Birds of a Feather by SunsOut (1000 pieces)

As a person who is a birder and also a former stamp semi-hobbiest, this puzzle hit a lot of points for me.  I found it especially interesting to note the different habitat/backgrounds that were put in the compositions with the various birds.  

Name: Birds of a Feather 
Art by Finchley Paper Arts, Ltd.
Brand/Manufacturer: SunsOut
No. of Pieces: 1000
Puzzle piece shape: Normal
Completed size (per box): 20" x 27"

Detail shot:

Remington the Horticulturist by Buffalo - 750 pieces

There was just so much I loved about it this one.  We have been busy planting new seedlings/plants at our community garden plot over the past few months.  This puzzle was a lot of fun.  My favorite parts were the truly adorable ginger cat (of course), the hat with the flowers, and the names of the various books and products displayed.  Such fun!

Name: Remington the Horticulturist 
Artist/Series: The Cats of Charles Wysocki
Brand/Manufacturer:Buffalo Games and Puzzles
No. of Pieces: 750
Puzzle piece shape: Normal
Completed size (per box): 24 in. x 18 in. (61 cm x 46 cm)

A detail shot to show puzzle shape/detail (and a bit too much glare):

Fairytale Fantasia by Ravensburger (1000 pieces)

I fell in love with this puzzle the moment I first saw it online.  I couldn't wait to order it and get working on it!  And it didn't disappoint in any way.

The books/bookcase.  The colors.  The little details, from hints at the story of Snow White, Cinderella and Aladdin.  The nighttime skies.  The dragon, unicorn, the animals, the candles, and so much more.  There was just so much I loved about this puzzle and its details.  +10 for me.  My pictures do not do this puzzle justice.

Name: Fairytale Fantasia 
Artist: Aimee Stewart
Brand/Manufacturer: Ravensburger
Year: 2014
No. of Pieces:1000
Puzzle piece shape: Normal
Completed size (per box): 69.9 cm X 49.7 cm approx.

Some detail shots: 

Isn't this beautiful?

"Once upon a time..in a kingdom filled with enchanted books, there was a girl who loved to read."

I ordered this puzzle via Amazon and found it still listed for sale at the time of posting there:  Fairytale Fantasia

Plenty of Yarn by Cobble Hill - 1000 pieces - incomplete!

Have you ever started a puzzle and had to put it away without finishing it?  

In my life there have been several reasons for this:

• Life got busy and I knew I wouldn't have time to finish it within a reasonable time and needed to clear the space for other things
• Unexpected company came over and I needed to get it out the way in a hurry
• I just wasn't enjoying working on it
•  Etc.

Well, this one just met me at a point where I didn't have the patience for it.   Plain and simple.  I love the design and I knew it would be a difficult puzzle (for me), even at the best of times.  

I just *love* the design of it and the challenge I knew it would bring, but a few things happened in my personal life that was testing my patience long before I got home at night, and I wasn't up to the challenge of it, so I had to put it away.  It was this puzzle, with unique-shaped pieces and the coloring.  For those two reasons, I both love and feel challenged by this puzzle :) 

 

So, after starting it, I moved what I had done to a Bits and Pieces Puzzle Caddy to, which was mostly the edge and the start of a few balls of yarn, to keep completed work together, and then put the pieces I had sorted by color/pattern back into the box (this time in plastic snack baggies to keep them separate) to hold my place until I have the time and patience to finish this lovely puzzle.  I plan to get back to this puzzle in the next couple of weeks. When I do, I will post progress photos.

Have you ever put a puzzle on hold?  If so, which ones, and why?  How do you store the puzzle in the interim?

Have you completed this puzzle?  What did you think of it? 

I'd love to hear about it in the comments.

Life is an Open Book - Paris by Buffalo (1000 pieces)

This was a fun puzzle to put together. Especially the bike and the book covers!  Over all, I really enjoyed all the little details I discovered while putting it together.  

Also, my son helped me work on it a bit of it, too, which is always an added joy.  

A day after finishing this one, I was happy to find the one edge piece that was missing upon completion (which isn't shown in the pictures).  I regularly find pieces stuck to my arms when I get up from the table, or I knock them to the floor, and I also have two very curious cats who love to climb, I always half expect to find a piece or two missing (which has only happened once this year so far).  This one was surprising since I found it very prominently in the middle of my kitchen floor.  I credit this one to my cats.  Obviously one of them found it and pushed it out from wherever it had run off to so I could find it.  They are so helpful! :)  

Name: Life is an Open Book - Paris Artist: Aimee Stewart Brand/Manufacturer: Buffalo Games & Puzzles
No. of Pieces: 1000 Puzzle piece shape: Normal  
Completed size (per box): 26.75 in. x 19.75 in (68 cm x 50 cm)
At time of posting, I found this puzzle for sale at Buffalo Games.

Close-up shot to show puzzle piece detail/shape:

As with the last post, this puzzle is also part of a series.  I saw there is also one for London, and for New York.  I look forward to doing them both.  Are there others?

London

New York

Magical World - Shangri-La by Ceaco - 750 pieces

This puzzle was a delight to put together - very pretty to look at and a lot of fun to complete.  

This puzzle appears to be part of a series.  The box refers only to "Magical World" as the name, but the back shows two additional puzzles.  When I subsequently looked for this online, I found that Shangri-La is added as part of the name for this puzzle and some others are noted below.

Name: Magical World - Shangri-La 
Artist: Ciro Marchetti
Brand/Manufacturer: Ceaco
Year: 2014
No. of Pieces: 750
Puzzle piece shape: Normal
Completed size (per box): 24 in. x 18 in (61 cm x 46 cm)

At time of posting, I found this puzzle for sale at Puzzle Warehouse, among others. 

To help me finding them later, and for anyone else who may be interested, others in this series which I was able to find were:

Atlantis Express

One Way Traffic

Carnival Parade

 Peacock's Lagoon 

Armada 

 Sailing Ships

Are there others?  If so, please let me know in the comments.

Sweet Delights by Colorluxe - 1000 pieces

In an attempt to catch this blog up to my recent puzzling, I'll be posting photos of puzzles previously finished this year. 

I really enjoyed doing this puzzle.  The colors were bright and cheerful.  

I don't recall any problem with pieces not fitting together as expected.  

Name: Sweet Delights
Brand: Colorluxe
Manufacturer: Lafayette Puzzle Factory
No. of Pieces: 1000
Puzzle piece shape: Unique
Completed size (per box): 19.25 in. x 26.625. in (50 cm x 68 cm)
Difficulty: I wasn't very familiar with unique-shaped pieces prior to doing this one, but didn't find this one to be too much harder than normal-shaped puzzles once I got the feel for it. 

Notes from box: Winner of Creative Child Magazine's 2013 Creative of the Year Play Award.

At time of posting, I found this puzzle for sale at Puzzle Warehouse. 

Close-up shot to show puzzle piece detail/shape: