Month: December 2024
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 […]
Takoyaki by Rowon, Soonness
My first Soonness puzzle was wonderful — the image of “Takoyaki“, by Rowon, is perfectly tailored to Ash’s interests (cooking! cats! small street food stands), and the quality of packaging and puzzle itself are amazing. The cardboard is really thick and well-fit, so it’s easy to pick up the solved puzzle and hold it upright. […]
Twilight in Umbria, Paul Jorgensen
Another beautiful 500-piece puzzle from Art & Fable, “Twilight in Umbria” by Paul Jorgensen.
Alchemist’s Kitchen, Vasilisa Romanenko, eeBoo
Did another in the fun eeBoo “Piece and Love” series of “Alchemists’ Stuff” by Vasilisa Romanenko. It was another 1000-piece, this one “Alchemist’s Kitchen.” I like seeing the recurring details — like the portraits of past alchemists! And the cat. (-: (Other entries in the series: “Alchemist’s Library” and “Alchemist’s Cabinet“, which I’ve done, and […]
Moroccan Spices, Blanc Puzzles
I have no idea where this puzzle came from — it was in our downstairs stack of puzzles, with a lot of pieces that were assembled, so someone had done it before. But it was a solid puzzle — like so solid, I was wondering, is this cardboard? or balsa wood? — with a white […]
Merry Cactus by Shea O’Connor, from Jiggy
Loved this retro-style xmas puzzle, “Merry Cactus“, art by Shea O’Connor, from Jiggy (800 pieces). Jiggy is expensive (although the sale really helped!) and there are false fits — but the art is so wonderful. I loved this art! Six cats! Anyway, the multiple blocks of colors and patterns helped this puzzle go quickly and […]
Frosted Fir Tree, Wentworth
I got a few new puzzles from Wentworth, and in need of a relatively short solve, I pulled out the 240-piece “Frosted Fir Tree”, with artwork credited to “Alexandru Davidenco”. When I went to see more about this artist, I figured out this is actually AI-generated art. See the licensing shop, where this user has […]
Dowdle Brooklyn Bridge, Elms
Finished this 121-piece Elms hand-cut puzzle of an Eric Dowdle image, “Brooklyn Bridge“, cut by “Kristin”. It was part of a Hoefnagel pack, both of which were fun fast solves.
Bloomington Gothic, Press Puzzles
“Bloomington Gothic“, based on “American Gothic” by Grant Wood, derivative work by Joe Lee, in Indiana. Hand-cut by Press Puzzles, and in a puzzle pack from Hoefnagel. This was a speedy solve, with a nice hand-feel.
