Wonders Of The World

Brand: Cardinal
Pieces: 500
Size: 35.5cm x 27.9cm
Product Code:  -

This weekend marks the end of daylight-saving in my state of Victoria (as well as a few other states in Australia). This means that we have to wind the clocks back an hour, and endure darker mornings as winter slowly approaches. 

At this time of year, I often feel quite lethargic and yearn for a holiday away from work, and so this puzzle was both a joy to do (and a sad reminder that I'm nowhere near any of the places featured). 

Arranged in a photo-collage design, this puzzle features notable man-made and natural landmarks around the world, including the pyramids, the Colosseum, the Taj Mahal, Machu Picchu, Uluru, and the Eiffel Tower among others. Keeping with the travel theme, there's also a compass, map and travel documents scattered throughout the design. 

This puzzle has very small pieces (which account for the rather small dimensions of the finished puzzle) but the quality of each piece is outstanding, with sturdy, thick cardboard pieces that slot together well. I have found over time that I actually prefer smaller pieces, and this (along with some of the Japanese Tenyo puzzles I have previously done), well and truly meets the benchmark for quality that I'd expect.

If you have the travel bug or winter blues, simply want to reminisce on places you've been, or want to plan out where to go next, Wonders Of The World  should provide all the inspiration you need.

Indian Princess

Brand: Clementoni (High Quality Collection) (Fantasy)
Pieces: 1500
Size: 84.3cm x 59.2cm
Product Code:  31965

This is one of those puzzles that just struck a chord with me. 

I'm not sure why- perhaps it's the gorgeous design or the intense detail- but when I first saw it, I couldn't get it out of my mind. 

I left the store I saw it in and kept thinking about how much I would love to do it. But despite my interest, there were just as many reasons why I shouldn't.  

I already had such a large stash of puzzles at home, and, being a 1500 piece puzzle, it cost a little bit more than I usually try to spend. But it was calling to me...

Luckily, in the following days (as I ummed and ahhed and tried to justify buying the puzzle), the store decided to have a sale. Let's just say that I was a goner!

The white Clementoni box found itself in my possession and I was the proud and excited owner of yet another jigsaw puzzle. 

I was not left disappointed.

This puzzle, as mentioned above, features an absolutely gorgeous design of an Indian princess and her two tiger companions. They rest on luxurious fabrics in front of a scenic garden, with the iconic Taj Mahal visible in the background. 

The quality of the pieces was fantastic, as expected for the brand, and slotted together nicely. While some of the colours were similar, it was still relatively easy to differentiate each section. 

With a few little challenges (in the tigers' fur and the pink background), this puzzle is perfect for someone wanting a pretty design that might test their ability. 

Kindred Spirits

Brand: Holdson
Pieces: 1000
Size: 49.3cm x 68.8cm
Product Code:  09492

Yesterday was St Patrick's Day- the cultural day of celebration for Ireland's foremost patron saint. 

For some, it is a day like any other, but for others, the celebrations can take on a wild turn. For guests at many Irish establishments, the day was decked out in greenery, Guinness beer, atrocious accents and Irish jigs. For those who had an interest in the day but weren't keen to go overboard,it was enough to wear a dash of green and listen to a tune from a more contemporary Irish band (U2 or The Script, anyone?)

As far as I'm aware, I have no Irish blood within my family, but I was still keen to commemorate the day of the Irish, so I tried to find a puzzle that would be relevant to the day. 
This was harder than I expected. As such, the above puzzle was the best that I could find, and only because there were so many shades of green in it!

This one was a little bit harder than I expected. As I mentioned just before, there were so many shades of green that initially, it was difficult to determine which piece went where. After a while, my eyes adjusted to the different shades and sorting was easier. In fact, it ended up harder to piece together the tree in the end than the green background behind it! 

This was a beautiful puzzle to do. The final image is gorgeous and the detail is magnificent. This puzzle is perfect for dragon aficionados, fantasy lovers and fans of Anne Stokes' artwork.

Game Of Thrones Special Edition Collector's Box Set

Brand: Jumbo
Pieces: 500 (each puzzle)
Size: 49cm x 35cm
Product Code:  -

If you're anything like me, you've been hanging out for the next season (#7!) of Game Of Thrones. 

With filming pushed back due to poor weather conditions, fans of the show have had to wait even longer than usual for the next installment. But luckily, HBO have recently announced the premier date- July 16, 2017- as well as a teaser trailer to whet the appetite!

In anticipation of the wait, I found this jigsaw puzzle collection that contains three 500 piece jigsaw puzzles of the show. The first puzzle features photographs of the Lannister's, the second features The Night's Watch, and the third is of the Stark family. While a majority of these characters have now passed on [Sorry for the spoiler alert if you haven't yet caught up, but you have to expect it, considering pretty much everyone dies in this show!], this is still a great tribute to Game Of Thrones and its cast. 

The puzzle pieces were of high quality, with each puzzle separated into an individual box within the larger one. I found it easier to work from the middle of each puzzle first, then find the faces and do each surrounding scene. I ended up putting together the borders of each puzzle last, because the pieces were quite similar and it was easier that way. Each design is a lovely showcase of the characters from the first few seasons and make perfect little jigsaw collages for fans of the show. 

I haven't yet been able to locate any other Game Of Thrones puzzles of a similar nature in Australia (I had to order this one from overseas) but I'll be keeping a lookout for a second collector's box or the like!

Puzzle 1

Puzzle 2

Puzzle 3

The Collector's Box Volume 1

Close Up From Puzzle 1

Close Up From Puzzle 2

Close Up From Puzzle 3

Dinosaurs

Brand: Hinkler Puzzlebilities
Pieces: 500
Size: 91.4cm x 60.9cm
Product Code:  HB22_FEB16_04

I can't tell you how excited I am for today!

I have always enjoyed Jurassic Park, the 1993 film directed by Steven Spielberg, which stars Sam Neill and Laura Dern. With one of the most recognisable musical scores, and that iconic Jurassic Park logo, the film has a permanent place in my list of favourites. I even enjoyed most of the sequels (including Jurassic World which was released a few years ago). 

But my enjoyment of the movie will be taken to new heights today when I head up to Melbourne to see a special representation of the film. The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO) will be performing the soundtrack to this film live at Hamer Hall (in the  Arts Centre). 

As the film plays, the orchestra perform all the musical pieces as they would occur in the film. You'd be amazed at just how much music is composed for films- most of the time, we just hear it in the background and don't think about all the effort involved in composing, playing and performing the soundtrack. 

I attended the MSO's Raiders of the Lost Ark performance last year and it was simply incredible! Sometimes I would become so engrossed in the story that I would be startled to hear the audience clapping around me. Then I would remember that the music I was hearing was actually being performed live in front of me and was not actually 'coming from' the film. The musicians are so incredibly talented, and if you ever get the chance to attend one of these events, you should definitely take it, as you won't be disappointed! 

In my excitement for this performance, I decided to do a puzzle featuring dinosaurs (including some from the Jurassic period!). This puzzle was very quick to do, and has particularly large pieces (made of thin, cheap cardboard), but it is also very educational and has a well set out design.

There are over 25 dinosaurs featured in this puzzle, with the name, pronounciation, origin, size, eating habits (carnivore, herbivore, etc) and years it was around listed underneath each image. The pictures of each dinosaur are set against one another so that you can see the size difference between each type, and there is even a human on the end of each line so you can see the scale of just how big (or small) they were in comparison to us. 

While the piece quality isn't terribly great, this is otherwise a great educational tool and a must for lovers of dinosaurs! (...or films that feature them 😊)

Close up 1

Close up 2

Close up 3