This image is so different and gorgeous, I just had to have it! And I love the smaller piece count puzzles that are not childish looking for us “adults” who enjoy smaller puzzles sometimes. Plus I found it in the sale section at Puzzle Warehouse, so I got it at a discount – bonus!
I love that this 200 piece puzzle doesn’t have large pieces. Don’t get me wrong, I love a large piece puzzle too, but sometimes I just want a smaller puzzle with regular pieces, and there aren’t many of those around in my to do pile. In addition, this was the best quality Ravensburger puzzle I’ve done in quite some time. The finish is matte and the image reproduction is beautiful, and it’s the best fitting Ravensburger I think I’ve ever done IN MY LIFE!
That’s quite the statement, I know. But take it from someone who has done hundreds of Ravensburger puzzles, this was the best fit I’ve ever had. Never have I been able to stand up one of their puzzles, but…
Not only does this one stand up, it’s very tall, and that makes it even harder to do. Usually landscape oriented puzzles stand up best, the taller ones don’t have the integrity to withstand it – but this one did with no problem at all. I was amazed, truly. This was a wonderful quality puzzle with such a stunning image that I cannot possibly get rid of it.
I rarely keep cardboard puzzles unless there’s a sentimental value for me. I have one of my grandmother’s puzzles, several puzzles mom and I did together and loved, but probably 99% of the cardboard puzzles I do get sent on to a friend or donated to the local thrift store, senior center, or the VA where we live. But this little beauty stays with me, it’s fantastic!
This one got started two days ago, but there was almost no work at all done on it yesterday. Most of this assembly was done on day one, although I did put in a lot of the piano yesterday evening. It was going pretty well that first day, and I was thoroughly enjoying myself; hopefully when I get back to it later on today (if a morning nap helps to revive me) it’ll be just as much fun.
Thursday I took my son out later in the afternoon/evening, and it really wore me out. I spent almost all day Friday in bed trying to recover – still trying to recover this morning, actually. I got out of bed to take this picture and type up a small blurb about it, and then I’m right back to bed again.
I’m hoping when I do get back to the board that it continues to be as enjoyable as that first day – this movie for me in particular holds very dear memories of my momma. I’m missing her, but thinking of those memories also makes me smile. 💗
Admont Abbey Library by William Carr – Ravensburger – 500 pieces
This puzzle is going together rather well, which is not anything like what I’d envisioned. I stayed away from this puzzle for quite a few years, it just looked so muted and as if it would be very difficult; but it hasn’t been that way at all. This poor thing has been shuffled around and around always not making the cut cause I was too scared to try it that day, or not in the mood, or whatever reason I told myself. Thank goodness I finally took the plunge because it’s been way more fun than it looks!
The pieces seem brighter than the image on the box, although it’s still quite muted in color. But it’s not nearly as difficult as I thought it would be. One small section leads to another and things are going much more smoothly than anticipated.
Disney & Pixar Color Palette – Ravensburger – 500 pieces
For some reason I was a little apprehensive about this puzzle, but there was no need to be – it was an excellent assembly. For the second puzzle in a row I found myself wishing it was a larger piece count because the fun was just over too quickly.
Most excellent Ravensburger quality, the fit was exceptional, the image reproduction was beautiful, there were a nice variety of pieces shapes – in short I’m saying it was an excellent quality puzzle and it made for a highly entertaining assembly.
The only drawback, again, was the puzz fuzz. It takes no time at all to shake the pieces in a colander (take a tip from me though and don’t do it over the garbage can in case you get a little too aggressive with the shaking and a piece jumps out into the trash). Then I leave the pieces in the colander sitting inside the box while I’m laying them all out so that my reaching in and getting a handful of pieces moves things around and gets rid of any remaining blue fuzz. I don’t consider it much of a problem but some people do so I want to be sure to let them know. To be honest I’d rather deal with puzzle dust on an excellent quality puzzle than work with a lesser quality brand with that sharp white backing. But that’s just me, you have to decide what works for you and what doesn’t.
I assembled this one without using the box image, so other than the characters around the edge I had no idea where anyone went. As an added bit of challenge there are many characters that I have no idea who they are! My kids are all in their 30’s, so we stopped watching Disney and Pixar movies together quite some time ago and many of the characters are very new to me.
I also did something different with this assembly; the only thing I sorted was the edges, I didn’t pull any colors or characters, all the pieces were just laid out on trays. Each little character is pretty small and pulling out pieces for sections would have taken lots of time so I just put all the pieces on trays and once the border was assembled I started on the far right and assembled each column. Here and there I found a piece that I knew where it belonged and put it in, but for the most part it was put together one column at a time. I enjoyed it very much!
I chose three characters from Winnie the Pooh, because it’s one of my most treasured memories as a child. I had a book that came with a cassette tape that “acted out” the book, which was voiced by the actors from the short films. In addition we had an 8 track of the same short film to play in the van on long trips to tournaments that my dad was umpiring. My sisters and I knew all the words to every song, and especially loved to quote from it. Winnie the Pooh and his friends bring back happy memories and make me smile.
I wasn’t always sure why I liked Piglet so much, but now as an adult with severe anxiety issues perhaps it was recognition of a fellow traveler. He was always shaking and stuttering and full of anxiety, so of course I loved him. And Tigger. Silly, sweet, bouncy Tigger, he always made me smile and I identified with him too. He had so much energy! You know what they say about Tiggers don’t you? They’re bouncy, trouncy, flouncy, pouncy, fun, fun, fun, fun, fun!
This puzzle was great quality with a great image that made for a great (if too quick) assembly. It was much more fun than anticipated and I loved it. It was put back in it’s box and sent off to Penny – here’s hoping she has as much fun with it as I did!
Rainbow Cake (Circle of Colors) by Inna Markova – Ravensburger – 500 pieces
This beauty was so much more fun than I anticipated – love, love, loved it! Why did it take me so long to do a Ravensburger puzzle once I came back to the puzzle table? No idea, but I’m so glad this one was available, I had the best time. 😍
Ravensburger puzzles are my go to, I love their quality. Of course, no company is perfect and sometimes I’ve had an issue here or there but it has always been resolved quickly and to my satisfaction. When I was working on the behemoth 40,320 piece Disney puzzle I found a piece that was mangled with most of the image torn off; and even though the puzzle wasn’t yet for sale in the US at the time, the company happily replaced the entire section of the puzzle for me. Excellent customer service.
I found myself constantly running my hands over the completed sections of the puzzle the entire time I was working on it, I just couldn’t help myself. I do love a puzzle massage at the end of an assembly, but there’s something about how this brand feels – it’s fantastic! From the sorting in the beginning to the very last connection I kept running my fingers over a piece I was holding or even small assembled sections, it was a tactile joy.
The quality of this puzzle was excellent in every way. The fit was wonderful, great variety of piece shapes, and excellent image reproduction. The only drawback was the amount of puzz fuzz (puzzle dust) in the bag, but that’s easily remedied by dumping out the pieces into a colander and shaking it out; and it didn’t detract from the assembly in any way.
The border was a bit time consuming, but it wasn’t too horribly difficult. After that I worked on the whiter section that goes just inside the edge pieces. I didn’t work the rest of the puzzle from the outside in though, I went from the center outward. Started with the pinks and purples in the center and then to each successive color. It was completely enjoyable for me, and I tried to keep myself in check to make the assembly last, but as usual it was just too much fun and I couldn’t help myself.
No self-control at all. 😇
Oh well, self-control or not I enjoyed this puzzle very much and if you’re of a mind to give it a try it is most definitely recommended.
