Aurelia's Dream (Illustration Aurelia Fronty)

Brand: Djeco (Puzzle Gallery)
Pieces: 500
Size: 97cm x 33cm
Product Code: DJ07623

Besides being a panoramic puzzle, there were some obvious differences between this puzzle and others. The pieces were quite large and glossy, with the brand Djeco printed on the back of every one. Some of the pieces were also unusually shaped (with waves on one side rather than your standard 'peg and hole'). 

During assembly, each piece 'placed' vertically, so you would know as you were doing the puzzle that the layout would be consistent the whole way through, rather than having one piece laid out in a vertical position and the one next to it horizontal. 

The vibrant colour blocking makes this a quick and easy design to complete, and as a bonus, you get a gallery print poster included in the box. 

The Dragon And The Phoenix- A Good Omen

Brand: Pintoo
Pieces: 160
Size: 11x11x27.4cm
Product Code: S1002

This is the first time I have ever attempted to do a 3D puzzle vase, despite having seen a few at my local puzzle store. 

The vibrant colours and design were quite appealing, and I couldn't help but buy it! I have taken photos of the various sides of the vase (as it has different images all the way around) so that you can see exactly what it looks like. 

Assembly-wise, the vase was quite easy to do- the back of each piece was numbered and had an arrow to indicate where each piece went next. The pieces are also made of a firm plastic, so there's no danger of accidentally snapping them. Each puzzle box comes with the black stand (for displaying purposes), a coloured base, a coloured rim (for the top of the vase to give it a neat finish) and a little container that is placed inside the base of the puzzle (for holding water if you want to actually use the finished piece as a vase). 

This is a cute and practical puzzle, and something a little bit different if you want a change from the standard 2D jigsaw puzzle. 

Wonderful World Of Disney I

Brand: Ravensburger
Pieces: 1000
Size: 67.5cm Diameter
Product Code: 157846

When I do jigsaw puzzles, I generally have an order in which I do them. I always separate the edges and corners from the rest of the pieces first and try to create a border. Having completed that, I will then work on colour blocks or distinctive sections and eventually piece it all together from there.

This puzzle was a little bit different from my usual ones, in that it is obviously round in shape, rather than the standard rectangular or square design. What I didn't expect was for the edging pieces to all be straight, rather than curved. The outside edging curves around as you join the pieces, but at first glance, it looks like you only have straight-edged pieces! This was an unusual quirk but also quite cool to see as the puzzle progressed. This design features quite a few popular Disney characters so there's something for everyone.


This picture is available for purchase from Fishpond by clicking the link below:


Ravensburger Wonderful World Disney 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle

Britto

Brand:P'Kolino
Pieces: 500
Size: 20 inches x 16 inches
Product Code: PKTYPZBT500

The main appeal of this puzzle for me was the bright, cheerful colours and the bold design. Romero Britto is a well-known Brazilian artist whose vibrant work reflects a modern pop art theme. His designs can be found on a variety of products, including luggage, bottles, accessories and art supplies. The pieces in this puzzle were not standard (they came in lots of different cuts and sizes) so that lent an added interest to the completion of the puzzle.

Below is a picture of some of the uniquely-shaped pieces:

This puzzle is available for purchase from Amazon by clicking the picture below:




This puzzle is also available for purchase from Fishpond by clicking the link below:


Britto Animals Jigsaw Puzzle - 500 Piece

Road Trip USA

Brand: Ravensburger

Pieces: 1000

Size: 70cm x 50cm

Product Code: 192120

I visited the USA a few years ago, and some of my memories of the trip were revived when I saw this puzzle. This design reminded me of some of the amazing places that I saw, and the vintage poster-inspired design really appealed to me. This is a pretty quick puzzle to do, especially when you work in poster sections, as the colours are bright, distinctive, and easy to separate according to each part.

This puzzle is available for purchase from Amazon by clicking the picture below:

This puzzle is also available for purchase from Fishpond by clicking the link below:

Ravensburger Road Trip USA - 1000 Piece Puzzle

Introduction...

I can't recall when my fascination with jigsaw puzzles first began.

I vaguely remember putting together a giant floor puzzle when I was 4 or 5 years old, but I couldn't tell you now exactly what it was of. It could have been a goldfish in a bowl or a woolly sheep- all I know is that I would spend my days piecing together the design, delighted at the resulting image. I'm not sure where it ended up- that puzzle is probably resting somewhere in my parents' garage now, perhaps relegated to the plastic containers that store our childhood toys.

As I grew older, I progressed through the ranks of jigsaw puzzles- from large floor designs to 'big kid' puzzles of 100 or more pieces.

When I was in my pre-teen years, I had a few favourite jigsaw puzzles that I would redo again and again. I think one of them was called Bush Breakfast (or something along those lines). It was only 200 or so pieces, and depicted an illustrated bush scene of koalas sitting in a tree and drinking tea from cups and saucers.

The other one was a vintage poster advertisement from Cadbury, which had significantly more pieces, and was probably aimed more at adults than children. I remember it featured a woman and a maroon background. Unfortunately, the last time I went to do the puzzle, I noticed a piece missing.

For nostalgia's sake, I wouldn't mind bringing out those puzzles and doing them again- missing pieces and all!

During my teen years, I took a bit of a hiatus from jigsaw puzzle solving, instead deciding to pursue other interests, including various crafts and my first passions of reading and writing.

Then, several years ago, the bug struck me again without warning. I was cleaning out my wardrobe and came across a couple of unopened jigsaw puzzle boxes- plastic still wrapped around the edges. Before I knew it, I was setting up a space on my floor, tearing the plastic off, and lifting the lid to reveal multi-coloured cardboard pieces.

From that moment on, I was back in the game, and this blog is going to pay testament to that.

I have a vast collection of jigsaw puzzles, covering a variety of brands, designs and piece numbers.

The idea behind this blog is to provide a documentation of the puzzles I have done.

I am not going to record how many hours it took me to complete a design (I honestly haven't got the stats, and even if I did, they are likely to vary a lot depending on the amount of time I have to spare for puzzling, and the ease of the design. Besides, what could take me a day to do, could take you only 5 hours (or vice versa), and so I don't really see the point). I will however record all the relevant information, in case you decide you like the design enough to buy it and try it out for yourself.

I will also include interesting jigsaw puzzling facts and links that I come across, in case they are also of interest to you.

I enjoy completing jigsaw puzzles, but they are not the only thing in my life that brings me pleasure, therefore I will not be posting every day, or even every week. Instead, I  will put up new bits and pieces as I feel like it.

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to share them with me.

Happy puzzling!