Octo-Love, Are You Game?

I enjoyed this 331-piece (15″ x 11.25″ landscape rectangular) laser-cut wooden puzzle, from AreYouGame — “Octo-Love”, art by Karrie Evenson. (Apropos of nothing, Evenson’s photo in the “about the artist” insert reminds me of Ann Miller in “Kiss Me, Kate”.) The cut was quite tentacular.
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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.
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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 […]
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Mushrooms & Beetles, Mosaic 100

I enjoyed this small 100-piece version of “Mushrooms and Beetles“, from Mosaic; it was a fast solve, and the cut was enjoyable beetle-esque. Mosaic was weirdly cagey about the artist, so I’m going to guess this is AI-generated art. Disappointing.
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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!”
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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.
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Dancing in Paradise, Arty Guava

Another delightful Jiggy puzzle, 450 pieces — “Dancing in Paradise” by Arty Guava. The solid blue sky was paaainful.
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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 […]
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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. […]
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Twilight in Umbria, Paul Jorgensen

Another beautiful 500-piece puzzle from Art & Fable, “Twilight in Umbria” by Paul Jorgensen.
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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Frosted Fir Tree, Wentworth

I got a few new puzzles from Wentworth, and in need of a relatively short solve, I pulled out the 240-piece “Frosted Fir Tree”, with artwork credited to “Alexandru Davidenco”. When I went to see more about this artist, I figured out this is actually AI-generated art. See the licensing shop, where this user has […]
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Dowdle Brooklyn Bridge, Elms

Finished this 121-piece Elms hand-cut puzzle of an Eric Dowdle image, “Brooklyn Bridge“, cut by “Kristin”. It was part of a Hoefnagel pack, both of which were fun fast solves.
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Bloomington Gothic, Press Puzzles

“Bloomington Gothic“, based on “American Gothic” by Grant Wood, derivative work by Joe Lee, in Indiana. Hand-cut by Press Puzzles, and in a puzzle pack from Hoefnagel. This was a speedy solve, with a nice hand-feel.
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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.
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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 […]
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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 […]
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Happy Halloween, Ravensburger

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