Tag: winter

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Hickory Haven Canal

Hickory Haven Canal is a 1000-piece puzzle from Buffalo Games, and the artist is Charles Wysocki. This one was a Christmas present from my son. 😊

If you do puzzles for any length of time, you will most certainly come across Charles Wysocki and his Americana/folk art scenes. I am drawn to them partly because of my love of buildings, which are very common in his images, but I also just like the general feel of them.

Sometimes they have large areas of one color, like a green meadow or a field of crops, and for those I tend to prefer a smaller piece count so they won’t be super hard. Even though this image has a lot of snow, there is enough going on all over the puzzle that it was not too hard to do as a 1000-piece.

All that to say this was a very enjoyable puzzle, and I’m very happy that Michael got it for me.

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Winter Lights

Winter Lights is a 500-piece puzzle from Galison, and the artist is Joy LaForme. This was a gift from my friend Kim. She is really good at picking out puzzles I like, and this one is no exception!

It is kind of hard to see from a photo, but the puzzle has gold foil accents on it, which are so festive. I enjoyed putting together all of the buildings and vehicles most of all. The image is a bit dark, but it wasn’t too bad to work with.

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate!

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Love for Holiday Baking

Love for Holiday Baking is a 1000-piece heart-shaped, Christmas-themed puzzle from Callie Danielle. I got it at Target several months ago and have been holding onto it until now when it would fit the season.

My friend Suzanne came over one evening last week and this is the puzzle she chose to help with. She worked on the border, which is her favorite part, and I worked on some of the larger items pictured in the puzzle. Once I was on my own, I spent several evenings working on this puzzle.

Pros:

  • Adorable image
  • Fun heart shape
  • Unique take on a holiday puzzle by focusing on baking related items

Cons:

  • Very small, random-cut pieces
  • Thin pieces were hard for me to pick up
  • Extremely loose fit, came apart if bumped even slightly

I went on a journey with this one. Starting out, I felt hopeful that it would be pretty easy, but that quickly shifted into feeling overwhelmed. Once I got all of the larger items in the image put together, I sorted by shape and started working piece by piece. After a while, I started to make some progress on the big open spaces and felt better about the experience. As always, once it was finished, I felt a sense of accomplishment and appreciated how adorable this puzzle was.

I will admit that having done a few harder puzzles recently prompted me to go through my wish list and remove some that I thought might be on the harder side.

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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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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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Magical Amsterdam

Magical Amsterdam is a 1000-piece puzzle from Eeboo, and the artist is Anisa Makhoul. I have grown to love Eeboo puzzles, and this one was no exception. The rows of buildings with all the different windows were my favorite part. I guess this one could go in my Christmas collection, since it’s a winter scene and there are Christmas trees in some of the windows.

I shared a picture of the finished puzzle with my friend Renee and she commented that it would be hard to ride a bike in the snow. I hadn’t thought of that, but it is true!

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Winter Fun

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!