French Fries

Brand: Typo

Pieces: 200
Size:  30cm x 30cm

Product Code: -

On Tuesday (14th July) it will be Bastille Day - France's national celebration day.

I thought I'd get in slightly earlier and put up a French-themed puzzle to mark the occasion. I've done so many puzzles that fit this theme over the years but surprisingly (or maybe not so surprising when you consider that it's me) I was unable to find as many as I would have liked. So I've put this one up instead. 

Fits the theme, is a bit quirky and was a quick and fun one to do. Do you celebrate the national days of different countries? Is it because you have the family background? Or just because any excuse for a celebration is a good excuse? Let me know what you think!

Eiffel Tower

Brand: Toy Town Mini Puzzles (Test Tube Puzzle)

Pieces: 150
Size: 15cm x 10cm

Product Code: -

I'm continuing with the French theme this week due to the Olympics being held in Paris. This puzzle is one of those cheap, tiny test tube puzzles that I bought from Wish.com. Surprisingly, the quality is quite good, and the micro pieces fit together well to create a cute postcard-sized puzzle.

In other news, I will be away for the next few weeks because I'm going on holidays! That means I won't have the opportunity to post anything, but as soon as I get back I'll be into it again. Hopefully I'll be able to uncover some cool puzzle shops on my journey. 

In the meantime, have a great few weeks and I'll see you when I'm back!

Paris In A Day

Brand: Eeboo

Pieces: 1000
Size: 53.3cm x 71.1cm

Product Code: -

Today I have decided to put up a puzzle of Paris, to commemorate the beginning of the 2024 Olympics, held in Paris, France. This puzzle was a pleasure to do, as it depicts many special landmarks from the country and holds a distinctly 'Frenchy' feel with its colour palette and style. Will you be watching the Olympic Games on TV? What sports are you interested in following?

Speaking of following, I competed in the Vic State Puzzle Competition last week and actually got my puzzle finished within the allocated time this time round! I placed within the top 110 people so I'm happy with that attempt, especially since it was a somewhat difficult puzzle that I hadn't done before (and I hadn't practiced at all beforehand 😅) . As long as I practice before the Nationals comp I should be fine.. I think!

Anyway, I best be off, but let me know what you think I should put up for the next few weeks following the Olympics theme- Paris? Sports? I'll see what I can do... 

Paris by Anthony Kleem

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

Well, as promised, I have put up a puzzle from a different brand this time round. And unlike my normal routine where I link the design image to something that is relevant to my life or the world around me, this one today is completely random!

When I first saw the design of this puzzle I was drawn towards the busy illustration of Paris that Anthony Kleem has produced. It features all of the important landmarks of the city- as well as the people- in a charming and patriotic way. The colours are vivid and the city is represented in a less metropolitan way than is the norm- looking almost like an idealic little village rather than a bustling city centre. 

This puzzle took only a few days to do but it was definitely a treat.

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.

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!