Disney & Pixar Color Palette is a 500-piece puzzle from Ravensburger, and I had so much fun with it! I had seen people online talking about how hard it was to get and really wanted to have the chance to do it. Luckily, it showed up on the swap table at the speed puzzling event I attended (as a spectator) in November. There was one piece missing, which was noted on the box, but I still grabbed it as soon as I saw it!
I love that this has both a rainbow and a grid aspect. This was a very quick build for me. After doing the border, I started with the pink column and worked my way over to the green. Then I jumped to the red and worked my way back to the yellow. The fit was kind of loose, so I’m guessing this puzzle has been done quite a few times already, but the pieces were still in pretty good shape.
I was surprised by how many of the characters I knew, especially since I haven’t watched a lot of animated films in the last few years. I don’t usually keep puzzles with missing pieces, but I might hang onto this one for a while so I can do it again sometime.
Lake Camper is a 300-piece puzzle from Ceaco, and the artist is Stephanie Peterson Jones. This is part of a series called Happy Camper. I have several of these and am hoping to get the rest someday. I just love her artwork style and find these so fun and super easy!
A while ago, I got a multipack set of Happy Camper puzzles that had variations of 5 of these puzzles, but the quality was terrible and I didn’t keep them when I was done. Here is a list of the regular puzzles from the series with their status:
Beach Camper, 300 pieces, owned but not completed
Cactus Camp-Out, 300 pieces, want to get
Canyon Camper, 300 pieces, owned and completed
Christmas Camper, 300 pieces, owned and completed
Costa Rica Camper, 300 pieces, owned but not completed
Downeast Camper, 300 pieces, want to get
Green Mountain Camper, 300 pieces, want to get
Lake Camper, 300 pieces, owned and completed
Mountain Camper, 300 pieces, owned and completed
Wine Country Camper, 750 pieces, owned and completed
St. Basil Cathedral is a 500-piece puzzle from MasterPieces. My friend Kim picked this out for me for my birthday, which was really sweet of her. It’s not a typical image that I would choose, but I do like the interesting colors and patterns of the cathedral and really enjoyed that part of the puzzle.
The sky was fairly difficult, especially since there was so much of it. I had to sort by shape and it was still slow going getting the pieces in. Thankfully, each piece is unique so I knew when I had one in the right spot.
I keep a lot of my puzzles to do again, but this one I will be putting in the swap pile to pass on. Once is enough for that sky!
Snoopy’s Puffer Coat is a 500-piece puzzle from Ceaco. This was a Christmas present from my son Michael, and I just couldn’t resist doing it right away. It is just so stinkin’ cute!
This was a lot of fun to put together. I started with Snoopy’s coat and then moved on to the ground. I finished up with the wavy background. I really like Ceaco puzzles, although the quality can vary.
Quaint Cafe is a 1000-piece puzzle from Ravensburger, and the artist is Jason Taylor. I fell in love with this image the first time I saw it, and it turned out to be just as beautiful as I imagined.
I love the juxtaposition of the indoors and the outdoors. The interior is so warm and inviting with the wood floors and chalkboard menus, and the outdoor is just as charming with the cobblestone street and cafe seating.
As always, the Ravensburger quality is excellent. The pieces are a nice size and thickness, and they have a lovely matte finish. There are no false fits, and there is enough piece variation that I can sort by shape when I get stuck.
This artist has done several puzzles using the same concept, and I have actually gotten a few of them. I think they are such clever designs.
A Day at the Bookstore is a 1000-piece puzzle from Galison, and the artist is Michael Storrings. I am often drawn to his artwork, but I don’t do a lot of his puzzles because they can be quite challenging. For this one, the lower portion was pretty easy, but the upper portion was harder, especially the bricks!
This was the first puzzle I completed in 2026, and it is perfect for me because it combines two things I love – books and puzzles. 😊I love how the little vignettes are cut out of the brick wall, giving us a glimpse of what is happening inside!
Garden Shed Greenhouse is a 1000-piece puzzle from Ceaco, and the artist is Tracy Flickinger. I have done a few of her other puzzles and really like her style of art. It seems whimsical and full of life.
This puzzle had a nice difficulty level. There were some textures that were easy to pick out and put together, and there were some parts that were a bit trickier because of the level of detail. All in all, a very fun experience.
I was so blessed this year for Christmas and my birthday to receive puzzles from my son as well as two of my friends. Some were from my wish list and some were picked out for me, and I am looking forward to doing all of them!
Here is a list of the puzzles I got as they are pictured:
Venice Open Market from eeBoo, artist Uta Krogmann
European Winter Market from Pink Sky
Redwood Forest Tiny House from Ravensburger, artist Jason Taylor
Snoopy’s Puffer Coat from Ceaco
The Beach Hut from Ravensburger, artist Steve Read
I tried a lot of new-to-me puzzle brands in 2025, some of which were pricier brands that I had been eyeing for a while. A few I was able to get through borrowing or on sale, but some I went ahead and splurged on.
Here are my top ten brands that were new to me in 2025:
New York Puzzle Company – I have admired this US company’s images for a while and finally got one to try for myself. It was called Stay Cozy, and I loved the vibe of the image. The puzzle is good quality but it was definitely hard due to the random cut pieces.
Stay Cozy
PieceRelax – These Taiwanese puzzles are made from plastic pieces, which are a fun, different experience. They make a very satisfying click, although they do require more pressure the farther into the puzzle that you get. I did two of theirs this year: Boho Interior and Whimsy Garden House.
Boho InteriorWhimsy Garden House
Pintoo – These puzzles also have plastic pieces. Pintoo is actually the parent company of PieceRelax, and the puzzle I did from them was called The Tree of Hope. It is a beautiful four season puzzle.
The Tree of Hope
Pieces & Peace – This is a French brand that I splurged on and have since fallen in love with. I have done two of their puzzles this year and have another two on my shelf to do. The images are just lovely and the quality is fantastic. The puzzles I have done are London Cafe and Fall Festival.
London CafeFall Festival
Pippi Post – This family-owned brand from Utah features the artwork of its founder, Alexa Zurcher. The images are charming, and the pieces are paperboard that has an almost plastic feel that I really enjoy. I have done three of their puzzles now: Pride & Prejudice Map, Little House on the Prairie Map, and Seasons.
Pride & Prejudice MapLittle House on the Prairie MapSeasons
Reverie – This is an Australian brand that I have wanted to try for a while. They are expensive, but I was able to pick one up for not too much a few months ago with a coupon and a free shipping offer. All of their puzzles have something to do with books, which makes them even more special. The one I got was The Language of Flowers, and I loved it.
The Language of Flowers
Tania Wicks – Tania is an Australian photographer who started a puzzle brand a couple of years ago. I have been interested in this brand for quite a while, and finally had the opportunity to do one of the puzzles this year through my Completing the Puzzle subscription. It was a beautiful image called Envelopes. Unfortunately, she has closed her puzzle company now.
Envelopes
Trevell – This is a French brand, and I was able to get one regular puzzle and two mini puzzles to try this year. The mini puzzles were Cozy Kitchen and Spring Barn, and the larger puzzle was Parenthese Enchantee. I had a wonderful experience with all of them.
Cozy KitchenParenthese EnchanteeSpring Barn
Villager – This is a Canadian woman-owned brand that features artwork from Canadian women artists. The puzzles are beautiful and the quality is very good. I purchased two puzzles from them this year (Rockies Explorer and Dream Library), and I got two more as traveling puzzles (Cottage Country and Lupines Meadow).
Dream LibraryCottage CountryLupines MeadowRockies Explorer
Wentworth Wooden Puzzles – I got the chance to do my first ever wooden puzzle as part of a traveling puzzle from a Facebook group. This is a UK brand. It was called Sunset Mountains, and it was gorgeous. I absolutely loved it and hope I will get to do more wooden puzzles in the future.
This was a nice, quiet week. I worked Monday-Wednesday and then had the rest of the week off. I also had no appointments or planned events for either Michael or myself, and he went to his dad’s for the weekend. It was lovely!
I did spend some time looking back over my progress on my reading and puzzling hobbies. I am a total nerd and love tracking things, so I track my puzzles in an app called Puzzle Tracker and also on a spreadsheet (so I don’t lose the information if anything happens to the app). This image shows my puzzle stats for 2025:
I also compiled some stats for my 2025 year in books. I am pretty happy with what I read last year, especially since there were only 5 books that I rated 2 stars and 2 books that I DNF’d.
