Shoes – Part 2

Shoes 2.1
Shoes – Lafayette Puzzle Factory (Cra-Z-Art) – 125/500 pieces

Part two of these fabulous shoes, we’d all look great in these – perhaps if put them on while we’re already sitting. Speaking only for myself, if I tried to stand up in shoes like these I would topple over fairly quickly. I’d take out whoever was close to me on my way down too!

These small shaped puzzles were so fun to assemble, and I wish Lafayette Puzzle Factory/Cra-Z-Art had more sets of them. Each smaller puzzle has a colored backing to assist in sorting them; you can use the backing to sort each puzzle, or you can forget the backing and assemble these as a 500 piece puzzle, sorting only by colors and patterns. Either was/is fun for me. I love these puzzles!

Shoes 2.2

Pretty in pink. Once again I grew up in the 80’s, so I’m predisposed to love bright pink and diamond-like studs. And the polka-dots make it even better!

Shoes 2.3

Ooh, I love the color of this blue! The gold accents make it even better in my opinion. They’d look great on me, while I was sitting and not trying to move or stand up, because….honestly, I’d kill myself trying to walk in these!

Shoes 2.4

This is my favorite of these three; black lacy shoes with ribbons and diamond studs – would look great against my lily white skin (I don’t go outside much). Black goes with everything, black makes a person look slimmer, black is gorgeous!

Shoes – Part 1

Shoes 1.1
Shoes – Lafayette Puzzle Factory (Cra-Z-Art) – 125/500 pieces

The small, shaped mini puzzles are so entertaining for me, and perfect to work on when I can’t sit at the puzzle table. I can either use my white board or assemble them in trays while I’m in bed. Fantastic when my P.A.D.S. is kicking in and I really need to puzzle!

This was one of my favorite sets of the mini puzzles, I love the wild and crazy shoes and the super high heels – as puzzles. If I tried to walk or even stand up in any of these shoes I would most definitely fall over, crash into things on my way down, break bones, and stain the floors with my blood.

My first thought when I was assembling these puzzles for the first time was that they would be amazing glued and hung in the room of a young girl – I know I would have loved to have them hanging on my walls when I was a teenager. 👠

Shoes 1.2

This one looks a little dangerous! If you accidentally bump the front of this shoe into someone or something there could be problems! Love the black stripes on this one.

Shoes 1.3

This one is my favorite out of this group of three. Seems a little wild and crazy for a little old lady who loves jigsaw puzzles doesn’t it? Well, I’m a child of the 80’s. As a teenager at the beginning of the 80’s, all around me were Gloria Vanderbilt jeans, doubled up polo shirts, scrunched up socks, giant earrings, bright crazy neon colors, and much much more. As a result, my brain tells me that neon pink and black is the perfect combination and I love these shoes. 💗🖤

Shoes 1.4

These are fun, and with all those colors they would go with many many outfits. I’m not loving the yellow heel, but every shoe can’t be for everyone. The zig zig pattern also reminds me of the 80’s, perhaps I’m just feeling nostalgic today for my youth.

Wouldn’t these shoes look great with some gold lamé hammer pants and a ripped, off-the-shoulder Flashdance sweatshirt? 🤩

Cottages – Part 4

Cottages 4-1
Cottages (4) by Kim Leo – Cra-Z-Art – 125/500 pieces

And now we’ve come to the close of our trip down cottage lane, and wasn’t it fun? I hope you readers have enjoyed it as much as I have. I think each little piece of artwork deserves to be appreciated, and have had a great time showing them all!

For those of you wondering, the quality of these puzzles is pretty good. The pieces are on the thinner side, but they’re sturdy and have a very nice variety of shapes. They fit together well, if perhaps slightly loosely, and as you can see the image reproduction is lovely with bright colors, crisp lines, and no fuzziness or blurry areas. The added colored backing seems to make it so that the die doesn’t cut all the way through on every piece, and each little puzzle had several pieces still attached. It wasn’t too terrible though, and just a little tug was all that was needed to separate them.

Cottages 4-2

I’m calling this one Heart House, because there are hearts everywhere! From the weather vane at the top of the house to paving stones in the walkway – hearts, hearts, and more hearts! Some of them are easy to miss, did you see the heart on the trim boards at the top of the house? So sweet! How about the X’s and O’s hanging off the porch roof? Hugs and kisses for everyone. This is in my top 3 of the entire set, love it! 😍

Cottages 4-3

Here’s another one with an autumn look to it, the Butternut Bakery. I love the little seating area near the top of the building, and the birdhouse too. Did you notice the weather vane? It’s a rolling pin! The small details like that are adorable; I really do love the work of this artist – it makes me smile. 🙂

Cottages 4-4

And lastly is the Sea Breeze Inn, doesn’t this look like a wonderful place for a weekend at the beach? I’m not a fan of sand, so I don’t think I’d be doing much at the beach, but it looks like a lovely place to sit on the porch and relax. All they need is a table there so I could work on a puzzle or two – then it would be perfect! 🧩

Did you notice? This is the only cottage without a cat!

Cottages – Part 3

Cottages 3-1
Cottages (3) by Kim Leo – Cra-Z-Art – 125/500 pieces

Back to the sweet cottages, I’m having a really good time showing each of the puzzles in the set; I’m sure there was much effort involved in painting every one of these, and it’s so nice that we’re able to appreciate each of them separately.

This series would be great if you have young children in your house, or grandchildren who visit. Each puzzle is small enough that they wouldn’t lose interest too quickly, and even sorting is fun with all the different colored backings. The bright colors and interesting images are kid friendly as well, and also great for those of us who are just kids at heart. 🤩

I may have to dig through my stash and see which of the puzzle sets from this series I still have; reassembling this set has been so entertaining that it makes me want to reassemble the rest of them and show each small puzzle like I’ve been doing with the cottages. I’ve given several of them away to my “grandson”, but I still have a few of them here. Anyone out there interested in Small Shaped Puzzles, Part Deux? 😉

Cottages 3-2

When I first saw the name of this little bakery it didn’t make any sense; then I said it out loud. Thistle Do = This’ll Do. What a great name! I love the autumn look of this cottage, with the corn stalks, apples, pumpkins, and gourds – and the wreath on the chimney is perfect!

Cottages 3-3

I’m not a cat person, so I’m not sure if the cat is trying to get at the tomatoes or the herbs on the table. Do cats eat tomatoes? Or perhaps it’s just trying to cause some mischief, I know for sure that they love that! This little cottage reminds me of home; we used to live in a town with many a summer cottage on the lake shore, and quite a few have this sort of feel. Love it!

Cottages 3-4

And lastly is my favorite of today’s three – a bright, fun looking cottage with a little pond/moat out front. I love the wrought iron gate on the side, and how the bright purple flowers stand out against the yellow of the house. I would love to spend a summer here – but perhaps not with a cat – my Buddy wouldn’t like it. 🐶

Cottages – Part 2

Cottages 2-1
Cottages (2) by Kim Leo – Cra-Z-Art – 125/500 pieces

Day two of adorable cottages by Kim Leo. I really do love these small shaped puzzles! Reassembling the cottages makes me want to go back and reassemble all the ones I still have. I’ve kept quite a few of them, and given some away to my “grandson” who loves puzzles as much as I do.

Each of the puzzles has a colored backing so that you can sort them easily, or if you prefer more of a challenge you can ignore the colored backing and make it a true 500 piece puzzle. I prefer to use the colored backing and sort them into twelve piles. I don’t always assemble the entire box all at once, so it’s nice to be able to sit down and grab a pile of pieces and put together one or more of these shaped beauties.

Cottages 2-2

Lilacs -n- Lace Bed & Breakfast – gotta tell you I love the bright color of this one. I would LOVE to have a bright purple house with a green porch, but I don’t know that the neighbors would be too pleased. The lilac bushes on the side of the house make me a little homesick for Michigan. The don’t grow here in Florida, and I miss their beautiful scent and seeing the brightly colored lilac bushes everywhere.

Cottages 2-3

We’ve got two black cats in this one, and it looks as if they’d like to take that bike for a spin while the dog doesn’t seem to want to get involved. He looks as if he wants to say “Mom wouldn’t like it if you messed up her bike.” I love the look of a yellow house, it always seems cheery to me. Although I’m not so sure about the neon pink door. Ah well, at least it matches the bike!

Cottages 2-4

What a sweet little cafe, with lots of flowers everywhere. Doesn’t this look like a relaxing place to have a nice meal, with lots of small talk? This one definitely reminds me my home state, it must be because the artist lives there. She seems to perfectly capture the quaint feeling of small town homes and businesses.

These puzzles make me so happy! 💖