Labrador Puppy Friends

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

Yesterday, August 26th, was National Dog Day.

Yes, believe it or not, there is a day dedicated solely to the adoration of our canine friends. This day is intended to bring attention to animals in need and encourage adoption of dogs that currently have no place to call home. Originating in America in 2004, National Dog Day is now recognised in other countries (including Australia) and encourages dog ownership of all breeds, mixed and pure. It's a day to celebrate the companionship, love and dedication that comes from living with your pooch.

In commemoration, I have decided to post this puzzle I recently completed,which shows three cute labrador puppies.This wasn't a particularly hard puzzle to do, although sometimes it was difficult to determine which shade of 'blonde' fur belonged to each puppy in the picture. 

Mucha - The Precious Stones (Puzzle Screen)

The puzzle from one side

The other side of the design

Brand: Pintoo
Pieces: 462
Size: 45.3cm x 22.9cm
Product Code: Q1031

Every now and then, I like to stretch my boundaries when it comes to puzzle completion and do one that's a little bit different. Pintoo usually meet that criteria for me, with their range of 3D-style puzzles. I have already completed several of their designs,and this mini-screen that they have created fits the bill perfectly if you want to do a pretty design that isn't too challenging but still has that wow factor. 

Featuring artist Alphonse Mucha's beautiful illustrations, this screen is made up of the four women he has used to personify the precious stones of emerald, amethyst, ruby and topaz. Double sided, and made of a solid plastic, the pieces fit together perfectly to create eight different panels (two of each woman- the original artwork image and a close up). The panels are joined with hinged puzzle pieces and the entire puzzle sits within a plastic folding frame. 

A close-up of the hinged puzzle pieces

This is a different style of jigsaw puzzling and makes a great display piece. 

Apples And Spice And Everything Nice

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

This was a nice little food-inspired jigsaw puzzle to do. Relatively quick and easy, with plenty of bright colours to differentiate the sections, I was able to do this one over several nights, a few hours at a time. 

If you know someone who's a bit of a foodie, or likes their apples, then this is the one for them!

Sydney 2000 Olympics Historical Posters Puzzle

Brand: Mattel
Pieces: 1000
Size: 70cm x 49cm
Product Code: 53562

Well we're currently five days into the 2016 Rio Olympic Games,and the competition is certainly fierce as our athletes vie for top position and a chance at gold. 

Held every four years, the Olympic Games pits the best of the best from each country against one another for the ultimate glory in their sporting field- a gold medal and the adoration of a worldwide audience. So far, at the time of writing, the United States is leading the medal tally, with China, Hungary, Australia (yay!) and Russia not far behind. Time will tell who will be the ultimate winner of the Games, but at this point, anybody could come up best. 

In commemoration of the Olympics, I decided to dig out this puzzle which I purchased, completed and framed just before the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. Released prior to the event, and intended as a 'fundraiser' of sorts to contribute to the staging of the Games, this puzzle features the historical posters of all the Games of the modern era (from Athens 1896 to Sydney 2000). The posters are laid out in a clockwise circular direction, leading into the Sydney 2000 poster at the centre of the puzzle. 

This was a great puzzle to complete, not just for the historical value, but to see how each country's poster advertised the Olympic Games and how the styles of each varied. It was quite easy to do, as I was able to sort the pieces into sections and almost complete it a block (or poster) at a time. 

It's not that easy to find Olympics memorabilia like this puzzle, and while it doesn't have any posters of the more recent games of the last 16 years, at least it portrays a small piece of the Olympic Games' rich history.