Inflating Balloon by Benh Lieu Song, Snowflake
Fabulous image by photographer Benh Lieu Song (mediawiki user:Benh, flickr blieusong — it’s capped Benh LIEU SONG; is that the preferred captioning? or just a way to tell people LIEU SONG is the surname?) captioned on Wikipedia as “A hot air balloon being inflated before air trip over Cappadocia, central Turkey, as seen from inside“, […]
English Balloon by Ryan Snarr (Boardwalk)
Hoefnagel sent me a pack including an 83-piece puzzle by Boardwalk Puzzles, “English Balloon” by Ryan Snarr, which I knocked off in short order. The puzzle description: ENGLISH VINTAGE BALLOON Join an air-born treasure hunt across the English countryside in search of Staffordshire gold. Mr. Green, Jane Air, Coxwell the bird, and Henry the dog navigate […]
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Dancing with the Stars, Alfredo Arreguín, Clementoni 500
I loved this image, titled “Dancing with the Stars” — a 500-piece puzzle by Clementoni. Sadly they didn’t list a credit, but google image search turned up very similar images, by the recently passed artist Alfredo Arreguín (1935-2023). I am always mesmerized by Arreguín’s work — the jaguar puzzle by Artifact is one of my […]
Granny’s Attic by Kaaren Biglands, handcut by BCB Brookie Biglands
A fun snuggle-style (BCB / Brookie Biglands calls them “Bamboozle Puzzles”) puzzle, via Hoefnagel. The frame was actually a reasonably challenging jigsaw, and the snuggle part was quite doable — I was actually able to do it without “cheating” or using any kind of solved image. I love that Biglands uses her mom’s art! And […]
Garden Magic 2 by Christine Reichow, Starz
I got to try a Starz puzzle, thanks to the Hoefnagel club. “Garden Magic 2” by Christine Reichow, a Florida based artist. Starz is a laser cutter based in Illinois. The wood is not plywood, but a solid maple hardwood — the pieces felt really light, which was a little surprising to me, but maybe […]
Canvas, Cloudberries
My first Cloudberries. I’ll admit, I don’t get it — I had the impression that Cloudberries was sort of a cut above, but it feels like basically any reputable cardboard puzzle company. There were actually more than one or two false fits in this cut. Plus, at least half a dozen pieces where a cardboard […]
Lead Shot Stars by Jacob Van Loon, Soonness
Loved, loved, loved this 1000-piece puzzle by Soonness — “Lead Shot Stars” by Texas-based Jacob Van Loon.
The Fall by Victor Zaretsky, Dreamton 400
I finally did this lovely painting by Ukrainian artist Victor Zaretsky (maybe Viktor with a “k”? not sure which version is preferred) (1925-1990), “The Fall”, from the Ukrainian laser cutter, Ihor Reshetnikov (Dreamton, via Etsy). (Puzzle available at etsy.) I found this painting discussed on Reddit, under the title “Autumn Wind” — you can see […]
Canoeing by Tim Zeitner, Boardwalk mini
Ash and I knocked off this little mini “fun size” puzzle from Boardwalk, which is a new puzzle company to me, affiliated with Dowdle.
Rajani, by Brescia Bercane – Jiggy
It’s only 450 pieces, I thought, how hard could it be? and it’s pretty! omg this was literally one piece at a time, looking for exceedingly tiny dots … I shape-sorted at about halfway done. The individual palm trees are actually copy/pastes of one drawing, with different sizes. So certain lines could be sought for […]
Butlin’s Clacton-on-Sea, Victory
A 250-piece puzzle from Victory in England, a vintage puzzle of swimmers / divers from a train company’s travel poster, “Butlin’s Clacton-on-Sea“. (Which, according to Wikipedia, was a holiday camp operating from 1938-1983.) This is probably a public domain image; it is available here and listed as from 1938 — the Clacton-on-Sea resort’s opening year. […]
Tiki Time, Linda Tillman – Hennessy 1000
First Hennessy puzzle – “Tiki Time” by Linda Tillman, fun! And, first work by Linda Tillman (etsy, blog). Sadly it’s missing a piece, which I can NOT find, but I feel it is likely a user error and will keep hunting. (By user, I mean, me, as in, my failure to keep it covered and […]
Octo-Love, Are You Game?
I enjoyed this 331-piece (15″ x 11.25″ landscape rectangular) laser-cut wooden puzzle, from AreYouGame — “Octo-Love”, art by Karrie Evenson. (Apropos of nothing, Evenson’s photo in the “about the artist” insert reminds me of Ann Miller in “Kiss Me, Kate”.) The cut was quite tentacular.
Christmas Market, Angela Holland, Ravensburger 1000
An official winter holiday / christmas puzzle — “Christmas Market“, art by Angela Holland — 1000 piece Ravensburger. It was a pretty nice assembly.
Iliad & Odyssey, Neil Packer
I really enjoyed this New York Puzzle Co. 1000-piece puzzle, art by Neil Packer, “The Iliad and the Odyssey”, from the Candlewick Press editions. (It’s not available via the NYPC website, but here’s a link to Puzzle Warehouse, where, theoretically, it might come back in stock.) I loved the art when I saw it, and […]
Mushrooms & Beetles, Mosaic 100
I enjoyed this small 100-piece version of “Mushrooms and Beetles“, from Mosaic; it was a fast solve, and the cut was enjoyable beetle-esque. Mosaic was weirdly cagey about the artist, so I’m going to guess this is AI-generated art. Disappointing.
A Good Morning, by Otar Imerlishvili
Another beautiful painting by Otar Imerlishvili, from Art & Fable — “A Good Morning“, 750 pieces. Art & Fable description: “Playing cards, cream pastries, draped lingerie… a very, very good morning indeed!”
Christmas Cats, Diane Dempsey, Cobble Hill
Diane Dempsey does fabulous midcentury / retro-style art for Cobble Hill (and has her own design firm, RetroChristmasCardCompany .com), and I really loved this 1000-piece “Christmas Cats” puzzle. The tree was the last & hardest part but it wasn’t that hard … just there was a lot going on visually.
Dancing in Paradise, Arty Guava
Another delightful Jiggy puzzle, 450 pieces — “Dancing in Paradise” by Arty Guava. The solid blue sky was paaainful.
Ruru Owl by Ellen Giggenbach, Werkshoppe
Really enjoyed my first Werkshoppe puzzle, “Ruru Owl“, 1000 pieces, art by Ellen Giggenbach. Her work is so fun! Very textural and blocky. Fun piece cuts, too — not just the usual in/out but also a special twist on the old in/out. Description from WerkShoppe: With its luminous, piercing eyes, the New Zealand Ruru is […]
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