I love, love the Alchemist’s series from Eeboo! It is such a fun one. I had previously done The Alchemist’s Home and Alchemist’s Cabinet and loved them both as well. I have heard that a fifth one is in the works. The artist is Vasilisa Romanenko.
Both of these are 1000-piece puzzles and they can be somewhat challenging but are so engrossing and fun to do that it feels like the right amount of difficulty. I have found that puzzling is a great hobby for me because I am normally a very anxious person, but when I am doing a puzzle, my brain is so engaged that I don’t feel anxious at all and don’t even think about the other stuff that is going on in my life.
As far as my puzzling method goes, I used to always sort my puzzles, but I am finding that with these one that are more busy, it is difficult to do that. I have started just turning all of the pieces over and placing them in my sorting trays. I only pull out the edges so I can do them first. Then I just pick through the trays for whatever color or texture I am working on next. This seems to work pretty well and definitely saves some time upfront!
Although I love them both, the kitchen one is my favorite. I love the vibrant colors and all the interesting details. I am definitely looking forward to the next installment in the series!
In So Many Words 