Harry Potter: Diagon Alley

Brand: New York Puzzle Company

Pieces: 500
Size: 61cm x 45.7cm

Product Code: HP1358

Harry Potter is now considered a classic children's book series in my opinion, and there is always going to be hype around it. 

Just recently, the Hogwarts game attracted a lot of attention, with presales and the eventual release of the game gaining huge traction. 

In Melbourne, Australia, the stage show of Harry Potter And The Cursed Child is due to end in July, after several years of showing. That's where I'm going today. Yes, I finally got myself organised and I'm going to see the show! 

So I thought it would be fitting to put up an old Harry Potter puzzle I had completed but not yet posted. Sure, the stage show is set when Harry and his friends are adults, with children of their own, but I thought this puzzle would still be a good one to put up. The pieces were irregularly cut and the colours had that grainy look of coloured pencil (as some illustrations do) but I really enjoyed working this one. I've never had any problems with puzzles from the New York Puzzle Company- they usually have interesting designs and good quality pieces. 

Let's see if the show is as good! 😉😂

Weasley Sweaters (Harry Potter)

Brand: The OP Puzzles

Pieces: 550
Size: 45.72cm x 60.96cm

Product Code:  -

It's December! As in previous years, I can't believe it's rolled around so quickly. The end of the year always seems to come around sooner than I anticipate! 

So that means it's time for Christmas-themed puzzles. I haven't really got a lot, but hopefully I've got enough to complete for the month of December's posts. 

I know for a fact that despite all the hundreds of puzzles I have and need to still do, a very very small percentage of them are Christmas-themed. Is that a valid reason to buy more? Speaking of which, how did you go with the Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales? I know that I probably should have instigated an internet ban on myself for that weekend but some of the deals were too good to resist. I'm a sucker for a good sale! Especially when there are puzzles involved! Oops- I'll have to exercise more self-control for the next few months (ie years).

Anyway, back to the puzzles...

Today's puzzle features Harry Potter, Christmas and a lovely cross-stitched theme- a puzzle by The OP Puzzles. When I saw this one, I was strangely excited. Ugly sweater excited! This puzzle was different but I enjoyed doing it and is the first of the Christmas puzzles I will be putting up this month. It was the first time I had done a puzzle from this brand too, and I plan on doing others if I come across them

Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets

Brand: Aquarius
Pieces: 500
Size: 35cm x 48cm
Product Code: 62-112

Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling celebrates her birthday on 31st July, which also happens to be the same day as her famous wizarding protagonist. For this reason, I have decided to put up a picture of a puzzle I did, which features the poster design for the second of the Harry Potter films- The Chamber Of Secrets.

Although this puzzle is only 500 pieces, it took me a lot longer than I anticipated to complete! All the black in the design made it tricky at times, and I needed to have good light to be able to piece together a majority of the picture. That said, the quality of the puzzle was fantastic (as it tends to be with Aquarius) and I enjoyed the time spent putting this one together. 

Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone

Brand: Winning Moves
Pieces: 500
Size: 50cm diameter
Product Code: -

Over the last few days I have been receiving a lot of emails from various ticketing agencies, reminding me that tickets will soon be released for the Harry Potter and The Cursed Child stage show in Melbourne next year. They are all telling me that if I sign up to their priority access list, I will have a chance to get early bird tickets to the show before they go on sale to the general public. 

I wonder if everyone who has shown an interest is getting as many emails as me? 

As it is, I have decided to put up a Harry Potter puzzle I have done in the past...

This one, from Winning Moves, was different from some that I have done, being a round shaped puzzle. The pieces travel inwards as you put them together (does that make sense) to create the picture. The edges appear to be straight until you put them together, where the distinctive curve of the outside pieces start to show and the puzzle begins to round out. This one features scenes from the first film and was enjoyable to do. The quality was fantastic and the images were clear.

This puzzle is perfect for fans of Harry Potter who are looking for something just that little bit different...

Harry Potter Horcruxes

Brand: Half Moon Bay
Pieces: 500
Size: 50cm x 35cm
Product Code:  PUZZHP06

I'm a bit of a Harry Potter fan. I've seen all the movies, read all the books, and have to admit that I own a few Harry Potter-themed jigsaw puzzles. 

Having just read the script format book of Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them, I found myself in a bit of a Harry Potter mood one day. It just so happens that I have several Harry Potter puzzles in my to-do stash so it was simply a matter of picking which one I felt like completing.  

Thus, we have the Harry Potter Horcruxes puzzle on display here.

This puzzle was slightly different from some of the ones I have completed recently, with the most obvious difference being the texture (I guess you would call it) of the pieces.

Unlike most puzzles, the surfaces of these pieces were matte, rather than glossy, which was quite a change. This meant that when it came time to take my usual photo, there was limited glare (which is a good thing- it can be quite tricky to photograph puzzles sometimes!). However, there was a downside to this. Perhaps it was just the quality of the printing, but it meant that the edges of the pieces whitened a little when you pulled apart the pieces, as the colours 'faded' off. This gave a 'used' and 'worn' appearance to the pieces after the puzzle was completed and pulled apart.

Other than that, this puzzle was quite quick to do, with plenty of interesting focal points. Not only do the horcruxes from the series feature in the design, but so do a few other Harry Potter references that fans are sure to notice. 

This was a fun puzzle to do, and greatly added to my Harry Potter-fueled mood.

Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone

Brand: Aquarius
Pieces: 500
Size: 35cm x 48cm
Product Code: 62-111

As well as doing jigsaw puzzles, I really enjoy reading and watching films, which is why I couldn't go past this Harry Potter puzzle. I decided to do this one to celebrate today's world-wide release of Harry Potter and The Cursed Child, the script-format book of the London West End play. 

This tale, written by Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling and scriptwriters John Tiffany and Jack Thorne, is set 19 years after the events of Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, and is the first official Harry Potter story to be presented on stage. Harry is now an overworked employee at the Ministry Of Magic, and is the father of three school-age children, who must deal with their unwanted family legacy. Harry, too, has to try and deal with a past that doesn't want to stay where it belongs, and together with his youngest son Albus,  learns that sometimes darkness can come from the most unexpected of places.

This book, which is to be released at 9.01am on 31st July (Harry Potter's birthday), is under a super-strict embargo and so no one has actually had the chance to read it yet (besides the cast of the show obviously). But if pre-order sales are any indicator, J.K. Rowling is set to have another bestseller on her hands. 

Which brings me back to the puzzle, and the story behind it. 

The design of this puzzle- the film poster for the first film- is where the story all began, so what better place to start! Produced by Aquarius, the puzzle was a lot quicker to do than I expected, although I had to change around the order in which I put it together. I usually try and sort out the border first and then work in towards the middle using key colours, but I ended up leaving the all-black border till last, just for the ease of putting it together. Luckily there were plenty of colour sections to work with, and the puzzle came together quite quickly. I managed to complete it in a night. 

This is a super quick and fun puzzle to do, especially if you're a Harry Potter book or film buff...


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


Aquarius Harry Potter Philosopher's Stone Puzzle (500 Piece)