Tag: 1000 pieces

Posted on

Coastal Harbour

Coastal Harbour is a 1000-piece puzzle from Ravensburger, and the artist is Georgia Breeze. I did another of her puzzles last year called Garden Allotment and enjoyed it very much. There is something very charming about her artwork style.

This was a pleasure to put together. Ravensburger puzzles are such nice quality, with a matte finish to the pieces and a good thickness and fit. The image is broken up into sections, so after I did the buildings and boats that stood out the most, I worked on the sand and then the water and so on. A few of the buildings were very similar, so those took a bit more time, but overall I would say this not very difficult.

When I finished the puzzle in the wee hours of the morning, I was missing a piece. I tried to check around my puzzle board and under the couch but ended up having to go to bed without finding it. When I woke up and went out to the kitchen, I saw the missing puzzle piece upside down on the floor by the dining room table. I’m guessing it must have fallen off the puzzle board and gotten batted over there by the cat. I don’t really know what happened, but I am so glad I found it!

Posted on

Mushrooms

Mushrooms is a 1000-piece puzzle from Cavallini & Co. It was the oldest puzzle on my to do shelf, so I decided I should finally tackle it. This company has unique packaging with each puzzle in a decorative puzzle tube with a mini poster and a drawstring muslin bag for the pieces. It’s quite distinctive but a bit awkward on the shelf.

The quality of the puzzle itself was good with a couple of issues. I loved the smooth feel of the pieces, but one was bent and wouldn’t lay flat. Also, the image was coming loose from the knobs when I would try a piece and then have to pull them apart if they didn’t fit.

The first half of the puzzle was pretty easy as there are several distinctive sections of different colors. It did get challenging after that and when I got down to the pieces that were all or mostly cream, I had to sort by shape and then try each piece one by one to find the right spot.

I did enjoy the challenge, though, and the finished puzzle is very pleasant to look at.

Posted on

Baby, It’s Cold Outside

Baby, It’s Cold Outside is a 1000-piece puzzle from New York Puzzle Company, and the artist is Ana Juan. I got this one several months ago and was holding onto it until wintertime. It is a random-cut puzzle, which have traditionally been my least favorite to do, but I found this one to be more enjoyable than I expected. I think I must be getting used to the random-cut style because I am considering getting more of them.

I just love this image with all of the adorable dogs dressed up for the cold. I love their outfits and their expressions/personalities. Which one is your favorite?

Posted on

The Cambridge

The Cambridge is a 1000-piece puzzle from Buffalo Games, and the artist is the much-loved Charles Wysocki. I love his images, and this was an especially good one because it had so many different buildings as well as some fun words and interesting boats.

I really enjoyed putting it together. I still have four more of his in the 1000-piece size to do when the mood strikes!

Posted on

All Good Things Are Wild & Free

All Good Things Are Wild & Free is a 1000-piece puzzle from Flow/Workman Puzzles. Flow is a magazine and an international brand that celebrates mindfulness, creativity, and the simple pleasures in life. This illustration was done by Dutch artist Valesca van Waveren and was inspired by Henry David Thoreau’s words in Walking.

I really enjoyed this puzzle, and I did find it very relaxing to do. I love how there are little details scattered around the image so there aren’t large sections of just one color, and I like the little touches like the rounded corners. The finish of the pieces feels smooth and clean, just how I like them.

I got this one at a puzzle swap. There is another one called Everything Is Made Out of Magic that looks really pretty too that I might consider getting.

Posted on

Rig Views

Rig Views is a 1000-piece puzzle from Ravensburger, and the artist is Jason Taylor. This is another of his indoor/outdoor images that I have fallen in love with. It was actually a much quicker build than I expected. I did it on a Sunday afternoon/evening while I was doing my colonoscopy prep. ☹️

There are a lot of fun little details and textures in this puzzle, so I was never stuck or bored. I love the contrast between the beautiful nature scene with the colorful items inside the vehicle.

Posted on

Midnight in Prague

Midnight in Prague is a 1000-piece puzzle from KI Puzzles, and the artist is Mandalina Tantareanu. She is a Romanian illustrated based in Germany, and she especially loves drawing cities.

This is the third one I have done from her Cities at Midnight series. My son Michael gave it to me for Christmas in 2024, and it was the last puzzle from 2024 still on my to do shelf. There are three more puzzles in this series, which I bought myself for Christmas in 2025 so I would have the whole set.

I love puzzling buildings and words, so I was glad this puzzle had some of both. The cobblestone bridge was also fun to do. The top section with all of the blue and white was a lot more challenging but doable.

Such a lovely image!

Posted on

All Day Long Food Truck

All Day Long Food Truck is a 1000-piece puzzle from Ceaco, and the artist is Stephanie Peterson Jones. Most of the food truck puzzles I have done of hers have been 500 pieces, so it was exciting to see one in a larger piece count.

I loved the bright colors in this one. My favorite part to put together was the words on the signs and menus; I find them really fun to do. I also really liked the piece shapes in this one; they are different from what I usually see from Ceaco. It did have the largest reference poster I have ever seen, which was really annoying to use but necessary to see the entire image.

Recently, one of my cousins asked me to post pictures of the process I usually follow when doing a puzzle, so I took pictures of each step as I was putting this one together and posted them on Facebook for her.

Step 1: Pour out pieces into sorting trays.
Step 2: Flip pieces over and pull out edges.
Step 3: Build border of puzzle.
Step 4: Start pulling out pieces with distinctive colors or patterns.
Step 5: Repeat as needed – this was my progress after my first session.

Posted on

House of Colors

House of Colors is a 1000-piece puzzle from Enjoy Puzzles, and the artist is Ivaylo Ivanov. This is a new brand to me, and I was blown away by how nice it is. The colors are so deep and rich, and I love the image!

The puzzle quality is possible the best I have seen so far. The pieces are the perfect thickness and size, and they fit together so nicely without any false fits. I never got stuck or frustrated but just kept moving steadily through the whole thing. It was so satisfying!

One interesting thing in the world of puzzles is the debate over the use of AI, much like in the rest of society right now. I understand that people who want to avoid AI don’t appreciate companies that aren’t transparent about using it. I also understand that it is frustrating to artists to see puzzles with AI generated images that take opportunities away from them or even steal their work itself. However, I feel like it is inevitable at this point, so our best bet is to work on defining how we are going to use it.

All that to say that I post my puzzles in a few different places – Instagram, Facebook, and Reddit – and whenever I post something on Reddit that has any AI connection, other users always comment about it. I didn’t realize that this artist/company uses AI, but apparently they do. I don’t seek out AI images because I don’t like most of them that much, but I have come across a few that were really well done and have been okay with getting them.

I’m curious to know what other people think about this topic. Please feel free to share any thoughts – for or against – in the comments!

Posted on

It’s Not Hoarding If It’s Books

It’s Not Hoarding If It’s Books is a 1000-piece puzzle from ellembee gifts. This company sells a variety of products with fun sayings on them, and I thought this one was very cute!

The puzzle was pretty good quality, with random cut pieces that weren’t too small or weirdly shaped. However, it is what is called a “soft touch” puzzle, which means the pieces (and even the box) have a surface like velvet or suede. This is the second puzzle I have done that was branded as soft touch, and I really, really dislike the texture. It feels almost greasy to me (like it would pick up dust) and is very unpleasant. Also, the pieces are hard to move around in my sorting trays.

Many puzzlers love this type of texture, and I have heard that there can be variations in how soft touch feels and that some of them are better than others, but I am planning to avoid them as much as possible from now on.