Vintage Soda Bottlecaps

Brand: Colorluxe
Pieces: 1000
Size: 51cm x 68cm
Product Code:  1500

Happy New Year! 

Well, technically, it's not the new year yet, but we're pretty close now, so why not?! 

2016 has been a whirlwind of a year! So many (good and bad) things have happened this year- on a personal level, and on a global scale. We've seen governments form and fall, a multitude of famous icons pass away and plenty of other historic events that my mind can't actually fathom at this time in the morning (but you've also lived through this year so you know what I'm talking about 😉). 

On the puzzle front, I have had a pretty good year. I have managed to keep this blog (as well as my Instagram posts) going consistently every week since July, which shows that a little dedication can go a long way. I have also managed to work my way through quite a few puzzles in this time, although there are never enough hours in the day! Especially when you have to go to work, make time for family and friends and pursue other pastimes as well. I have a huge amount of puzzles I still have to do, and I have to make a conscious effort not to expand my collection before I finish a few more!

This will be my last post for 2016, as I will be off camping for the New Year. I tried to find a suitably celebratory puzzle to do but unfortunately, I couldn't find any in my stash. Where are all the fireworks etc puzzles when you need them?! So I instead settled on this one, of vintage soda bottlecaps. I know I'm making a tenuous link here, but people drink on NYE and these are bottlecaps, so it sort of works! This puzzle was really quick to do, because of the colour sections and the high quality pieces.

I hope you have a fantastic and safe New Year, celebrating with family and friends, and that 2017 brings you joy, happiness and plenty of jigsaw-puzzling time!

xo

Three Christmas Puzzles

Brand: Kids Create by PaperCraft
Pieces: 100 each
Size: 26.33cm x 23.19cm
Product Code:  -

Merry Christmas everybody!

Although the time stamp on this blog may not suggest it,it actually is Christmas Day here in Australia, and, as promised, here are the last of my Christmas-themed puzzles.

These three cute designs were picked up at a discount variety store, for only $2.99 each. With bold, bright and fun designs, I couldn't go past them, even though they are only 100 pieces each and quite cheap in quality. They don't even have titles, hence I have named them Puzzle 1, 2 and 3 (in the order that I did them). 

I hope you have a happy and safe Christmas and that Santa brings you everything that you wanted. 
Enjoy the holiday season and I'll post once again just before the New Year.

😊 🎄 🎅 🍸 🎉

A Disney Christmas

Brand: Ravensburger
Pieces: 1000
Size: 70cm x 50cm
Product Code:  192878

I was a little late posting this blog today, so sorry about that! 

My husband's family usually celebrate on Christmas Eve and then have a relatively low-key Christmas day, so it was all hustle and bustle this morning to prepare for our delicious late family lunch. Christmas tomorrow will be with my family, but I have every intention of posting one more Christmas- themed blog for the holiday season (particularly because I have three more photos of small Christmas puzzles to post, which I completed last night).

That said, you can't have Christmas Eve without some sort of Christmas-themed puzzle, and what better way to celebrate than with Disney! The above puzzle was relatively quick to do, especially because I knew all the characters and could sort the pieces quite easily. This puzzle features all the Disney favourites as they celebrate the most wonderful time of the year (to take the lyrics from that popular carol).

Disney fans are sure to enjoy the festive spirit instilled in this image with all the characters frolicking in the snow around their beautifully decorated Christmas tree. 

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

Ravensburger Disney Christmas Eve Jigsaw Puzzle (1000 Pieces)

Happy Holiday

Brand: Ravensburger
Pieces: 1500
Size: 80 x 60cm
Product Code:  163076

With the approach of the Christmas season comes yet another 'event' that many people look forward to- the start of the holidays! 

While some of us only get a few days off between Christmas and New Year, for many, it is just the rejuvenation that one needs to keep going until their allocated annual leave or holiday time. 

If you're lucky enough to have planned your holiday time for this period, then you can enjoy some blissful time away from the hectic struggles of the workplace (or school, if you're studying), and relax away your days. If not, then it is easy enough to enjoy the few days you have and look forward to a longer rest a little further in the future. 

Regardless of your situation, there's no doubt that any holiday is a good holiday, which is why I thought this puzzle- Happy Holiday- would be quite appropriate. The imagery in this puzzle brings to mind sunny beach holidays and relaxing ocean views (probably quite hard to imagine if you live in the Northern Hemisphere at this time of year!), and evokes memories of salt, sun and sand. 

This puzzle, despite its size, was quite quick to do, especially when done in sections. You would think that some of the sections would be difficult (with like colours in many of the sand and sky images) but the varying shades made this less of a challenge than you'd expect.

The design is vibrant, fun and inspiring (especially if you're planning an upcoming beach holiday!)

I hope you enjoy your holidays- beachside or otherwise!

Nob Hill By Jack Allen

Brand: Puzzle Collector Art (Lafayette Puzzle Factory)
Pieces: 1000
Size: 51 x 68cm
Product Code:  -

Every now and then, I like to shake things up in my puzzle collection and do a scenic design. 

While there are plenty of 'old-fashioned' designs out there that feature cosy cottages or nature scenes, this one stood out to me for its vibrant colours. 

While it's actually an illustration of a town- Nob Hill- rather than a photo, I thought it captured the bustle of a township perfectly. I had never actually heard of Nob Hill before doing this puzzle, but a quick Google search told me that it is a neighbourhood in San Francisco, USA, and that it is one of the original 'Seven Hills' of the city. I'm assuming this is the illustrator's representation of the place, with it's iconic trams (or cable cars, as they call them), swanky restaurants and a little harbourside port, I'm not sure if any of the places in this picture actually exist in real life, but it wouldn't be a bad place to visit. 

This puzzle was relatively quick to do when you divided it into colour sections, and the quality of the pieces was spot on- no problems at all!

Star Wars Saga

Brand: Ravensburger
Pieces: 500
Size: 49 x 36cm
Product Code:  146659

In a few weeks, the latest film from the Star Wars  franchise will be released- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. While this film is not part of the official saga, it acts as a prequel of sorts, setting up the storyline for the epic space adventure films that we all know and love.

In anticipation of this release, I decided to do a puzzle that commemorates the first six films. Produced by Ravensburger, this puzzle features iconic imagery from the previous films (although not the seventh installment, The Force Awakens) as well as the infamous villain Darth Vader. 

With a lot of black pieces, I thought this puzzle would be more challenging than it actually was. But in true Ravensburger quality style, there were varying gradients in the colours, which made the process of piecing the puzzle together a lot easier. Add to that the high-quality interlocking and there was no chance you could fail. It only took me a couple of hours to complete this puzzle, and the results are pretty spectacular.

This is a fantastic commemorative design and any jigsaw puzzle fans who enjoy the Star Wars saga are also sure to enjoy the imagery set out in this puzzle.

Japanese Doll

Brand: Pintoo
Pieces: 160
Size: 11x11x27.4cm
Product Code:  S1010

Last year I put up an edited picture of a Pintoo 3D puzzle vase that I had completed- The Dragon And The Phoenix- A Good Omen. The image was made up of four pictures, each showcasing a different side of the vase. Having completed yet another one of Pintoo's pretty designs, I have decided to post the photos from this puzzle in a similar way. 

This puzzle, titled Japanese Doll, features images of Kokeshi dolls (which are traditional Japanese dolls and widely collected) in a bright manga style. The rim and base of the vase are bright pink to complement the cheerful colours in the design, and the vase comes with an accompanying black stand for display. This design is very girly, and would suit anybody who likes the bright and quirky side of Japanese popculture. 

Wicked Women (Disney)

Brand: Ravensburger
Pieces: 1000
Size: 70cm x 50cm
Product Code:  192526

I have noticed lately that a lot of my fellow Instagrammers are doing Ravensburger's latest challenge- the 40,320 piece Disney puzzle. I haven't come across it yet in Australia, and to tell you the truth, although I love Disney, I'm not sure if I'm ready for a puzzle of that magnitude! The amount of space it would take would be enormous, not to mention the time! Maybe that's an option for when I reach retirement age (a good 40 or so years away!)

In the meantime, I am happy to do smaller jigsaw puzzles along the Disney theme, such as the one pictured above. Rather than focus on the princesses or classic characters this time, I decided to do a puzzle that celebrates some of the villains- in particular, the wicked women of some of the films.

This was a fun little puzzle to do. It was great to focus, for once, on characters that usually have a more unsavoury personality. In typical Ravensburger fashion, the quality of the pieces and design were perfect, and the puzzle was quick to do by sections. 

Royal Peacocks

Brand: Sunsout
Pieces: 500
Size: 45.7cm x 61cm
Product Code:  11040

You know how sometimes you're just in the mood to do a puzzle from a particular theme? I'm not sure why, but for some reason I was really interested in birds this week. So what was I to do but go in search of a puzzle that would showcase something of the feathered variety? 

This puzzle- made by the USA company Sunsout- features two beautiful peacocks in front of an Orientally-themed background. The colours in this design are vibrant, with a lovely mixture of turquoises, greens and muted pinks. The blossoms, feathers and tile patterns really enhanced the Oriental style, and the unusually shaped pieces added to the complexity of putting together the image.

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

Royal Peacocks a 500-Piece Jigsaw Puzzle by Sunsout Inc.

Ballroom Blushes!

Brand: Wasgij? (Holdson)
Pieces: 1000
Size: 68.8cm x 49.3cm
Product Code:  17

Even though I like to post up pictures of all the puzzles I do, I was a bit hesitant about putting up this one. 

I think it may have been because I was worried about ruining the surprise involved in doing Wasgij? puzzles, where the picture on the box only provides a clue as to what the finished image will be once the puzzle is complete. 

Despite this concern, I did decide to put it up after all. I mean, what does it really matter? You only have to google the title to have plenty of other images pop up- mine is hardly going to make a difference!

This was a fun and slightly different puzzle to do. Like I mentioned earlier, the picture on the box is only a clue as to what the final image will be, which makes the puzzle slightly more challenging. You have to use your detective skills to work out where the pieces go and what you're going to end up with.

Ballroom Blushes is number 17 in this series, and it's the only one I have done so far, but I'm sure I'll pick up more in the future, provided they are still around. 

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


Wasgij Original 17 1000pc - Ballroom Blushes!

Running Ponies

Brand: Puzzlebug
Pieces: 500
Size: 46cm x 28cm
Product Code:  -

Horse racing in Australia is a popular betting sport. But it isn't until the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival (held towards the end of October and start of November) that things really start heating up. This is the main time of the year to see women spending small fortunes on designer racewear, hats and jewellery, and see folks drinking and betting away their pay packets on horse races, usually without a clue about what they are doing. 

While Derby Day, Oaks Day and a few others are always popular, it's the first Tuesday in November that most people look forward to the most. This is because many Victorians get a public holiday out of it- The Melbourne Cup. Known as 'The Race That Stops A Nation', this is the prestigious event that jockeys and racehorse owners aspire to compete in- and win.

While I don't own any puzzles of racehorses, I was able to find this one called Running Ponies (quite a fitting title, I think). It was quick to do, as each of the ponies are different colours, which made differentiating between the pieces easy.

As it is, I think this is an alright commemoration for such a popular horse racing event. 

Favole series by Victoria Francés

Brand: Heye Puzzles
Pieces: 75
Size: 10.5cm x 29.7cm
Product Code:  Tree (29368), Portrait (29365), Curly (29363), Snowflake (29366), Shoulder (29364), Leaves (29367)

Until recently in Australia, the Halloween holidays were not a big deal. 

It was considered more of an international event, celebrated in America and some European countries. 

But over the last few years, more and more Australian retail stores have begun to seize the day- selling costumes, house decorations and other Halloween-themed paraphernalia. 

To embrace this theme, I decided to scour my collection to find a suitably spooky puzzle to do, but it turns out that my collection doesn't really extend to ghosts, witches and vampires at this point! 

Instead, I found these six mini vertical puzzles from Heye, which feature the gothic illustrations of Victoria Francés. Taken from her Favole collection, the women in these pictures are all gorgeously supernatural-looking, which I think lends to the spooky Halloween theme perfectly.

Curly

Leaves

Portrait

Shoulder

Snowflake

Tree

Each puzzle has 75 pieces, which means that they're relatively quick to do. While many of the colours are similar, it is easy enough to work out where each piece goes, and as I mentioned before, the illustrations are quite pretty, if not a little eerie. Victoria Francés, a Spanish artist, specializes in gothic romance illustrations, and these puzzles certainly fit the bill.

Wonder Woman

Brand: GameOn! Novelty Games (Typo)
Pieces: 1000
Size: 50cm x 80cm
Product Code:  -

In Australia, we have a retail chain which you may have heard of- Cotton On. They have several stores which cater to different markets- their Cotton On clothing stores (for women and men), Cotton On Kids, Rubi (shoes and accessories), Cotton On Body (lingerie, swimwear and activewear), and Typo (stationery and homewares). 

Founded and based in my hometown of Geelong, Victoria, these stores are fantastic for affordable and fashionable clothing and accessories. The Cotton On Group are also making themselves known across the country for their ethically-produced clothing, their charity work in Bangladesh and Kenya (among others) and their Fun Runs which raise money for local childrens' health services.

With such a strong and ethically-motivated business model, why wouldn't you support such an awesome chain? 

To add further to their cred, Cotton On's Typo stores often feature a different theme every month or so, where they sell products which relate to that theme. So far this year, we have seen pugs, unicorns and zombies overrun their stores, and at one point they were even celebrating superheroes. 

Which is where we tie in with today's puzzle- Wonder Woman. 

As part of their range, Typo were selling a few different jigsaw puzzles relating to Marvel and DC Comics, and one of those was the aforementioned Wonder Woman puzzle. Not usually seeing jigsaw puzzles for sale in their stores, I decided to snap them up. 

This puzzle was more of a challenge than I expected. Because of the graphic novel style of flat colour patches and ink lines, it was sometimes difficult to determine which piece went where in some of the sections. There was little colour shading to differentiate between, and many of the pieces were the same shape and colour (meaning that they could fit in multiple places). I'm ashamed to admit that I may have tried to force a few pieces to fit in, when I couldn't work out where they were meant to go. Besides this little setback, the puzzle turned out alright and reminded me that the new Wonder Woman film is due to come out some time in 2017- something I am quite excited about after seeing her performance in the Batman vs Superman film this year. 

Perfect for fans of the DC Comics franchise, this puzzle was challenging, and a little frustrating, but still a pleasure to do. 

Sydney Opera House And Harbour Bridge

Brand: Ravensburger
Pieces: 1000
Size: 70cm x 50cm
Product Code:  192113

I love living in Australia. 

This is something I have learnt after travelling across several countries over the years. While it is wonderful to see other cities and cultures, there's never any place quite like home. 

With this in mind, I decided to do this puzzle which features Sydney's iconic Opera House and Harbour Bridge. Living an hour's drive away from Melbourne (which, in turn, is about an hour's flight from Sydney), I haven't had the chance to visit this amazing city as much as I would like. There is still so much that I would like to see and do there, but completing this puzzle brought back great memories all the same!

On my last trip to Sydney, I did a twilight climb to the top of the Harbour Bridge- a wonderful experience that I hope I never forget. It is something that every visitor should do if the opportunity arises. While it is a bit pricey, it's also a unique experience that's well worth the money! 

Doing this vibrantly-coloured puzzle, which features Sydney's most iconic structures (maybe even Australia's most iconic structures), was a pleasure. The imagery is beautiful and the dusky pink and purple tones of the sunset are captured perfectly. This would make a great memento of a Sydney trip, guaranteed to bring back any delightful memories you may have had. 

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

Ravensburger Sydney Opera House - 1000 Piece Puzzle

The Muscular System

Brand: Eurographics
Pieces: 1000
Size: 48.89cm x 67.63cm
Product Code:  6000-2015

Every now and then I like to deviate from my usual tendency to do jigsaw puzzles of pretty or bright images, and go, instead, for something a little more educational. 

I recently had one of those moments, and decided to do a puzzle that explores the human body's muscular system, as depicted above. Featuring imagery of the human body, each important muscle is pointed out and named, making this a worthy educational tool for somebody studying human anatomy. There are also sections in the design where close-ups are revealed and more details are given about particular muscular groups, especially those in smaller body areas, like your hands, or around your head and neck. 

Closeup of the face and neck muscular system

This puzzle contains a lot of useful muscular information

Closeup of the muscles of the hand

This puzzle was somewhat of a challenge, mostly because I was unfamiliar with many of the muscle names, and where they are found in the body. Also adding to the challenge were the unusually shaped pieces (which are particular to the Eurographics brand), and the fact that there were a lot of white spaces where there were no distinguishing characteristics to tell where they belonged. After I had completed the main imagery, it was pretty much a game of trial and error to find where the rest of the pieces went!

Despite this, The Muscular System was an enjoyable puzzle to do, and I'm sure I will do many others from Eurographics' educational range in the near future. 

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


Muscular System 1000-Piece Puzzle