Tag: Whimsy pieces

Noongar Six Seasons Collage

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles14 Comments

Noongar Six Seasons Collage by Kevin Bynder – Mr. Bob Puzzles – 40 pieces

Absolutely my kind of image – the colors and patterns make for such an interesting image – much more fun for me than a cottage, landscape, or kittens. And it’s always so nice to work with a beautifully made wooden puzzle, even if it’s only a small one like this that doesn’t take much time at all to assemble.

This image is based on the Noongar people of Australia and their six seasons of the year whose time frame is defined by changes to the environment and the movements of the people to different habitats depending on the seasons. It’s a beautiful representation of the seasons – at least I think so. I’m a little disappointed in myself that I didn’t get this image in a larger size. It’s absolutely stunning artwork!

I’m not sure what the kettle is doing in this set of whimsies, but I don’t always have the depth of information I would like about these things. That’s ok though, it was a fun little puzzle to assemble – that’s what matters.

Fairytale Cottage

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles5 Comments

Fairytale Cottage by Valentine Rekunenko – Artifact (Ecru) – 280 pieces

Isn’t this GORGEOUS? I think it is anyway. It’s been about a year since I completed this puzzle, so honestly there isn’t much I remember about it, but it’s still a beautiful image.

It was a very entertaining assembly according to my completed puzzles page from May of 2022 – apparently as soon as it was completed I was ready to assemble it again! Don’t you just love a puzzle that’s that much fun to put together?

Such great whimsies – as usual. From the genie and his magic lamp, prince charming, an elf, three bears (one of them didn’t make it to the photo shoot, but he’s in the puzzle, I swear), to Alice from Wonderland and more – fabulous fairytale whimsy pieces that fit this image perfectly!

The image is so wonderfully detailed, and the colors are fantastic.💜

I love to look at a well cut wooden puzzle from the back, it gives me a better appreciation for the craftsmanship that goes into making them – plus it makes for a very cool picture. 📸

Animal Designs

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles8 Comments

Animal Designs by Awa Tsireh – Artifact Puzzles – 105 pieces

Isn’t this an interesting puzzle? It’s certainly not the usual image that I go for, but there was something compelling about it, and I kept going back to it on the website. You know me, I hate for a puzzle to be without a home. 😉 It was by no means an easy puzzle, but I loved falling into that wonderful headspace where all you can think about is the image and the shapes – it’s meditative and lovely.

Wonderful quality Ecru puzzle from Artifact; their Ecru line of puzzles has a closer cut (less obvious piece shapes in the finished image) and a matte finish to reduce glare. Artifact Puzzles have a special place in my heart, my very first wooden puzzle was one of theirs and I still take it out and assemble it every now and again – it was and still is perfectly lovely!

There were only three whimsy pieces in this puzzle, they’re reminiscent of the animal designs in the image. It’s the perfect place to start working, as the pieces that surround them are the easiest to find. There weren’t many colors in this image, and the ones they used were repeated all throughout; but at only 105 pieces it wasn’t too terrible or time-consuming.

I did enjoy the challenge though, and the mini-hexagon pieces made it even more interesting to put together. An excellent puzzle all around, and I’m looking forward to assembling it again. 💗

What’s In Progress…

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzling10 Comments

I’m working on a wooden puzzle called Fairytale Cottage, and these are some of the whimsies – aren’t they adorable? My puzzle mojo is taking a beating so far this month, so I’m trying to get myself motivated with this beautiful wooden puzzle.

I find myself laying in bed with no inclination to get up and do anything at all. Depression sucks big time. I’ll weave my way through it, I always do, but while you’re in it it doesn’t seem as if it will ever be better; you know in your head that it will not always be this way, but you don’t feel like it will.

Hopefully this funk won’t last long, and I’ll be back at it with vigor very soon.

Story of the Lion

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles6 Comments

Story of the Lion by Amanda Michele – Sure Lox – 300 pieces

This puzzle is absolutely beautiful, but was not fun to assemble at all. It’s such a disappointment though, I really wanted to enjoy this one!

Sure Lox is much better than it used to be, with thicker pieces and a better fit: not these special editions though, it was NOT fun to work with. Adding whimsy pieces to cardboard puzzles never works the way people would hope – when things don’t connect they are constantly shifting all around and you are perpetually moving them back to where they go. It can be unbelievably frustrating – and it was.

In addition, this puzzle doesn’t lay flat – the whimsy pieces especially. As they don’t connect to anything they stick up out of the puzzle in places. Extremely annoying.

There are 75 whimsies out of 300 pieces, that’s a lot. And in this instance it isn’t a compliment. Some were huge, some small as the average puzzle piece. I found it a bit too much. Theater, if you will. Look at us, we can make fun shapes out of cardboard! Did it make for an entertaining puzzle? Nope.

Some of the pieces you can see come in different sizes, those I stacked up to be able to take the picture without using my entire board. The only one that’s image-side up is the shape of Africa; if it were turned around it would look like a bizzarro-world African continent.

Unfortunately this puzzle was not enjoyable, and I wouldn’t recommend it. Even at only 300 pieces it was difficult and cumbersome – and for me it was just annoying.