Wentworth Japanese Maple mini

Such a pretty image, this “Japanese Maple” (art by Moises Levy) from Wentworth. Ash and I knocked off the 40-piece version in just a few minutes, and appreciated the tree-themed whimsies as well as the art. I wanted to find out more about the artist and these works — photograph, digitally manipulated, I guess? His […]
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Papercut Partridge

From Puzzle Lab, “Papercut Patridge”, a winter scene puzzle based on art (“Journey to the Light”) by Morgana Wallace. Lots of line-cutting made this one pretty challenging. Description: Take off into a dreamy holiday winterscape as you piece together this intricate line-cut puzzle featuring a festive papercut piece by Victoria-based artist Morgana Wallace. Morgana’s medium […]
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Puzzle Lab, Mandala 1

Another puzzle Ash and I did today — the pieces were so loose until the very end, that it was a kind of torture. Still, the image and colors were lovely, and it definitely required some concentration and was both fun and satisfying. There was no way we were going to be able to flip […]
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Fool’s Gold “Purrformance”

A fun little hand-carved cat puzzle from Fool’s Gold, with art by Kitty Bigelow. Ash and I did it together – it moved quickly with color and shape matching, and made a lovely shape. Cut by David Beffa-Negrini — I think they all are?
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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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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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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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