Summer Medley by Mandy Budan – StumpCraft – 207 pieces
This puzzle was unbelievably difficult, but so very entertaining! It’s from a new brand (to me) – I decided to try some smaller wooden puzzle companies, and I’m thrilled I found this one. From what I’ve seen so far, they make wonderful puzzles. 🙂
StumpCraft is a small company in Canada that crafts beautiful laser-cut puzzles that showcase the artwork of fellow Canadians. I was thoroughly impressed with the quality and cutting, and I can’t wait to try more of this brand. The color-line cutting made it much more challenging than it looks, and the difficulty level increased my enjoyment so much – I was able to turn off my brain and became completely engrossed in the assembly. Love, love, loved it!!!!
The puzzle was beautifully cut, with fun whimsies (the beaver is my favorite), the fit was exceptional, and they were the thickest wooden pieces I’ve worked with so far. An excellent puzzle!
I adore this new image from Wentworth, it makes me laugh. I have a whole new batch of micro puzzles for a couple of reasons; 1) I’m a jigsaw puzzle junkie, and 2) I needed more very small puzzles that I can work on in bed. I think the puzzle addiction is the biggest reason though, if I’m being honest. 😏
I actually assembled this puzzle this morning specifically to post today. There are almost no puzzles left in my queue! Oh dear. My readers have a lot more “chatty” posts to look forward to in the next few weeks while I build up my stash of completed puzzles again. Don’t worry though, I’ll be keeping the chit chat to puzzle topics.
This puzzle has one of the cutest whimsies I’ve ever seen – a nun ice skating! Love it!
This puzzle would be a fun challenge in a larger piece count, the bigger areas of both black and white would be a bit difficult – but entertaining I think. The artwork itself is a bit fuzzy, which I think would help with the larger areas of one color. There’s something so wonderfully whimsical and sweet about the image, it just speaks to me.
Well, I was right, hubby did get me the most expensive puzzle from my wishlist as a birthday present. I’m assembling it now and it’s coming together slowly, but slow is ok with me – I’m having the best time!
I tried to be upset with him, but I apparently misplaced my distress when I opened the box. Whoops. It’s called Sugar Magnolia from Liberty Puzzles and it’s GORGEOUS….
The artwork by Phil Lewis so beautiful and unusual – I love it! Though I don’t think I ever really would have bought it for myself. It’s one of those puzzles I put on my wishlist so I can look at it and sigh wistfully. (You know what I mean, right?) I’m so happy to have it, but I’m also upset with myself for not removing it from the list before I let hubby look at it. It makes no sense, does it? That’s me all over, nonsensical.
Nonsense aside, I am enjoying this puzzle so much! Mom came over to help me get started, and we had the best time spending several minutes just looking at the pieces. Then we poured them out onto a board and, oh my, there were so many! I’ve never had a wooden puzzle with this many pieces, there are almost 900. 😮
The pieces were all laid out, and then I put the box away. That’s part of the reason the assembly is going slowly – we’re not using the image. It makes the wooden puzzle experience last longer and gives me more time to look at and feel the pieces while I contemplate where they should go. I love being in the moment and focused only on the puzzle and it’s pieces. Heavenly!
I spent a bit of silly time setting up the picture above with a few of the whimsies. I have no explanation other than it made me smile. ☺ Adorable, aren’t they?
Harvest Farm by Alan Giana – Wentworth Wooden Puzzles – 250 pieces
I didn’t plan ahead very well this year, so I didn’t have a Halloween puzzle to assemble. Last year there were fun, spooky, ghosty puzzles to post about; not so this year. I promise to attempt to do a better job next year! The attempt is all I can promise, my brain isn’t what it used to be.
This beautiful wooden puzzle made me so happy after not touching a puzzle for 2 whole days – it was a lovely way to feed my puzzle addiction. Once I saw it all together I knew this would be my puzzle for Halloween; I love the pumpkins, gourds, corn, and especially the little hanging scarecrow!
As usual, we start with the whimsies, they are fall/Halloween themed. I was surprised to see the bat and ghost in there; I thought it would only be fall whimsies so the spooky ones were a fun surprise. 🦇
I think the scarecrow is my favorite, but the tractor comes in a close second. The detail on these Wentworth whimsies is so fun, and I can’t wait to see the whimsies in my new puzzles on their way to my house! (Yup, I went crazy again and bought more Wentworths and also one from a new wooden puzzle company I haven’t tried before 😎)
It’s such a beautiful fall image from Alan Giana, and it made for a wonderful assembly. I started with the words as usual, and then for some reason decided to go with the grass next. There was no real plan, I went where the puzzle took me. It’s so nice to not think and just go with it. A beautiful puzzle that took me out of my head for a while, I couldn’t ask for more.
The 12:09 – On Time Again! by Jane Wooster Scott – Ceaco – 528 pieces
I haven’t assembled a good corkboard puzzle in years; I’ve assembled a few, but they weren’t very good and just didn’t live up to the first one I did. Fortunately this puzzle was great quality and a lot of fun to assemble. If you’re wondering, yes the sky is supposed to look like that according to the image on the box. It’s weird though, right? Anyway, as an added bonus it’s a fall puzzle with lots of pumpkins everywhere, and even some jack-o-lanterns! 🎃
This was a very good quality puzzle, with thick pieces and a wonderful fit. The cut was devious, with a wonky edge and color line cutting that had me checking the box often – I’ve never seen that from a Ceaco before. Although it was a pity they didn’t put a picture of the entire image on the box (other than a tiny 2 inch picture) – I hate that!
I don’t believe these corkboard puzzles are in production anymore, both of the good ones we have were found at thrift stores, and the boxes say that they’re from the early 90’s. All the cork backed puzzles we’ve found were from Ceaco, but I can’t explain why some are poorer quality than others. A few that I’ve assembled were not as thick, and the cork didn’t seem as well adhered. Different places of manufacture perhaps?
These are only some of the whimsy pieces in this puzzle, but they’re so fun, and there are so many birds in the sky! I love that you can tell the different breeds of the dogs just by their silhouettes – there’s a dachshund, a cocker spaniel, and beagle (at least that’s what I think they are 🙂 )
Sweet apple junction, how adorable is that? What a great image by Jane Wooster Scott. All the cork puzzles we’ve assembled have been with her artwork – I’d love to find some more!
This picture not only shows some of the color line cutting (you can see the straight edge at the bottom of the train); it also shows that unfortunately the name of the artwork and artist has been cut off – whoops!
The added challenge of this puzzle was to find and join the 10 railroad cars hidden in the puzzle – I did it! There was a similar challenge on the first cork puzzle I put together; you had to find and assemble all the parts of a clown. I didn’t even attempt it, but this time I was a bit more brave. 💪
I found this puzzle hiding on one of my shelves full of puzzles just in time for Halloween, and I’m so glad. Mom came and helped me with it too, which is always a joy. It was great fun and made me very happy!
My Jigsaw Journal 