The current puzzle challenge on the Casual Puzzlers Facebook group involves a weekly clue/puzzle theme, and the second one was Books. For that theme, I chose to redo a puzzle that I originally did back in 2021 – Frederick the Literate from Buffalo Games. This is a Charles Wysocki puzzle, and it is 750 pieces.
This was a lot of fun. I really enjoy putting together words in puzzles, and this one had a lot of those. All of the book titles are made up and cat-related – very cute! Of course, I found the cat fur to be the hardest part.
I wanted to do another rainbow puzzle to enter in the monthly contest on Reddit and chose this one from my stash. Flowers is a 500-piece Galison puzzle that I first did in 2021; it was actually my second puzzle. The artist is Julie Seabrook Ream.
This reminded me how much I enjoy Galison puzzles. The pieces were a nice size and good quality, and the image is so pretty!
Harvest Festival is a 500-piece puzzle from Cobble Hill, and the artist is Nancy Wernersbach. I enjoyed it a lot. It does come in 1000 pieces, but I think I am happy with the one that I did since there is a lot of detail.
This image just has so much to like in it – a covered bridge, colorful quilts, autumn fruits and vegetables, and various other cozy elements. And of course, there are signs with words on them – always a treat!
World Landmarks Map is a 300-piece puzzle from Ravensburger. It was designed for age 9+ with what they call XXL pieces. I got it because there is a new puzzle challenge on one of the Facebook groups I belong to that needed a puzzle with a map or globe. This one definitely fit that bill!
Even though it was designed for a younger audience, I still found it enjoyable and just a bit challenging in spots. The quality was excellent, as usual with this brand.
Welcoming All is a Color Sauce puzzle from MasterPieces, and it is 500 pieces. I ordered this specifically so I could do something Pride related during the month of June.
This was a very fun puzzle to do. I love things that are in rainbow order because it is easy to separate the pieces by color and also very satisfying to see each section come together. I love the image with the wood grain look of the different color panels along with the solid black heart at the center.
I was a bit nervous to post this on Facebook because I have a lot of conservative friends. I did get one like that I was surprised by, and I only got one negative comment and he only said “Nah?”, so not too bad overall.
I also reactivated my Reddit account and started posting in the r/jigsawpuzzles subreddit. This was the first puzzle I posted there. I may go back and post older puzzles interspersed with the current ones, although that does offend my sense of order, so I’m not sure how I will do it.
Winter Fun is a Gnome Sweet Gnome puzzle from Ceaco, and it is 300 pieces. I picked it up at the recent library sale for just $2. I was originally planning to wait until winter to put it together, but my to do pile was getting pretty small and I couldn’t resist.
It was a very fun puzzle to put together. The small piece count combined with the large pieces made it an easy build. I really enjoyed seeing all the different gnomes doing their winter activities. Super cute!
Hitting the Road is a 1000-piece puzzle from Cobble Hill, and the artist is Mary Lake-Thompson. This was my first puzzle from the Cobble Hill brand. I love the subject matter as it is a combination of a collage with images of campers and other vehicles. It is a fun design with a lot of interesting elements.
Their puzzles are random cut, but it is not as hard as the previous random cut puzzle I did from Goodway Puzzles. None of these pieces were tiny or super weird in shape, so it made for a good puzzling experience. I will definitely be doing this brand again!
When I was finished, I asked Michael what his favorite scene was. He said Into the Woods because of the bear and the fox. My favorite is either Fall Fun or Holidays.
My Happy Place is a 1000-piece puzzle from Goodway Puzzles. The artist’s name is Peggy Collins. I recently ordered a few puzzles from Puzzle Warehouse, and this was one of them. I was impressed by the way Puzzle Warehouse packaged my order; the puzzles were bound together by a ribbon, and the box was sturdy and had a tear-away opening. Very nice!
I chose this puzzle because of the vibrant jewel tones and whimsical nature of the image. I do really like the finished puzzle, but it was incredibly difficult to put together. The pieces are random cut and there were so many tiny pieces with weird shapes. There was also a fair amount of blue sky, which was especially difficult because of the piece shapes.
I don’t think I would buy another puzzle from this brand, unless the image was compelling.
Owl Oasis: The Vibrant Perch is a 1000-piece puzzle from Cross & Glory. This is the second puzzle I have done from this brand. The quality was just as good as the first one, and it was a very satisfying build.
I was so drawn to this image because of the vibrant colors and incredible detail. It was a difficult puzzle but still enjoyable.
Floral Reflections is a beautiful 500-piece puzzle from Ravensburger that I have had my eye on for quite a while. My friend Jessyca came over on Memorial Day to hang out and after lunch we decided to do this puzzle together.
We sorted by color but didn’t pull the edges out and then started working at different ends of the puzzle. It worked out well because there are six sections so we could each do three of them. I finished a little bit ahead of her, so I helped with her last section.
This is such a gorgeous image, and it was very enjoyable to put together. The Ravensburger quality is always good, and it was especially nice to be working on it with another person.
After we finished the puzzle, we talked for a while and then decided to watch a movie. We settled on Falling for Figaro, partly because she had seen and liked the main actress in another movie (Patti Cake$). We both enjoyed the movie, and I plan to watch the other movie whenever I start up my Apple TV subscription again (that will be once Foundation and Silo have new seasons available)!
While she was there, I got a delivery of another puzzle I had ordered off Amazon. It came in a brown paper envelope, and the puzzle box was so mangled that it had torn open on one corner. There were even loose pieces in the packaging! I immediately contacted Amazon to initiate a return!
I had such a nice, relaxing day with my friend. I am so glad that I have been able to meet some people at my new church that I really click with!
In So Many Words 