Tag: jigsaw puzzles

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Vintage Main Street

Vintage Main Street is a 1000-piece puzzle from Cobble Hill, and the artist is Diane Dempsey. This was my second Dempsey puzzle; I find her art style very appealing.

I have done a lot of puzzles with buildings this year, and this one provides a fresh take on the concept with the vintage store fronts. The classic cars and fun holiday theme are also a lot of fun.

I did end up with one missing piece, which I was very bummed about. This could very well be my fault, as I did drop a couple of pieces on the floor. I thought I found them all but might not have. I’m still hoping it will show up sometime.

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City Sidewalks

City Sidewalks is a 1000-piece puzzle from 1canoe2. This is a new brand for me. It was a bit pricey, so I treated myself to it as an early Christmas present, along with the mini and micro puzzle I did recently.

I really enjoyed this puzzle. I had to get used to the pieces, which felt almost like plastic, but once I did, everything went very smoothly. There were a few darker areas that took a while; thankfully, there weren’t any false fits so it just took a bit of patience. This was a great choice for the holiday season!

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A Mini and a Micro

I recently treated myself to an early Christmas present and ordered several puzzles from Puzzledly. This included a mini puzzle and a micro puzzle, which I did right away.

Mushroom Patch is a 100-piece mini puzzle from WerkShoppe, and the artist is Emma Jayne. It came in an adorable zip-lock bag. The pieces were a nice size and the puzzle came together quickly. I did it without looking at the image to make it more fun. I think it would be a good candidate for puzzle chess.

Llama Bama Ding Dong is a 150-piece micro puzzle from MicroPuzzles. I have always wanted to try this brand, and I thought this image was so cute! The pieces were even tinier than I thought they would be, but I could still manipulate them with my hands and didn’t need tweezers or anything. The quality wasn’t great, as the pieces would seem to fit almost anywhere and I had to really pay attention to whether they fit exactly right.

Here is a picture of them side by side so you can see how much smaller the micro puzzle is than the mini puzzle. Quite a difference!

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After the Snow Has Fallen

After the Snow Has Fallen is a 500-piece puzzle from Bits and Pieces, and the artist is Joseph Holodook. I have done a couple of his puzzles and like his artwork a lot. This image held a lot of appeal, with Victorian houses and a bustling festive scene.

Even though this is a random cut puzzle, like the Playful Gnomes set, it was much easier to solve because there was a lot of information on each piece to help figure out where it went. Very fun puzzle for the Christmas season!

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Christmas Camper

Christmas Camper is a 300-piece puzzle from Ceaco, and the artist is Stephanie Peterson Jones. This was an adorable, quick puzzle that I have been saving for the Christmas season. I knew it would be pretty easy, so I did it without looking at the image to make the puzzling last a bit longer. I love all of the festive details!

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Playful Gnomes – Fall & Winter

Earlier this year, I purchased a 4 in 1 set from Bits and Pieces called Playful Gnomes. It includes images of three gnomes in each of the four seasons. It is available in several different piece counts, and I chose the 500 piece set.

The fall puzzle, Fall Gnomes in the Woods, was harder than I thought it would be, probably because of the random piece count. It is an adorable image though!

The winter puzzle, Three Gnomes, was an absolute bear to complete. Not only do you have the random cut pieces, but the background is basically just shades of white. I seriously considered giving up, but I sorted by shape as best as I could and just pushed through and finally finished it.

I’m not sure when I will try the other two. They look like they will be kind of hard too. Maybe by the time spring comes around I will be ready to tackle them!

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Colorful Harvest

Colorful Harvest is a 300-piece puzzle from Ceaco, and the artist is Tracy Flickinger. I have done several of her puzzles and really enjoy her style. The quality of this one was good, which was nice because Ceaco can be hit or miss.

I took this puzzle with me to Thanksgiving at Renee’s house. I thought the image was appropriate to the holiday and also though the smaller piece count would be good for the time we had available. Renee and I were about 75% done when our friend Mike showed up, and he joined us to finish the puzzle.

I liked this puzzle a lot and will definitely redo it sometime by myself to enjoy it even more.

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Valladolid

Valladolid is a 1000-piece puzzle from Ravensburger, and the artist is Marie Boiseau. This puzzle was designed especially for the 2024 World Jigsaw Puzzle Championship in Valladolid, Spain, and I was very happy to be able to get a copy of it for myself.

This puzzle was harder than I thought it would be, and now that I have finished it, I am even more impressed by how fast the puzzlers at the competition were able to complete it. I have noticed when puzzle with friends that I am faster than they are due to the amount of time I have spent puzzling, but I am nowhere near a speed puzzler!

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Swedish Fishing Village

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.

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Completing the Puzzle – November 2024

This was my third month getting a subscription of four puzzles from Completing the Puzzle. I received 4 500-piece puzzles this time. I was hoping to get some 1000-piece puzzles since I have a lot of those on my wishlist. My wishlist only has a couple of 500-piece puzzles on it now, so I should definitely get some 1000-piece ones next month.

I enjoyed all of the puzzles I got with this shipment. A couple of them were pretty well-worn, which makes them feel a bit soft and they don’t click into place. I don’t prefer that, but it’s okay. My friend Renee was over when I did Artsy Cats and helped with it.

Here are the puzzles I got this month:

Origami Animals from Cobble Hill
Stained Windows from Mintyfizz
Artsy Cats from Mudpuppy
Home Sweet Home from Cobble Hill

I’m looking forward to what I get next month. I also have a bunch of winter/Christmas puzzles lined up to start on December 1st.