Crafthub “Cat Inspired by Klimt”

I have seen this “inspired by Klimt” description before and I … wonder about it. Regardless, this was beautifully colored and printed, and had a plenitude of (somewhat random) whimsies. The second in a batch of CraftHub puzzles I bought — CraftHub is one of the vendors of Chinese cut puzzles. No artist, no cutter, […]
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Puzzle Lab “Adventure Awaits”

“Adventure Awaits”, art by Ella Mazur, puzzle by Puzzle Lab. 300 pieces. Loved the image. The large central hot air balloon was an interior puzzle. The cut also included a hot air balloon, which was cool — sort of a multi-piece whimsy. The pieces were light, and felt almost charred. Something to get used to. […]
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Elephantaisy by André Sanchez (Heye 1000)

“Elephantaisy” by André Sanchez, part of the “Fauna Fantasies” series from Heye. This one was steady puzzling, lots of patterns. I ended up slogging through about 75 pieces of leaves at the bottom left of the image, which was probably the most tedious part. Otherwise I had a good time!
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Spooky Halloween – Nautilus

Finished the “Spooky Halloween” puzzle by Nautilus. Art by Finchley Paper Arts / HVC Licensing Group (was this AI-generated, I wonder?). Nautilus doesn’t specify the cut designer. Anyway, I enjoyed the whimsies, and the subject matter, and the overall work. (Okay — Even though I enjoyed it, actually I was a little bothered that the […]
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Fool’s Gold, “Moose and Moon”

I loved this little puzzle – it went fast. There wasn’t a lot of color, but the pattern areas were quite distinct, and the puzzle pieces were distinct, and together they solved quickly. The puzzle fit together rather tightly. The print was peeling off (already) in one corner of one piece. Artist is Kitty Bigelow. […]
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Ravensburger “The Reading Room”

A “cozy crowded space” with books kind of puzzle. Satisfyingly cozy. “Ravensburger No. 80 104” — Copyright Eduard, Artist, licensed by MGL. I liked this description: Historically, Reading Rooms were often found in towns and villages and were places where residents could read books and periodicals of the day. The British Museum boasts one of […]
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Nancy Drew (Cobble Hill 1000)

I really enjoyed this collage of Nancy Drew book covers. Very relaxing!
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Art Cafe by Otar Imerlishvili (Art & Fable 1000)

I really enjoyed this one! Beautiful, fun art, steady assembling. Lots of different patterns, and a fair amount of repetition of the patterns, with slight variants, in different parts of the puzzle. The green horn was what I ended on, and there were a lot of different shades of green to work through. (And of […]
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Ravensburger West Coast Tranquility

Every bit as soothing as I had thought it would be. Ah the rocks and the water and the stillness.
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Mr Bob, Birds in a Tree by Rebecca Cool

Loved this art by Rebecca Cool, “Birds in a Tree” — Mr Bob puzzles from Australia, 525 piece version, via Hoefnagel Puzzles.
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Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix

Via Hoefnagel, a puzzle from Hartmaze on a Chinese folktale, a hundred birds paying homage to the phoenix. (The phoenix was a plain bird that worked all the time gathering food stores; when the drought came, the phoenix generously shared, and each of the other birds presented the phoenix with their most beautiful feather in […]
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Taj Mahal from ELMS

Loved the Taj Mahal puzzle from ELMS, via Hoefnagel Puzzle Club. I’ve been poking away at this for a few days, and it was a pleasure from start to finish. Definitely in the “busy” end of the spectrum, but I loved the busy-ness — none of it was pointless or forced; it was a lovely […]
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three-fer

Three-fer — three puzzles, three people … plus a cat. A fun family puzzling afternoon. Ash knocked off the hand-puzzle from Chestnut and Hemlock pretty quickly — felt very challenged initially but then pulled it together. I made minimal contributions. The Wentworth chocolates mini puzzle also went fast — Michele got the last piece in, […]
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ELMS, Cats and Owls

Ash and I knocked off a couple of beautiful little puzzles from ELMS (previously known as Waterford (previously known as ELMS)) — First, this very cute little owl mini-puzzle — “Owl Town” by Oxana Zaika, about 15 pieces — then this beautiful small cat puzzle, “Christie, Posky and Zelly on a Deco Rug.” We really […]
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Nautilus Los Angeles Times Book Festival 2023

L.A. Times Festival of Books 2023 by Patrick Hruby, from Nautilus. 418 pieces. (See also blog announcement.) (Is Hruby the poster designer, or the puzzle designer?) Described as a “Level 3” … I don’t actually remember what the levels mean? if I ever knew. (Just looked it up — three levels, level 3 is the […]
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Yin Yang Owl, CraftHub

A puzzle from “CraftHub” — very pretty yin yang design, with an owl …. mass produced laser cut.
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Fool’s Gold Butterflies

Lovely hand-cut puzzle from Fool’s Gold in New Hampshire. Beautiful packaging — box, puzzle reveal photo in a nice little bag, instructions on measuring the puzzle (with a puzzle-assembled ruler) to test whether your assemblage was correct or “forced” …. The shiny bag material in which the puzzle was shared is so familiar to me […]
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Thankful by JNG Puzzles

A new wooden puzzle maker from Hoefnagle: JNG (Joyful Nook Gallery) Puzzles, with “Thankful”, a round, highly polished, autumnal / Thanksgiving-themed puzzle with large pieces. It was a quick and easy assemblage, although there were some non-unique pieces with close color matches that meant you did have to pay attention. (The whole puzzle is radially […]
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Alice Down the Rabbit Hole (Chestnut and Hemlock)

Wow, this puzzle really blew me away. Terra Rodgers’ displayed extraordinary artistry and craft in matching the layered pieces to the curved room — creating curved plywood! Add to that complexity the color-line cutting and attention to detail in assembling groups of pieces, over and beyond the color line cutting, and the beautiful shapes of […]
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Sheep Country by Wentworth

The whole family worked on this adorable little (140-piece size) Wentworth puzzle, and finished it in short order. Wentworth’s description: Beautifully illustrated by well-known Denmark born artist Lisa Graa Jensen, Sheep Country is an endearing image of undulating countryside and farming scenes featuring some adorable sheep. This fine art painting translates into a fascinating jigsaw […]
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