feature: whimsies
Vladstudio Paris Map, Artifact
Really fun map puzzle – greatly enjoyed the border cut (the fleur-de-lis on the four corners, and the variable patterned border on the sides). I also liked the generally swirly nature of the pieces. Not a lot of whimsies, but I enjoyed the two-piece Toulouse-Lautrec style cat — I was puzzled by the bottom part […]
Fox Smart Box, Miranda
“Miranda” by John William Waterhouse (1916), 206-piece version by Fox Smart Box — cut designer not credited. My first FoxSmartBox and I enjoyed it. I particularly liked several of the whimsies (the seahorse and crabs! squid & octopus! adorable little starfish! so cute) and the fish-tail joiner that was pretty common. It assembled so quickly […]
Diana Zimens City of Cats (Davici)
Fun, steady solving – lots and lots and LOTS of cats! 700 pieces. Hoefnagel Puzzle Club. The artist is named as Diana Zimens at Hoefnagel, but I’ve seen her listed elsewhere as Diana Siemens.
Malédiction by Julien Deval (Stumpcraft 472)
Really challenging, because of the subtle color palette. And, kind of a puzzle break for me …. Stumpcraft description: Artist: Julien DelvalPuzzle Designer: Jasen RobillardDimensions: 43 cm x 30 cmPiece Count: 480Difficulty: 4 out of 5 Julien Delval is perhaps most well known for his beautiful and exquisitely detailed illustrations that appear on many fantasy book covers for adults and […]
CraftHub bumblebee
A family project! As usual with these, lots of little cute etched whimsies that are just relatively standard for the company, nothing to do with the image. The image, though, is really pretty. (The push-fit style is not any of our favorite, though…)
Vancouver Island (Pacific Puzzle Co)
Beautiful map puzzle from Pacific Puzzle Co., Vancouver Island Map, 465 pieces, 12×16″. I really loved the image — playful marine mammals! an octopus! trees! — and the cut was fun. This map had lots of distinguishable text and image chunks. The ocean came together fairly quickly, and I finished the island itself last. Description: […]
Ammonite by Nervous System
I had so much fun with this one! Ash and I (and even Michele) worked on it on Sunday and I carefully transported it back home, reassembled the parts that didn’t make it, panicked because I forgot there were a lot of pieces still in the box, and finished it off today. Fun! 117 pieces, […]
Darcie Reflected by Daria Hlazatova (Liberty)
“Darcie Reflected”, image by Daria Hlazatova, puzzle by Liberty — big puzzle! 607 pieces, 19×12.75″. This was from Hoefnagel …. Boy, this puzzle really kicked my ass. Red, and black, and lots of eyes … and mirrored (not exactly) left to right. Lots of fun whimsies — various human figurals, bats, snakes, and of course […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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. […]
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.
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
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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