my opinion, and this year they also have a new box design and have added posters to the puzzles to make up for the logo covering a portion of the image on the lid. Even better! I’m not a collector, so the box design isn’t usually something I’m overly interested in, but for those of you who do collect the new box designs are quite nice. The puzzle image takes up the entire lid, with a small logo in one corner; all 4 sides have a portion of the picture along with brand name, artist, title, and piece count, making it easy to shelve either vertically or horizontally. Puzzle Warehouse is one of Cobble Hill’s preferred online retailers; click here to see all Cobble Hill puzzles currently available.
Their pieces are a good thickness and fit together quite well. The fit on this puzzle was a little bit loose but not so much as to be a distraction. The image reproduction was excellent with a matte finish; the random cut made the assembly interesting and fun, and the image was perfect for puzzling in my opinion!
I started with all the smaller images within the image (it wasn’t difficult to sort them), and then I assembled the 2 patrons – don’t they look like good girls/boys sitting so quietly looking at the art? When all that was left was picture frames and red background I sorted the remaining pieces by shape/number of knobs and started working on filling in. This is usually the part that begins to feel tedious after a while, but not so with this puzzle. The difference in the shades and patterns of each picture frame, along with the random cut of the pieces made the filling in almost as fun as each picture itself.
I highly recommend this puzzle, especially if you’re a dog lover like I am. The moment I saw this image I knew I would love assembling this puzzle – I hope you do too! 🐶
Can you name all the works of art represented here? I know them all except for the one in the upper left corner, can anyone help me out and let me know the title and artist? I couldn’t find anything online, but I was most likely not looking in the right places. My favorite artwork from this puzzle is below, along with the original artwork – I love that long flowing hair!
It’s The Birth of Venus re-imagined! I love it! How about this next one….
It’s The Kiss by Klimt! Isn’t that adorable? One last one, because I can’t resist….
Salvador Dali’s famous melting clocks in The Persistence of Memory. Those dogs look completely unimpressed – what great faces!
Details:
Title: Dog Gallery
Artist: Gretchen Kish Serrano
Brand: Cobble Hill Puzzles
Piece count: 1000 pieces
Size: Approx. 27 x 19 in. (68 x 49 cm)
Purchased: No cost, sent for review
Quality:
Board: Very good
Cutting: Very good
Image: Excellent
Box: Sturdy
Fit: Very 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 