King Lion

King Lion by Marjorie Sarnat – Wentworth – 140 pieces

Holy crackers is this puzzle BEAUTIFUL! Every time I was working on it in bed my hubby commented about how striking it was, how the colors were so gorgeous – every time I took it out to add some pieces. Either he was just trying to keep my spirits up or he really thought those things; I think he really liked the image.

This was one that took loads more time than anticipated. The box image wasn’t used as a reference and with all the colors and patterns it took more brain power than your average cottage scene, landscape, or photographic image. But that was a plus in my book. Even if I was only able to put in a few pieces at a time I enjoyed searching for just the right one and hearing that satisfying “plunk” as it dropped into place.

Love all the whimsies, they completely fit in with the theme of the puzzle – and the details are amazing. Excellent puzzle all around, so much so that I’m looking forward to completing it again. 🦁

Chaos on the Board!

1960s Flower Power by Andrew Farley – Wentworth – 250 pieces

Since getting up at 2 am I have finished and taken pics of the previous puzzle and written up the post for publication at a later date, updated the June completed puzzles page, updated the sidebar on the homepage, and decided which puzzle was up next. My decision was mostly based on how I wanted to complete the puzzle…

I honestly felt the need to dump a puzzle out on my board and just start working on it – no sorting, no trays, no order at all – apparently chaos is what my brain is yearning for this morning. Please don’t ask me why, I can’t even explain it to myself. 🤷‍♀️

The puzzle that I chose is a relatively chaotic image as well, a collage called 1960s Flower Power; ugly fabrics, tie-dye shirts, flowers, buttons, and psychedelic patterns everywhere. It’s puzzle anarchy!

The only slight bit of sorting that happened was to put all the whimsy pieces in one place so that I could take a picture for today’s post; other than that it will remain puzzle pandemonium on the board until I can bring order to the image and make a pretty picture for you all to see.

I hope y’all have as much fun with puzzles today as I plan to – happy puzzling my friends! 💟

Reservoir of Succulents

Reservoir of Succulents – Wentworth – 40 pieces

This was much more difficult than it looks, to be honest I was a little intimidated when I poured out those 40 pieces. They all looked so similar and like they knew I wasn’t up to the task. Oh dear, perhaps I’m a little sleepy this morning. 😴

I had to get one more puzzle in the morning before I went off to the guillotine (oral surgery), so this one was it.

Great whimsies – Wentworth doesn’t always have the whimsy pieces match the image, but they got it perfectly right with this one. I couldn’t tell you any of the names of these succulents (other than the general term cacti), but I do know that they are succulents. 😎

100 Aussie Icons

100 Aussie Icons by Jim Tsinganos – Mr. Bob Puzzles – 40 pieces

While getting posts ready for when I’d be out of commission I realized I needed a few more completed puzzles, so I took this one off the shelf and put it together quickly – while I was finishing a cup of coffee. Truly a one coffee puzzle!

I put together this same image for a review over 3.5 years ago (as a much larger 515 piece puzzle), you can see it here if you’re interested. I remember having to ask Mr. Bob who all the icons were, being an uninformed American I had absolutely no clue. It’s a great image by Jim Tsinganos, and really fun to put together – whether it’s over 500 pieces or only 40.

These are the whimsy pieces. For my friend Kazza and any Aussie readers out there I made sure to put the country the right way up this time. My apologies for getting it wrong previously. I didn’t even think about it, just turned all the pieces over so you could see the extra lines in the figures and didn’t for one moment think about making sure it was right side up! So sorry guys, please forgive an aging Yank – it won’t happen again.

Working On…

Currently this gorgeous wooden puzzle is on my board. It’s slow going; partly because I don’t sit in the puzzle room for long periods of time, and partly because I’ve put the box away and am working without an image.

When working with wooden puzzles I prefer to work without any helpers, it makes it take a little longer and I can enjoy the feel of the pieces and the way they fit together for just a teeny bit more time. It’s nice to only think about the colors and shapes, where this oddly shaped piece might go, and does this section connect here….. I find it easier to be mindful about what I’m doing and one hundred percent engrossed in the puzzling itself.

I’m extremely thankful that we’re in a place where I can afford to get myself some wooden puzzles if I am so inclined, and I don’t take it for granted at all. Honestly, the wooden puzzles I’ve been working with lately have done wonders for my state of mind, they’re almost a therapy substitute – it’s difficult for me to be in a crappy mood when working with them, they take me completely out of my head so I stop thinking too much and they’re just so much fun! ☺