Beachfront: Art by Lori Schory

Brand: SunsOut
Pieces: 1000
Size: 32.875inches x 26.5inches
Product Code:  96018

I have to admit, I haven't done very many shaped jigsaw puzzles. 

Perhaps it's because they aren't as readily available as your standard rectangular puzzle. 

In the past, I have completed a round puzzle (Wonderful World Of Disney 1) , but even as I was doing it, it didn't feel as though it was shaped, due to the straight edges of the border. 

That's why doing the above puzzle was such a profoundly different experience. 

The fish shape of Beachfront actually made the completion of this puzzle feel different. Not only do you have to work out the shape of the fish, but you have to find where the rest of the design correlates to that outline. Putting  together the jagged fins on its upper and lower body was a little bit challenging, as they came in several pieces and sometimes you weren't sure exactly how long each part was meant to be.  But this was a very welcome challenge- it's not every day that I have the opportunity to put together a puzzle like this! 

The design, which is bright and full of detail, was fun to put together. This puzzle also has uniquely-shaped pieces (including the occasional fish-shaped piece!) which only made the 'shaped' experience feel more complete. 

I haven't done many SunsOut puzzles because they're not as common in Australia as they would be overseas, but I will be making more of an effort to seek them out in the future! 

My Paris

Brand: Ravensburger
Pieces: 1500
Size: 80cm x 60cm
Product Code:  162963

On Tuesday it was Valentine's Day, and suprisingly, I couldn't find any puzzles in my collection that featured hearts or any other love-themed designs! So I figured the next best thing would be to do a puzzle that featured a place known as 'the city of love'- Paris!

This 1500 piece puzzle from Ravensburger was quite a challenge, with only two dominant colours on a gray, black and white design. Thus, there was an interesting process involved in completing it!

After doing the border outline, the obvious thing to do was separate the bright colours from the greys, blacks and whites. That done, I was able to complete the street signs. But surprisingly, the pink letters of 'Paris' were quite difficult to piece together. Instead, I ended up finding and separating the patterns within the Eiffel tower from the other pieces and put that part together. I then worked on the Arc De Triomphe parts, working through each of the 'textures' on the building design. Having finally completed that, I switched between piecing together the word 'Paris', and the branches of the tree, before finally moving onto the white background pieces.

I have to admit that towards the end, I used the very systematic 'elimination' process, trying each similar-shaped piece in a spot and eliminating the ones that didn't fit as I went. Although it takes a while to do it this way, I was able to finally complete the puzzle about 5 or 6 days after I started it!

Although it was challenging, this was a great puzzle to get my mind working, and the gorgeous completed design speaks for itself!

Cupcake (Studio Pets By Myrna)

Brand: Crown
Pieces: 1000
Size: 73cm x 48cm
Product Code:  16661

It was the 91st birthday of my Nonna (Italian grandmother) this week, which I'm sure most of you will agree is quite an achievement!

This puzzle, which combines cute animals with cupcakes (one with a candle!), seemed like a lovely tribute, considering Nonna's former occupation as a chef and her appreciation for baby animals (especially the ducklings).

Studio Pets By Myrna is a business that takes photos of your pets to create fun merchandise products and prints. In this case, they have teamed up with Crown to produce some cute designs for jigsaw puzzles- one of which is pictured above (which I recently completed). Not only are the designs adorable, but they are also made from a good quality cardboard. This one was quite quick to do, with only the similar-coloured fur types giving me trouble on occasion.

If you love cute baby animals and have an appreciation for tasty baked goods, then this puzzle is for you!

Colorful School Supplies

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

If you haven't already realised it from reading my previous posts, I live in Australia, and over the last week, it has been 'Back To School' time for thousands of Aussie kids.

Our school grading system is slightly different to other countries'. We have both public and private schools, and the amount of students at each school can range from four or five in tiny rural communities to thousands in larger, city-based schools. Children usually begin prep at about four or five years of age (sometimes they might be six years old), and go through to Grade 6. This is Primary School. They then begin Year 7 at High School, which continues through to Year 12- the final year. Each state has a different name for the final years (in Victoria, where I live, it's the VCE), and of course not everyone continues through to Year 12. Some kids drop out, some take on apprenticeships, or some look at other types of study/work. There are also combined schools which teach years Prep-12, some schools which cater to just one gender, some that have strong religious ties, and some that might have an unusual curriculum. Some might even have a mixture of these factors!

Regardless, there is an education type to suit every student in Australia, and as of this week, the kids (and teachers) have said goodbye to holidays and hello to a new school year.
Many of my friends have children who have just started school for the first time, and the constant stream of 'first day' uniform photos on my Facebook feed has proved it!

That's why I decided to do a puzzle that has a decidedly back-to-school theme for this week's post. This puzzle design of bright and colourful stationery reminds me of how much I used to love buying new school supplies for the coming year. The design is fun, a little messy, but very much how it should be. This one was quick to do, by working in colour blocks, and is a nice reminder of school without being too focused on the educational side :)