Puzzle Review: White Mountain’s Bird Crochet

I was so excited to work this new 1,000-piece puzzle from White Mountain: I love birds, I love crochet, and I love brightly-colored collage puzzles! Plus, while this puzzle features birds, White Mountain has also recently released Crochet puzzles featuring flowers and Halloween-themed items as well…all in my wheelhouse.

With art by Jessica White, this collage-style puzzle features twenty-four birds in their respective habitats, each crocheted with colors that pop and charming details. Pieces are a nice size, with standard shapes. What I especially love about this puzzle is that the art is so vibrant, the crocheted pieces look almost 3-D; taken as a whole, the art feels almost textured.

I also liked the varying shades of border around each bird, making the pinks, blues, and yellows easier to tell apart when looking closely.

Overall, this puzzle is a nice challenge (but not so challenging as to frustrate) with wonderful artwork and a fun theme. I give it five out of five puzzle pieces.

 

Puzzle Review: White Mountain’s Love Stamps

Looking for a fun way to celebrate Valentine’s Day? This colorful 1,000-piece puzzle featuring 27 U.S.A. LOVE postage stamps from over the years makes a great gift or together-time activity (be sure to pair it carefully with chocolate-drizzled strawberries and a favorite beverage!).

I had a lot of fun working this vibrant puzzle designed by Lois B. Sutton. But first, I had to manage putting together the edge pieces, which were quite the challenge. As you can see from the photo below, the edge pieces are black on the bottom and include the scalloped edges of the stamps on top. Some scallops also offer color to sort by, but others don’t, and in many cases, the “squiggles” almost appear to be a new language. For this 24″ x 30″ puzzle, working the edge pieces took me much longer than usual.

Once I did finish preparing for the heart of the puzzle, the stamps themselves offered a mostly easy endeavor. I especially liked that not all the stamps were pink or red or even featured hearts, and they included a variety of styles and sturdy pieces.

All in all, I think you will, ahem, love this puzzle. I recommend it for ages 12 and up (not ages 6 and up as listed by the manufacturer), and give it 4 out of 5 puzzle pieces.

National Puzzle Day 2024 Puzzle Review: White Mountain’s Storytime

It’s one of my favorite annual celebrations: National Puzzle Day. And what better way to enjoy it than by working a fun puzzle that focuses on a passion of mine: picture books (I write them and love to read them too). This 1,000-piece puzzle from White Mountain features the covers of classic childhood stories such as The Snowy Day, Corduroy, Pippi Longstocking, The Little Engine That Could, and Madeline, among many others. It’s made of sturdy, vibrantly-colored pieces, which feature fun, unusual cuts…no boring rectangles or squares here.

This puzzle is a walk down memory lane, for sure, but also an enjoyable way to spend a cold January day (whoever made National Puzzle Day occur in January instead of June knew a little something about getting through Winter!). It’s easy to work, so I recommend it for ages 10 and up, and give it five out of five puzzle pieces.

Puzzle Review: Gibson’s I Love Winter

What better time than during an arctic blast of below-zero temperatures to work a puzzle titled I Love Winter? And because I, personally, do NOT love cold and ice, I prefer to enjoy winter instead through this Mike Jupp art that shows a funny and fun side to this season.

This 1,000-piece puzzle from Gibsons (also available from All Jigsaw Puzzles as Mike Jupp’s I Love Winter) features a chaotic winter scene with pops of color to break up the white snow. Humorous vignettes include a skiier with his pants falling down, a man encased in ice, a runaway snowball that’s swept up numerous people on its roll to the frozen river, and a bevy of characters waiting on the bus (though one woman with blue lips is sporting a look of horror on her face, which is pretty odd).

All in all, this is an easy puzzle to work. I recommend it for ages 10 and up and give it four out of five puzzle pieces.

Puzzle Review: Springbok’s Sweet Tooth

If you’re looking for a 1,000-piece puzzle* that offers a nice challenge, bright colors, uniquely-cut pieces, and a fun theme, you’ve found it right here with Springbok’s Sweet Tooth. I’m a candy lover myself, so when I first saw this puzzle, I felt a connection right away. The array of hot pinks, greens, oranges, blues, and yellows add to the carnival atmosphere, but also add to the challenge: just when I thought I’d found all the candies of one color or one kind, I’d find another hiding out across the way. The unique, unusual, and never-repeat-shapes puzzles pieces are a nice change from the standard fare (though a couple I found had nearly-straight edges that threw me off when sorting). And as always, I love that Springbok’s puzzles are made in the USA. I recommend this 1,000 piece puzzle for ages 10-12 and up.

*Also comes in 500 pieces

Because I enjoyed this puzzle so much, I am giving this puzzle five out of five puzzle pieces.

Puzzle Review: White Mountain’s Ugly Christmas Sweaters

Oh, what fun it is to sparkle, shine, jingle, glare–maybe even blind–with all the tinsel, bows, and sequins (and much, much more) on these ugly Christmas sweaters designed by artist Lori Schory! This eye-bending 1,000-piece puzzle is filled with seasonal colors and motifs, making it a bit of a challenge to work, but the creativity of each sweater just might inspire you to head off to make your own when you’re finished. Or, bring this puzzle to your Ugly Sweater Party to work as a group!

I recommend this puzzle for ages 12 and up, and give it 5 out of 5 puzzle pieces.

   

Puzzle Review: SunsOut’s Spooky House

This 1,000-piece shaped puzzle by artist Lori Schory has been a favorite in my family for a few years now. It’s chock-full of Halloween-themed colors, objects, and atmosphere, with a touch of whimsy to boot. Don’t be fooled by the cute cats and ghosts, though, or the relatively smooth borders. This puzzle still offers a fun challenge for the family with older kids (middle school age and up), and is just right to put you in a spooky-season mood!

 

I give this puzzle 5 out of 5 puzzle pieces.

Puzzle Review: White Mountain Puzzles: Backyard BBQ

When those long summer days become scorchers, or family comes to visit and you’re just not sure you can handle one more card game, it’s the perfect time to pull out this festive 1,000-piece puzzle from artist Steve Crisp. With brightly colored summer-related details–including flowers in full bloom, a cookout, a spirited game of badminton, a kiddie pool in full use, friends and family gathering, and plenty of decorations–this backyard scene has something for everyone. My only quibble with the scene is the odd choice of tree and birds near the back porch, which don’t really fit with the setting and the colors of which detract from the rest of the sunshine-y scene.

Nevertheless, this is a nice puzzle to have on hand this time of year, and I recommend it for ages 10 and up.

I give this puzzle: 4 puzzle pieces out of 5.

Puzzle Review: White Mountain’s Mom’s Craft Room

As a mom and crafter myself, I was looking forward to working this 1,000-piece puzzle. I’ll admit I was drawn to the paints in the lower-left corner, as well as the outdoor scene. However, once starting the puzzle, I realized much of the picture is in muted greens, browns, and grays. This makes for a so-so puzzling experience for two reasons: first, part of the joy of puzzles is the image itself, which should spark interest and excitement as you discover details; and second, low lighting within the puzzle requires bright lighting while working it, which can lead to glare and eye strain.

Therefore, I am giving this puzzle 2 out of 5 puzzle pieces.

Puzzle Review: White Mountain’s The Holidays

I must say I truly enjoy White Mountain’s collage-style puzzles, so bright and full of fun visuals! And when I work one of these puzzles with my family, we can each find something “new-to-us” each time we work it. This puzzle is by artist Jim Mellett, and features iconic images such as Santa, nutcrackers, and decorated trees, as well as the more religious symbols and images representing Christmas, Kwanzaa, and Hanukkah. But The Holidays doesn’t stop there…it also showcases Thanksgiving and New Year’s festivities, to round out the season. Pieces are sturdy and fit together well, and the puzzle is big–and small–enough to fit nicely on my kitchen counter (which five of us gathered around recently for puzzling after cleaning up our Thanksgiving feast).

Spend some quality time together this season with family and friends while working this quality puzzle. I recommend this 1,000-piece puzzle for ages 12 and up and give it 5 out of 5 puzzle pieces.

Puzzle Review: Cobble Hill’s Sugar Skull Cookies

It’s that spooky time of the year! If you’re like me and enjoy working puzzles “in season,” now is the time to pull out your Halloween/Day of the Dead-themed puzzles. This 1,000-piecer from Cobble Hill is bright, sturdy, and definitely harder than it might first appear. So many eyes, so many teeth, so many swirls of color, so many challenges, your skull might just explode in happiness!

This is a fun addition to any collection, though you might need to find it on resale sites. I recommend this puzzle for ages 13 and up and I give it 5 out of 5 puzzle pieces.

Puzzle Review: Springbok’s Animal Quackers

Take some adorable and hilarious dogs and cats doing adorable and hilarious things, then plop them together in a 1,000-piece puzzle, and get ready  for the fun to begin, right? Well, not so fast. First you have to piece together the border, and even with this puzzle’s straight-edge border pieces, it is no small task. In fact, Animal Quackers’ border is one where each piece is so like the next that working it came down to lining up the pieces and trying each one with every other one until something fit, a task which took hours for four of us. Another issue: pieces needed to be pushed together forcefully to fit. But, once we got almost all of the border together, we started to celebrate. Alas, we celebrated too early, as we were missing one of the corner pieces.

However, we pushed on, and finally were able to enjoy working it and seeing many of the animal antics portrayed in the puzzle (even giving each animal a nickname: Piano Cat, Party Dog, etc.). So while this puzzle started out “Ruff” it ended with a cute display featuring our furry friends.

I recommend this puzzle for 14 and up due to the difficult nature of the border, and give it 3 out of 5 puzzle pieces.

Puzzle Review: Eurographics’ Tea Cup Collection

Delicate tea cups and saucers featuring floral designs will put you in the mood for a “spot of tea” with this 1,000-piece puzzle. And a pot or two you might need while working it: this is a challenging puzzle with only a few bright colors and dainty flowers with minute differences to set them apart in the collection!

As you can see from my photo of the worked puzzle, there’s a LOT of white. I would have liked to see a bit more variety and color in the tea cups’ designs, to add interest.

That’s why I’m giving this puzzle: 3 out of 5 puzzle pieces.

 

Puzzle Review: Buffalo Games: Cake Shed

When I work a larger puzzle, I like to have a mix between small details and big focal points in the artwork. This 2,000-piece puzzle offers this balance nicely, for example with a brightly-colored chair right up front and sardined bottles and jars of cake toppings in the background. I also like when puzzle designers offer interesting vignettes; this peak into the creative work area of a “cake artist” fits that bill as well.

The puzzle itself features sturdy pieces with helpful cuts for those hard-t0-place ones – when puzzle manufacturers offer small hints through the cut design in single-color portions of the art without detracting from the challenge, my old eyes are appreciative. All in all, Cake Shed is a fun family-sized puzzle full of great detail and contemporary colors. I recommend it for older teens and up.

I give this puzzle: 5 out of 5 puzzle pieces.