Tag: puzzles

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Welcome to the Hive

Welcome to the Hive is a 250-piece wooden puzzle from Wentworth, and the artist is Catriona Crehan. This is another puzzle I was able to do through a traveling bundle from The Casual Puzzler.

This was a really enjoyable build. Just like the other puzzle from this bundle, the quality of the image and the pieces was excellent, even after being done several times by various people. I loved the bright colors and the fun whimsy pieces.

Here’s an image of the back of the puzzle:

And here’s a closeup of the whimsy pieces:

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Flowering Elephant

Flowering Elephant is a 244-piece wooden puzzle from Wentworth. I had the opportunity to do this as part of a traveling bundle from The Casual Puzzler’s Patreon.

I absolutely loved this puzzle! The colors were so vibrant, and the quality was amazing. It also had really interesting piece shapes – I especially liked the elephants.

With wooden puzzles, it is so interesting to look at the back. I really like the way the pieces line up in rows on this one:

Here’s a closeup shot of the piece shapes included with this puzzle:

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Home of Canals

Home of Canals is a 1000-piece puzzle from Penny Puzzle, and the artist is Gaia Marfurt. I would give this one a full 5 stars across the board. The artwork is fantastic, and the quality of the puzzle is just as good!

I love the bustling Amsterdam scene with its interesting buildings, colorful flowers, and loads of bicycles. And it has just the right amount of sky and water to be enjoyable without overwhelming me.

I was able to use this for a puzzle challenge where the clue was either canal or bicycle. This puzzle was obviously perfect as it has both!

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Mermaid Cafe

Mermaid Cafe is a 500-piece puzzle from SunsOut, and the artist is Suzanne Etienne. I had purchased two from this brand to try it out, so I decided to do them back to back for comparison. After seeing how much puzzle dust there was on the first one I did, I pulled out my colander to sift this one, but it actually had a lot less dust.

This image was a lot of fun! I love the art style, and it was a pretty easy puzzle to do. I would definitely be open to more from this brand.

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Chinatown

Cinatown is a 500-piece puzzle from SunsOut, and the artist is Gwendolyn McShepard. This was my first experience with this brand. I really like this image because it has two of my favorite things to puzzle – buildings and text. It is random cut, but I didn’t mind that since the pieces weren’t very small. It did have the most puzzle dust that I have ever seen!

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NYC Apartment

NYC Apartment is a 1000-piece puzzle from Ravensburger, and the artist is Jason Taylor. This is the third indoor/outdoor puzzle I have done of his. I love this concept and have really enjoyed all of them.

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Quilts & Cucumbers

Quilts & Cucumbers is a 500-piece puzzle from MasterPieces, and the artist is Cameron Gray. I got this on loan from Completing the Puzzle through their affiliate program. It’s a sweet image, and I enjoyed all of the quilts and fabrics.

One of the things I like about this subscription service is that they send a laminated image of the puzzle with information on the back about the puzzle and the brand. There is also a QR code on the bag of puzzle pieces that allows you to access a digital image so you can zoom in to see more detail.

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Journey

Journey is a 1000-piece puzzle from Elena Essex, who is also the artist. This has been one of my favorite brands since early in my time as a puzzler.

I absolutely love this artwork. I found it so relaxing to look at all the colors as I was putting it together. It was a bit challenging at times because colors do repeat on different areas, but it didn’t cause any real frustration. And the quality is so good – no false fits and a nice smooth finish on the pieces.

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The Bird House

The Bird House is a 1000-piece puzzle from Buffalo Games, and the artist is Charles Wysocki. I got this at a puzzle swap with a bunch of other Wysocki puzzles.

I really enjoyed this one. It has the classic Wysocki feel with enough going on that it wasn’t too difficult. Although I have been thinking, if I get more of his puzzles, I will try to get 500 or 300 piece versions for when I want a quick one.

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Rickshaw Ride

Rickshaw Ride is a 500-piece puzzle from Laila Luxury Puzzles, and the artist is Asma Jamali. Laila is a fairly new brand that was started by a Muslim woman and features images by Muslim artists. The owner also has a background in mental health and is passionate about the many benefits of doing puzzles.

This puzzle comes in a round canister which is lovely if a bit impractical. The pieces are in a cotton bag, and there is a nice size reference poster to use while puzzling. Additionally, there is a good variety of piece shapes that hold together well with no false fits. 

I love how colorful and vibrant the image is; it was truly a joy to put together. The finish is velvety soft, which I know most people really enjoy. I do not care for that myself, but I still had a great time doing this puzzle because of how much I like the artwork and the quality.

Here are some closeups that show off how good the art is: