Thoughts of an introverted bookworm and avid jigsaw puzzler
Paris Christmas is a 1000-piece puzzle from eeboo, and the artist is Jennifer Orkin Lewis. I love all of the great colors and details in this festive holiday image. My favorite part is the twinkle lights on the Eiffel Tower.
There were a few sections I was able to do in the beginning, but after that, it was mostly pick and place for the rest of the puzzle. It was still fun, though.
I redid two more puzzles for a challenge I am doing in a Facebook group I belong to. These were the last two clues for the event, so this one is done now.
Clue #9 was an umbrella, so I redid Town Park, which is a 300-piece puzzle from Ceaco. It was illustrated by Olivia Gibbs and features patio umbrellas above the tables outside one of the shops.
Clue #10 was bathtub. For that one, I redid The Alchemist’s Home, which is a 1000-piece puzzle from eeBoo. The artist is Vasilisa Romanenko. Ironically, I had done a different puzzle with a house cross section that included a bathtub just before the ten-week challenge and had thought about holding onto it just in case, but then I decided to take it apart.
I really enjoyed this puzzle challenge and am looking forward to the next one!
The clues for weeks 2 and 3 of the puzzle challenge I am doing on Facebook were barnyard animals and musical instruments. I was able to redo puzzles from my shelves for both of them.
Farm Life is a 300-piece puzzle from Ceaco, and the artist is Olivia Gibbs. This one fit the clue for barnyard animals with its cows and chickens.
Koala House Party is a 1000-piece puzzle from eeBoo, and the artist is Uta Krogmann. This one is a house cross section with a music room containing several different instruments.
I enjoyed redoing both of these and am looking forward to the next prompt tomorrow!
I only did two of the puzzles from my Completing the Puzzle subscription this month. I decided to put my subscription on hold and they asked that I send the puzzles I had back within 7 days, so I only had time to do two of them. I wasn’t too upset about it, though, because the other two weren’t from my wish list and I didn’t mind skipping them.
The first one was Paris in a Day from eeBoo, and it was 1000 pieces. It was the first rectangular eeBoo puzzle I have seen. This was right up my alley with all the different buildings and windows; it helped that there were so many different colors and textures in the image.
The second puzzle I did was Paris from Galison; it was a 1000-piece puzzle and the artist was Michael Storrings. It was a bear to complete, especially compared to the Paris in a Day puzzle I just did. The building colors were all very similar, as were the windows.
I am always drawn to Michael Storrings artwork, but I hesitate to get his puzzles because they seem hard. I do have a 500 piece that is pretty doable, but I wouldn’t want to do this one again.
Once my puzzles are confirmed back at the warehouse, I am planning to cancel my subscription. I have enjoyed getting to do some puzzles that would have been harder or more expensive to obtain, but I am ready to go back to puzzling whatever I want on a given day instead of having to prioritize the subscription puzzles.
The first puzzle I did from my four-puzzle subscription this month was Envelopes by Tania Wicks. I have wanted to try one of her puzzles for quite a while, but they are pricey and not readily available here in the state, so I was excited to get this one to do.
I absolutely loved it! The image is stunning; I love the subject matter and the colors are so rich and peaceful. The puzzle quality was really good as well, and it was a joy to solve.
My second puzzle was Copenhagen from eeBoo. I always enjoy their puzzles. I like the size and shape of their pieces, and I don’t mind that they are glossy – I have never had a problem with that.
This image is so charming with all the different buildings. I like how some of them are slanted and how they have different textures. So fun!
My third puzzle was Asian Oil Paper Umbrellas from Eurographics. It is a stunning image with lots of bold colors and lovely details. I really enjoyed doing this one. It was challenging without being frustrating, and I’m glad I got the chance to do it.
The quality was okay, but it has definitely been done many times; one of the pieces was smashed and one was missing a corner. Despite that, I had a lot of fun solving this one.
My fourth and final puzzle for this shipment was The Greatest Bookstore in the World, also from Eurographics. I love books and bookstores so was immediately drawn to this image. It started out pretty easy with a few of the larger objects and color blocks but then got tricky with all the tiny little books.
The pieces were all two in, two out, so I couldn’t shape sort. Thankfully they were all unique and I didn’t have any false fits. It was secondhand and there was one piece missing. Overall still a nice challenge.
Closing Thoughts
All four puzzles this month were 1000 pieces. I like that because it feels like I am getting my money’s worth out of the subscription. I am definitely doing one more month of the subscription, possibly two.
It took me more than a month to finish the four puzzles I got as my Completing the Puzzle subscription for December. I finally finished the fourth one last night.
Rooster from Cloudberries, 1000 pieces
Common Quilt Block Patterns from Cobble Hill, 1000 pieces
New York City Life from eeBoo, 1000 pieces
50 States Quilt Blocks from Cobble Hill, 1000 pieces
I enjoyed all four of them, even though the two quilt block puzzles were very similar. The New York puzzle had one piece missing on the upper left corner, but the 50 States puzzle came with an extra piece form some other puzzle, so I guess it all evened out! I will send the extra piece back in a separate bag with a note so the staff can look for where it goes.
I have 12 more puzzles on my wish list at Completing the Puzzle, so I’m planning to keep my subscription for another 3 months at least. I’m not guaranteed to get puzzles from my wish list, but so far all the ones I have gotten were from there.
Swedish Fishing Village is a 1000-piece puzzle from eeBoo, and the artist is Monika Forsberg. I have had this one on my shelf for a while and finally got around to doing it. It was a lot of fun. I find eeBoo puzzles to be very consistent. The quality is always good and the challenge level is just right – not too hard and not too easy.
Marrakesh is a 1000-piece puzzle from eeBoo, and the artist is Miranda Softoniou. It is a delightful and colorful image showing a street in a market area, and I had a lot of fun solving it. I really enjoy puzzles from this brand, especially the ones featuring scenes from various cities around the world. Even though there is a lot going on in the image, it was not overwhelming.
Jane Austen’s Book Club is a 1000-piece puzzle from eeboo. I got it from Ollie’s (a local bargain store) for only $4.99! They had a pretty good selection of puzzles and even had two that I had already purchased. Too bad I hadn’t gone there first as they would have been cheaper.
This was a bit harder of a puzzle due to the amount of detail in it. I didn’t find it frustrating at all; I was able to keep working through it section by section. I like the distinct qualities of eeboo puzzles, with the glossy pieces that are small but not too small and the square shape of the finished puzzle.
I would have loved to be a part of this book club, as it appears to include Jane herself as a member. It would have been fascinating to talk about books with her!
Koala House Party is a 1000-piece puzzle from eeBoo, and the artist is Uta Krogmann. I know some people don’t like glossy pieces, but I don’t mind them. I really enjoyed this one!
In So Many Words 