Basis Wood “Evolution”

A second puzzle from “Basis Wood” in Ukraine, via the Hoefnagel Puzzle Club. This puzzle reminded me of the two I’ve done by Victory Puzzles — thinnish pieces that felt more like board game pieces, and a very retro image. I wonder if this actually *is* a retro, possibly public domain image, from the era […]
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Basis Wood “Tree”

Well, I was not expecting this! A layered, shaped tree …. Definitely required attention to the color gradation in each chunk of branches. Layers is probably not the right term. The puzzle is 3-dimensional, in that different sections have different thicknesses — four in total. The trunk and branches are all pretty thin, and the […]
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Desert Owl by Shachi Kale (Hidden Piece)

My first puzzle by Hidden Piece Puzzles — “Desert Owl” by Shachi Kale. Loved the art — beautiful, with wonderful colors and patterns — and really enjoyed the cut. The uneven border was done really well. The whimsies were fun — not too overwhelming, and all thematically appropriate. There were a bunch of cacti, and […]
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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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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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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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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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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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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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Lollipop Lollipop by Nel Whatmore

A Wentworth puzzle, of a fun modern, almost abstract, floral, “Lollipop Lollipop”, by Nel Whatmore. Assembled, it’s not abstract — just modern — but all the little pieces individually look like abstract, airbrush or almost kind of a Jackson Pollock vibe, but without the lines …. Anyway, it’s really pretty, visually striking, and the printing […]
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Highland Cattle Wentworth mini

Cheerful little 40-piece puzzle of Highland Cattle — four cow whimsies and a little tree whimsy. Highland cows — can’t go wrong. And, I really love the little call-out to The Story of Ferdinand (or at least, that’s how I’m taking it).
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Triskelion by Bradley Schenck

My first Wentworth puzzle, courtesy of Hoefnagel Puzzle Club, and I really enjoyed it. This Wentworth (“Triskelion”) is apparently not a “typical” Wentworth, per Hoefnagel, but the geometric cut had me having to do some mental readjustments to get into the groove (so to speak). The circular layering reminded me a bit of Mr. Gogo […]
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Tom Thomson, Soft Maple in Autumn

Lovely puzzle from Stumpcraft, Tom Thomson’s “Soft Maple in Autumn” — sneaky puzzle cutting from Jasen Robillard, too; lots of little “fishies” cut out that made shapes look like they would take a convex instead of a concave (or vice versa). I particularly liked the unusual canoe cutout of a person carrying a canoe on […]
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Bumfuzzled 3, reprise in the Key of Zeniba

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Tannenwald by Klimt, by Liberty

Beautiful image by Klimt, and a fast & fun puzzle by Liberty. Weirdly, the whimsies in this cut were western-style figures … not tailored to this image. Still, a nice fast puzzle for me and Ash.
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This Is It by Cecile Albi

“This Is It” by Cecile Albi, mini-puzzle, puzzle design by Jasen Robillard. A really beautiful little 62-piece puzzle from StumpCraft. Ash and I knocked it off very quickly today. But, we didn’t notice this cool feature! That some of the pieces can be reversed to make a little back/front mini-whimsy scene.
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Outsider Insider

Artifact Puzzles “Outsider Insider” by Patricio Betteo. 409 pieces, puzzle design by Jim Muller and Kathryn Flocken. Hoefnagel! Really colorful and fun. Harder than I would have thought, due to the geometric cuts and the geometric lines, or maybe due to covid brain. Anyway, fun!
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