maker: puzzle designers
Two Cats by Yuri Gorbachev
Ash and I pushed through “Two Cats” by Yuri Gorbachev, an Artifact puzzle cut design by David Figueiras with 314 pieces. Super satisfying and fun! Loved the border, and the general diagonal layout, and enjoyed the whimsies. Look at the matryoshka dolls whimsies! I got it through Hoefnagel with the Owl Internet Cafe. update: good […]
Internet Owl Cafe, Artifact
Coincidentally, just after doing the Paris Map, I got a Hoefnagel package with another VladStudio illustration! This also came with one of the lovely little Hoefnagel surprises — Mardi Gras beads from the previous puzzler! Awww…. Anyway, the black/white/blue color scheme made this puzzle a bit more challenging than one would expect. Plus, the protrusions […]
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 […]
Owl Be There, Fathom
Loved this puzzle, so much! Owls, beautiful crafting, puzzley but not too crazy hard. “Owl Be There“, Fathom Puzzles. Packaging was also extra nifty! And it included an owl magnet. A contender for my favorite puzzles of the year, to be sure! Fathom Puzzles is by Geoff Cota.
Bumfuzzled 1 Enigmatic Gewgaw
A nice fast solve, at the end of a long hard day. I guess the peices with the little “x” are supposed to be drop-outs and puzzle pieces to re-insert? Note: My puzzle arrived with a little stain or scorchmark – that is not a result of me being sloppy! I find the coloring on […]
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 […]
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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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.
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!
Ochiai Rofu, “Kyoto Four Scenes”
Thanks to the Hoefnagel Club, I got this challenging quadriptych (I had to look that up) of “Kyoto Four Scenes“, from Artifact Puzzles (Ecru line). Puzzling: The individual puzzles hang together pretty well once assembled, but until all the pieces are in, there’s lots of slipping and sliding and holding together. The colors are distinguishable, […]
The Skyline Was Beautiful on Fire
Finished Stumpcraft puzzle “The Skyline Was Beautiful on Fire” by Steve Driscoll. Fun and requiring a reasonable amount of attention to detail of color and shape. The picture online has more brilliant colors / contrasts than the printed puzzle, and two pieces had tiny wood dings, which made me sad. Otherwise, quite enjoyable, and wholly […]
Bumfuzzled 3 – 34 Keys
I really enjoyed the key theme. And, like the other Bumfuzzled, the puzzle was a bit more challenging than it looked like it was going to be — not really hard, but a fun way to focus attention. (Including the different shades of wood.) Minor critiques! The little drop-outs had not always been disconnected fully […]
Greenwood Burg Bumfuzzled 2
Enjoyed the colors and patterns of Bumfuzzled #2, “Greenwood Burg”. Michele really got into it, too.
Life Magazine Butterfly Flapper
Another puzzle from Victory, more difficult than the San Francisco TWA travel poster I did previously … I really enjoyed the Art Deco / jazz age style cuttings. Unfortunately, a couple of the whimsies were so fragile that they had been snapped before they even got to me from Hoefnagel. 250 wooden pieces / 340x265x5mm (approx. […]
San Francisco via TWA poster
Victory Puzzles: “San Francisco via TWA” vintage poster. Okay, this was my first Victory puzzle. The pieces were thinner than with other wooden puzzles I have done (Artifact, Liberty, Bewilderness, Stumpcraft, Nautilus…) — and the thinness made me feel a bit more they were game pieces, maybe, which was kind of fun. The puzzle had […]
Comin’ Round the Mountain
Mini puzzle from StumpCraft – part of a “flight” of 3 mini puzzles, this was rated 2 out of 5 in difficulty. A quick fun puzzle for me & Ash. Artist: Julie deBoerPuzzle Designer: Jasen RobillardDimensions: 12 cm x 12 cmPiece Count: 73Difficulty: 2 out of 5 Julie deBoer carefully lays out all colours of the rainbow in this mountain […]
Knight Watch by Kari Lehr
This Stumpcraft mini was quick & fun for me and Ash. It was rated 1 out of 5 difficulty, and that was about right. Cute whimsies in a small puzzle. Artist: Kari LehrPuzzle Designer: Jasen RobillardDimensions: 12 cm x 12 cmPiece Count: 57Difficulty: 1 out of 5 After a 20-year career illustrating for various agencies, studios and corporations around […]
Nadiezda “Night Ship”
Artifact Puzzles: Nadiezda’s “Night Ship” Ash and I did this one today, finishing it up after starting it last week. Lots of beautiful whimsies! This is a 283 piece wooden jigsaw puzzle of a gorgeous image by Mexican artist Nadiezda. The puzzle design is by Kathryn Flocken, and includes numerous sea whimsy pieces with shapes […]
25-Year Journey by Janet MacKay
Loved this puzzle — so satisfying. The subject was lovely and right up my alley (and called to me after doing the National Parks puzzle). The puzzle design was also extraordinarily pleasing. The intricate curvey pieces that could often be recognized only by a little divot or odd corner …. The whimsies, of course — […]
