Birthday Party Cakes

Brand: Eurographics

Pieces: 1000
Size:  48.89cm x 67.63cm

Product Code: 6000-5700

I had originally planned on putting up a puzzle that featured Aboriginal art this weekend, considering tomorrow is the beginning of NAIDOC Week (National Aboriginal And Islanders Day Observance Committee) but I realised that although I have completed the puzzle I wanted to post, I have not yet taken a photo of it!

I hope to remedy that soon and maybe have it done in time for next week, but that means that I had to find an alternative puzzle to post. 

Which brings me to the above puzzle - birthday cakes!

June is a busy month for birthdays in my family and so this is the perfect puzzle to represent that. It feels like we're eating some form of birthday cake every week throughout June and the start of July, in order to celebrate everyone's birthdays. 

The above puzzle was a fun one to do- very colourful and busy, with some beautiful and delicious-looking cake designs...

Which month is a busy birthday month in your life?

Downtown Holiday Festival

 

Brand: Eurographics

Pieces: 500
Size: 48cm x 68cm

Product Code: 6500-5503

Here is my second offering for my Christmas puzzle posting!

This one, which features the detailed and colourful artwork of Mark Frost, was an absolute pleasure to do. 

The pieces were slightly larger than usual so it also felt like it was quicker to put the puzzle together.

I bought this one online earlier in the year from a company in the UK, when I realised that the only Christmas-themed puzzles I really had were all popculture-based. I have several (which will probably be put up over the coming weeks) that feature characters from film and TV in Christmas settings, but very few that show a traditional Christmas design. The aim of this puzzle was to break that up and show something a bit different. Hopefully I can get one of my other Christmas ones done soon to follow this idea... 

I absolutely loved putting this puzzle together, and enjoyed seeing all the little stalls come together in this traditional Christmas market design. I wish I could visit a market in real life that replicated this one- it's just so sweet! 

Does your town have a Christmas market like the one above?

Ford Mustang- Evolution

Brand: Eurographics

Pieces: 1000
Size: 48.89cm x 67.63cm

Product Code: 6000-0684

If I had to pick a favourite classic car, I would have to go for the Ford Mustang. The old designs are just so timeless, and the newer versions look just as good! One of my friends has an old one that he has done up and it looks absolutely amazing- worth a small fortune now too, but I don't think he'd ever willingly sell it!

The closest I'll ever get to these babies are puzzles, and that's why I thoroughly enjoyed putting this one together. The quality was exceptional, and as usual, I learnt a little bit about the car's history, thanks to the Eurographics educational theme. 

Rock Shop

Brand: Eurographics

Pieces: 1000
Size: 48.89cm x 67.63cm

Product Code: 6000-5614

My baby has always been so fascinated with musical instruments. I think that's the influence of her dad right there, who has a whole wall of guitars, a keyboard, bongo drums and plenty of other instruments floating around. So today I have decided to put up this puzzle, which showcases the ultimate music store!

This puzzle was high quality although it differed a little from the illustration on the front of the box- the guitars in the windows were different in the actual puzzle, in comparison to what was shown on the box lid. Have you ever experienced that? It wasn't a massive change, but it was enough that I noticed it quickly! Still a pleasure to do though.

I'm a big fan of this brand, and have only had trouble with one puzzle from them (it wasn't cut well). Other than that, they have a wonderful range of designs and the quality is usually spot on! This puzzle design is no exception!

Dan's Ice Cream Van

Brand: Eurographics

Pieces: 1000
Size: 48.89cm x 67.63cm

Product Code:  6000-5519

We're starting to get into the warmer weather now and that means more ice cream! Yay! I'm super excited because an empty shop near our home is getting converted into an ice cream store as we speak and should be trading from next week. It's gonna be dangerous for my wallet and waistband having a shop like that within walking distance but it will also be amazing! 

To celebrate, I've put up this puzzle that I did which was designed by Paul Normand. 

The artwork is so detailed, the colours really pop and the quality was wonderful (as expected from Eurographics). I really enjoyed piecing together this image, bringing on all the nostalgic feels. We actually have a van similar to this on the waterfront, and they have the same sort of vibe (including the same colours on their van-with a splash of yellow!)

Next week if I remember, I'll talk about all the Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales- let's just focus on the sweet ice cream treats this week! 

The Periodic Table Of The Elements

 

Brand: Eurographics

Pieces: 1000

Size: 48.89cm x 67.63cm
Product Code:  6000-1001

In Australia at the moment, we're celebrating National Science Week (well we're towards the end of it anyway) so I thought it would be fitting to put up this puzzle for today (since I already put up Little Scientists a few weeks back).

What better representation of science than the periodic table of the elements! I remember learning the first 20 symbols and elements off by heart when I was at school and studying Chemistry, and I still haven't forgotten them! 

This puzzle from Eurographics was quite easy to do when you separated each of the elements by colour and was very informative once completed. I love puzzles like these where they also have an educational aspect. The quality was perfect - I've only ever had one Eurographics puzzle where the quality was poor- and the colours are vibrant. 

How many of the elements do you recognise?

Haruyo Morita: Higasa

Brand: Eurographics
Pieces: 1000
Size: 48.89cm x 67.63cm
Product Code: 6000-0742

I haven't posted any Eurographics puzzles for a while, so I thought it was time to remedy the problem!

This design was adapted from an artwork by renowned and popular Japanese artist Haruyo Morita, and is one of a few that the Eurographics brand has included in their collection. I love the details in the kimono and the vibrant colours used in the background behind the geisha. In fact, all of the designs are beautiful.

I do, however, have one complaint, and it is not one I have had to make before, When putting together this puzzle, I noticed that the pieces were not cut well at all. This was the first time I ever encountered something like this and I was particularly surprised because I know that the quality of these puzzles is usually pristine. It seems as though the blades of the machine that cut this particular batch of puzzles was blunt and rather than change it, the company continued to (poorly) cut the designs. As a result, the pieces were difficult to put back together and the quality was terrible. I was lucky enough to get a full refund from the place I purchased it from after I alerted them to the problem and a replacement given. I wish I had thought to take photos of the ill-cut puzzle for you but it completely slipped my mind. 

Regardless, the design is beautiful, the puzzle was replaced with no drama and I learnt the valuable lesson that no matter how renowned a puzzle company can be, quality control can always be compromised. 

Flags Of The World

Brand: Eurographics
Pieces: 1000
Size: 48.89cm x 67.63cm
Product Code: 6000-0128

Over the last week, we in Australia have been lucky enough to have some English royalty gracing our shores- Prince Harry and his beautiful wife Meghan, who have travelled here to see some of the best that the country has to offer. 

They were also here for the Invictus Games- an international sporting event that was created by the Prince for wounded, injured or sick armed services personnel and veterans. This year the event was held in Sydney from 20-27 October. 

I decided to post this puzzle featuring the flags of the world to commemorate this inspiring event, While many of these countries didn't actually have representatives at the Games, some of them did, and some of them have fought alongside or for some of the countries whose flags appear in the above puzzle. 

Produced by Eurographics, this puzzle was fairly easy to do (although some of the flags were similar) and quite educational. Each country's name is listed under its flag, as well as the population, the size of the country in square kilometres and the capital city. 

For some reason, I've always been interested in flags, maps and the like, so this puzzle went down a treat, as it would for anyone else who likes this sort of thing.

Dinosaurs

Brand: Eurographics
Pieces: 1000
Size: 48.89cm x 67.63cm
Product Code: 6000-1005

The new Jurassic World film (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom) was released on Thursday, and while I haven't yet had the chance to see it, I thought I'd put up a puzzle of dinosaurs in tribute to such a fantastic franchise.
I have seen all of them so far (besides the latest) but I'd have to say that my favourite is definitely the first- the others are okay but nothing can compare to the original in my books!

This puzzle by Eurographics was quite interesting to do- it took a little while to piece together anyway! These puzzles always contain so much information and are great educational resources. Considering there are so few dinosaur puzzles of larger counts around (surprisingly), I was happy to find this one. The quality was wonderful and the design was typical Eurographics style.

Fantastic for any fans of dinosaur facts and figures... 

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

Paul Cezanne - Blue Vase

Well it's definitely been a while since I posted up any new completed puzzles, so sorry about that.
Here is one that I recently completed to make up for it...

Brand: Eurographics
Pieces: 1000
Size: 48.89cm x 67.63cm
Product Code: 6000-3802

This puzzle took a lot longer to complete than I expected it to. I think I underestimated how similar some of the colours are, which made the puzzle a lot harder to complete under artificial light. This is a lovely representation of artist Paul Cezanne's famous artwork, and would be perfect for fans of his.The colours are vibrant, the design is pretty, and the uniquely shaped pieces make this a nice challenge. 


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


Blue Vase by Cezanne 1000-Piece Puzzle