Pusheen The Cat: Pusheen & Friends

Brand: Impact Merch

Pieces: 460
Size: 40cm x 40cm

Product Code: IMPZ0117

When I posted my photo last week of the Barbie puzzle, I didn't realise that they were going to release the trailer for the new Barbie film starring Margot Robbie later on in the week! How random! But also, how good was the timing? 

This week, I was hoping to post a picture of a Super Mario puzzle that I have been working on for the release of the new film (featuring the voice of Chris Pratt). I was going to go see it on Thursday but unfortunately wasn't feeling too well so I didn't get there. But that's OK, because as I said, I'm still working on the puzzle. Still working... it's a 500 piece puzzle and usually I would have had it complete, but this one is killing me! I have approximately 80% of it done but the sky and grass are solid colours and the pieces are ALL THE SAME! you can seriously interchange most of the pieces and then it doesn't fit together as nicely as it's meant to so you have to pull them out and try a different combination. I'm about to lose it but I really want to complete it properly for my photos. The annoying thing is, it's from a brand that makes puzzles as their business, and I've done cheaper-branded puzzles of lower quality that don't have anywhere near the same problem. Very disappointing but I'm going to keep plugging at it.

I also hoped to put up an Easter-themed puzzle since tomorrow is the day but I couldn't find anything in my stash so the above puzzle will have to do for this time round. It's kind of fitting because my daughter has been crawling around lately pretending to be a cat! The above puzzle was a nice and quick one to do, and is a quite cute image of Pusheen and friends enjoying some ice cream together. 

Next week I won't be posting because I'll be travelling for work and won't have access to my photos/laptop etc (besides the fact that I will be very busy!) but I'll make sure I have something ready for the week after. 

Have a happy and safe Easter with your loved ones and I'll see you in two weeks xo

Everything Is Better With Ice Cream

Brand: SunsOut

Pieces: 500
Size: 45.72cm x 60.96cm

Product Code: 35935

It feels like summer is finally on it's way! Last weekend we had absolutely beautiful weather (although the rest of the week left a lot to be desired), daylight savings began (which means that it's lighter later) and yesterday, our favourite local ice cream shop reopened it's doors after a winter break! Sure, it's still spring now, but the warmer weather is a-coming! 

To celebrate, I have put up this puzzle of a few kids enjoying an ice cream from a very colourful ice cream truck. I love visiting these vans down by the beach- they really evoke the feeling of summer fun. It was especially wonderful during the lockdowns of the last few years when we had the trucks driving down suburban streets to do visits for birthdays and whatnot. They were such great moodlifters. 

The above puzzle is made up of irregular shaped pieces and the artwork was created by artist Tricia Reilly-Matthews. I think this is actually the second puzzle I have done/put up of an ice-cream truck related theme. Haha oh well, why not?!

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! 

Sweet Smiles

Brand: Road Crates

Pieces: 1000
Size: 50.8cm x 71cm
Product Code:  PZAR-0002

It looks like we're going through a phase of 'food' days! Last week I put up a picture of a burger puzzle to celebrate International Burger Day, and today I'm doing the same thing to commemorate National Doughnut Day (which was yesterday in Australia). 

I've put up puzzles of donuts in the past so this time I thought I'd put up one that I recently completed which features a donut centre stage, and some other sweet treats as well! 

This design is by Jerrod Maruyama, and is from the Road Crates brand. It was the first time I had completed a puzzle from this brand and I was quite impressed with the quality. There was no puzzle dust, and the pieces fit together perfectly. I have also bought two others by the same artist from this brand (which are equally as cute) and hope to get them done sometime soon. 

I love kawaii characters and this puzzle was a real treat to do. 

Ice Cream Desserts

Brand: Puzzlebug

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

Since my pregnancy began, I have had so many people asking me if I've had any cravings at all- real food or otherwise! I honestly didn't think that I had, until I thought about it more closely and realised that I've been eating (and wanting to eat) a lot more ice cream, sorbet, gelati, etc lately! Despite what my husband believes, I know it's true (he thinks I always wanted it anyway).That's my craving haha

I decided to put this puzzle up to celebrate this realisation, and also because I haven't put up any food ones in a while. This Puzzlebug puzzle was lower quality as expected (they usually are) but I still enjoy most of their designs and imagery. With this one, I was missing two pieces (as you can see in the background and corner) but for some reason there was one extra of another piece? So disappointing but not totally unexpected.. oh well! It's the first time that's happened in a while so I'm not too fussed, especially considering the price of the puzzle!

We'll see what next week brings!

Variety Of Colorful Ice Cream

Brand: Colorluxe
Pieces: 1500
Size: 58cm x 84cm
Product Code:   -

As I have mentioned previously in my posts, I live in the state of Victoria in Australia.

Over the last few days, we have experienced extremely hot weather (moving from spring into summer) with about 3-4 days in a row of of temperatures over 30 degrees Celsius. 
A few days ago, the Bureau of Meteorology issued an extreme weather warning for Melbourne and most of Victoria, saying that we were going to be hit with a storm that would deliver major floods and damage- the worst we've seen in over 20 years apparently! 
At time of writing, we are yet to see much evidence of it, but we've been told it's on its way, and if the scattered showers and radar images on the internet are to be believed, it's not too far off. 
Many events in the area have been cancelled already (Geelong's Carols by the Bay and the 2017 Food Truck Festival, sadly), so that's put a 'dampener' on the start of summer (see, what I did there? 'Dampener'? That's pun-tastic!)

Because I don't have any puzzles of storms or rainy scenes (wouldn't a lightning strike puzzle look incredible?), I have decided to post an image instead of a puzzle that was relevant a few days ago, when it was stinking hot. Who doesn't love a variety of ice cream flavours? The above puzzle celebrates all things ice cream, with many different flavours and colours in cups and cones. 
This puzzle took me longer to do than I expected. I thought it would be easy to work by colours for each ice cream flavour but there were actually a lot of similar colours, which made this task a bit more difficult. The backs of these puzzle pieces are coloured to make sorting easier, and I actually had to refer to this a few times to work out what went where! 
Besides that, the pieces fit well together and the image was quite pleasant to create.