Thoughts of an introverted bookworm and avid jigsaw puzzler
Festive Food Truck is a 500-piece puzzle from Ceaco, and the artist is Stephanie Peterson Jones. This was a redo for me. I needed a puzzle with a sweet treat for a puzzle challenge in a Facebook group, and this one fit the bill.
I enjoy Ceaco puzzles. They are middle of the road when it comes to quality, but they have interesting piece shapes and are usually pretty easy to complete. This artist is a favorite of mine as well.
At the end of September, my church held an event called Brunch & Craft. It was open to anyone who wanted to come, and we were encouraged to bring a craft to do and, if possible, a dish to share. This is the second one of these we have had, and it was a lot of fun the first time.
My friend Suzanne and I decided to do puzzles during the crafting time. We did two puzzles, and our friend Brianne joined us for the first one before settling down to color. My friend Renee, who lives about 45 minutes away, came with me as well and she was doing some crochet.
I really enjoyed the event. I brought a sausage hashbrown casserole to share and had some other delicious treats that other people had brought as well. I brought four puzzles and let Suzanne and Brianne choose which ones we would do. For the first one, they immediately chose Cats in Quarantine, which is a 500-piece puzzle from Exploding Kittens. I have done it a couple of times already and love it.
The picture above shows it in progress, and here is the finished puzzle:
For the second puzzle, Suzanne chose Waterfall Camper, a 300-piece puzzle from Ceaco. The artist is Stephanie Peterson Jones. I have a bunch of her puzzles and really like her artwork.
This was such a fun event. Usually I get drained being around a lot of people, but I was so focused on our little group and the activity of puzzling that I actually still had a lot of energy after it was done. Renee and I went out for a late lunch/early dinner and then ice cream and hung out for a bit at my place before she went home.
I hope we do it again!
Vintage Travel Tickets is a 500-piece puzzle from Galison, and the artist is Troy Litten. I picked this up at a puzzle swap recently. I thought it might be kind of tricky, but it was surprisingly easy and very fun.
National Parks Map is a 500-piece puzzle from Ceaco, and the artist is Stephanie Peterson Jones. I have a lot of puzzles by her, including several food trucks and several happy campers (some of which are featured on this puzzle.)
This was super easy and a lot of fun. I actually did it with my friend Suzanne when she was over one evening. She did the border while I pulled out the pieces for the top and bottom areas. Once we have those done, it was basically pick and place for the rest of the puzzle because of how busy it was.
Little House on the Prairie Map is a 500 piece puzzle from Pippi Post, and the artist is Alexa Zurcher.
I am a huge Little House fan, so I couldn’t resist this charming map puzzle with illustrations of notable places from the books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I especially love the quotes around the border!
I love the quality of this brand. The pieces almost look like plastic, but they are actually a chipboard with a white backing. The only flaw was on the enclosed poster; it had two black boxes covering some of the image. I was able to use the image on the front of the box, however, so it wasn’t a big deal.
Mama’s Colorful Quilts is a 500 piece puzzle from Cardinal. I was unable to track down an artist.
This is such a fun, colorful image! I got this one from the thrift store. Quality was decent, and it did have nice large pieces which would be good for people who have trouble with small puzzle pieces.
I especially like the orange sky and the rounded appearance of the hills in the background. And of course, the quilts and the buildings were great fun!
Whimsical Village is a 500-piece puzzle from Concord, and the artist is Bukhavets Mikhail. I saw this online and really liked the image, so I tracked it down on ebay and purchased a copy.
Now that I have completed it, I do have to say that Concord isn’t the best brand. The quality was just okay, but I still enjoyed it because I like the illustration.
Holiday Postcards is a 1000-piece puzzle from Trefl. I purchased this one for a challenge that is taking place in a Facebook group I belong to which has a weekly clue. This week’s clue was postcard, and this puzzle fit that perfectly.
This was my first time doing this brand, and I was very pleased with it. The fit was a bit loose, so it took a minute for me to get used to and make sure I was getting the right piece in the right place, but once I got used to it, things were fine.
The image is a really good one for a puzzle. There were a lot of different colors and textures, and I finished it faster than I thought I would. I would definitely be open to getting more from this brand.
Bonus puzzle: Last week’s clue was ladder, and someone in the group mentioned a puzzle that had a barely noticeable ladder. I had actually done that puzzle before and still had it, so I redid it for the challenge. It is called Northern Lights, and it is a 500-piece Nancy Wernersbach from Ravensburger.
Can you find the ladder?
Boho Interior is a 500-piece puzzle from PieceRelax, and the artist is Olivia Gibbs. PieceRelax is a brand created by Pintoo, which is known for their plastic pieces and interchangeable edge/frame pieces. The brand aims to highlight the relaxing aspect of puzzling, and this image certainly does that!
I did this puzzle with my friend Suzanne when she was over recently. She picked it from my smaller piece count puzzles because of the cats in the image. We both enjoyed it. The pieces are pretty small and get harder to click into place the more you get done, but it’s really not too bad. And it’s so cool to be able to pick up the finished puzzle and do whatever you want to it without it coming apart!
I have done one Pintoo puzzle before, but this was my first one from PieceRelax, and I was pleasantly surprised when I opened it that it included a free puzzle magnet. It is so pretty and really added to the experience of ordering from this company.
Rockies Explorer is a 500-piece puzzle from Villager Puzzles, and the artist is Anja Jane. This was my first experience with Villager, which is a woman-owned Canadian brand featuring artwork from Canadian women artists.
The puzzle came in a box with a magnetic closure and a reusable plastic bag. It included a nice size poster as well. The pieces have a lovely matte finish and fit together beautifully, and the art was great. I loved the colors, especially the sky and mountains, and I am looking forward to doing more of their puzzles.
In So Many Words 