Thoughts of an introverted bookworm and avid jigsaw puzzler
Happy Valentine’s Day! 💗
You’ve Got Mail is a 500-piece puzzle from Spaghetti Tree, and the artist is Loni Harris. This was my first puzzle from this brand, and I loved it! It is a random cut but the pieces are nice and big, so it was really easy to put together. I love the flowers bursting out of the envelope as well as the whimsical patterns on all of the butterflies.
It was the perfect puzzle to celebrate Valentine’s Day and love in all its forms! 💗
Here are some closeups:
Cozy Nooks & Reading Books is a 500-piece puzzle from Designworks Ink. It was an impulse buy from Target in early December, but I didn’t get to it before Christmas. I love how festive it is, and it even has a red backing.
As an avid bookworm, I really enjoy seeing books in puzzles. I also enjoy doing words, so this puzzle was a lot of fun for me. I usually do the border first when I puzzle, but since this border was all dark green, I chose to do it last. I was impressed with the quality of this puzzle, especially with its low price tag. There were no false fits, and the pieces were nice.
At the puzzle swap I attended in November, I got two puzzles that had been used in the 2025 US National Jigsaw Puzzle Championship. These are both 500-piece puzzles from Ravensburger, who sponsors the competition.
Art Studio was illustrated by Jena DellaGrottaglia. It was trickier than I thought it would be to put together, but it did come together and it really quite beautiful.
Home Sweet Home was illustrated by Demelsa Haughton. I have done a couple of her other puzzles and find her style to be so charming. I loved discovering all the whimsical details and adorable creatures in this image. It went much more quickly than the previous puzzle, which was nice.
Starry Seasons is a 500-piece puzzle from 1canoe2. This gorgeous puzzle was on my wish list for a long time, but I kept passing it up due to the price tag. Then the brand had a $15 sale on their website, and I snatched this one up right away. I just love the vertical grid design and how beautifully each season is represented.
The quality was great and the puzzle was not too hard, so I was able to do it in one sitting. I typically pull out the edges while flipping the rest of the pieces and then sort as needed as I go along, and that worked pretty well for this puzzle. After doing the edges and the bottom sections, I pulled out the pieces that bordered each season and it was like doing four mini puzzles after that.
I am in love with the finished product and will definitely be doing this one again.
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.
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.
Happy Beads is a 500-piece puzzle from Ravensburger, and the artist is Elspeth McLean. McLean is known for her meticulously painted mandala stones and has had several puzzles made featuring these creations. The level of detail is just amazing!
I was pretty intimidated by this puzzle, but it turned out to be a lot easier than I thought it would. Each bead has a different pattern on it, so it was not hard to figure out where each piece went. Super fun!
Hello From Around the World is a 500-piece puzzle from Mudpuppy, and the artist is Lemon Ribbon Studio. Mudpuppy is part of Galison but offers simpler images that are great for kids or beginners. I found this stamp puzzle to be super easy and a lot of fun!
One of the puzzlers I follow on YouTube offered several bundles of traveling puzzles earlier this year, and I eagerly signed up for one. Not all of them filled up, so I got the chance to sign up for a second one, and that’s the one I received last week. Both puzzles in this bundle are from Villager Puzzles, which is a woman-owned Canadian brand that features Canadian women artists.
The first puzzle I did was Cottage Country, which is by Nicolle Lalonde and is 500 pieces. It was fairly easy. I love how the setting sun looks reflected on the water.
The second puzzle was Lupines Meadow by Diana Pinnell. It is 1000 pieces. This one was quite challenging, but it is so lovely.
Now it’s back to Christmas puzzles. 🎄🎅☃️
In So Many Words 