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 […]
Read More

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.
Read More

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 […]
Read More

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 […]
Read More

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.
Read More

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 […]
Read More

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!”
Read More

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.
Read More

Dancing in Paradise, Arty Guava

Another delightful Jiggy puzzle, 450 pieces — “Dancing in Paradise” by Arty Guava. The solid blue sky was paaainful.
Read More

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 […]
Read More

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. […]
Read More

Twilight in Umbria, Paul Jorgensen

Another beautiful 500-piece puzzle from Art & Fable, “Twilight in Umbria” by Paul Jorgensen.
Read More

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 […]
Read More

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 […]
Read More

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 […]
Read More

The Birth of a Dream, Maria Brzozowska, Art & Fable

I’m really loving the Art & Fable puzzles. I finished a 500-piece today, “The Birth of a Dream“, art by Maria Brzozowska.
Read More

Women in Science

This one has been sitting on my shelf for years! It was a winter holiday gift for the family, but we didn’t get to it over the holidays, and over the years, it got a little forgotten. But I’m so happy to have dug it out and done it. It’s a 500-piece puzzle, and the […]
Read More

Gloria & Angela, Shirin Godhrawala, Jiggy

My first Jiggy Puzzles puzzle — “Gloria and Angela“, 450 pieces. Really loved the “Gloria & Angela” art by Shirin Godhrawala; the style — with lots of splotches and splatters and scrawls, along with a relatively limited palette — definitely made for a relatively challenging puzzle. Also, obviously, the subject matter! Gloria Steinem and Angela […]
Read More

Happy Halloween, Ravensburger

Really enjoyed this Halloween puzzle by Ravensburger, “Happy Halloween“, art by Demelsa Haughton, 1000 pieces. Zeniba and Bastet also enjoyed it.
Read More

Alchemist’s Cabinet, Vasilisa Romanenko, eeBoo

Another of Vasilisa Romanenko‘s “Alchemist” series from eeBoo, “Alchemist’s Cabinet” is 1000-pieces, collage style. Glossy and strip-cut, and you can catch any false fits with careful attention to pattern / color. You can assemble almost the whole puzzle as a series of many small puzzles (the collage aspect); at the end, I was slotting into […]
Read More