Puzzle Adventures - August 2020

 This was not a very busy puzzling month. There is just so much else happening that for the most part I get round to puzzling only in the evening for an hour, maybe an hour and a half. I sure enjoy that little time of puzzling at the end of the day. Chatting, enjoying a drink of 'Bengal Tiger' spiced tea by Celestial Seasonings.  My all time favourite, and puzzling away.

For August, the 2 alphabet letters,over in the Puzzling Together FaceBook group,  were 'G' and 'X'

I chose this one 'Games We Played' by White Mountain Puzzles for the 'G' category. (Gradients, Groceries, Games) At 1000 pieces it is a nice build. Quite quick and interesting due to all the different bits and pieces in the collage. Due to the pieces being slightly bigger that usual, this one does not fit onto my regular board so I dug the felt covered one out for this.

And the second letter for the second half of the month was 'X' which meant featuring a puzzle with an item in the image that contains the letter 'x'

I had a puzzle featuring foxes, got it started and really did not like it. So I traded it for something more interesting....and hauled out this oldie but goodie of mine that features 'boxes'

It is 'The Potting Shed' a 500 piece puzzle by Gibsons, and made a wonderful gift to me, from my sister a few years ago.

In between time during the month I worked on a couple of Cobble Hill puzzles that were also gifts. Two very beautiful images and my favourite Cobble Hill quality. Great experience doing these both and the kind of gift that will keep giving as I do these repeatedly in the years to come. The owls were a purchase from a local store, the ravens we got from Outset Media (parent company to Cobble Hill) via Amazon.

Family Tree - I don't see it on the Cobble Hill website, so am not sure if it is still being produced.

I stared with the owls. They are so cute!

Which left me with several trays of mostly green pieces.They were however, easy enough to tell apart as to where they belong

All done and looking so pretty!

The pieces are random cut, but not as random as they can sometimes be.

Just look at that little face. Beautiful painting!

Stunning detail throughout the image.

Raven Randezvous - still listed on the website although currently out of stock.

Another super image. I was in two minds as to whether I really wanted to buy this one. Was concerned that it may too tedious with all that black in the ravens, but then I was given it and I'm not one to say no to such a beautiful challenge.

As it turned out, it was a great buy. Lots of colours in that black, and a nice level of challenge too. I did sort the pieces before I even got started on this one, and it paid off in the end.

 And finally I had traded for this puzzle and wanted to do it quickly and trade again. It was a fun Sunday afternoon over a cup of coffee build.

By The Bay - Cobble Hill - 500 pieces (out of stock but listed on the website)

It had a rather unusual piece - isn't that delightfully quirky?

That's it for August. I'm continuing with the Alphabet Challenge or 'Event' over at Puzzling Together on FaceBook, but I am thinking along the lines of doing a seasonal rotation with puzzles, starting in December with winter themed ones. Initially weaving that through the alphabet choices. We'll see how it goes and how life goes. After all, puzzling is a relatively small 'thing' in my life, however much I enjoy it!

Happy puzzling!

Puzzle Adventures - July 2020

Recapping July too. I think we skipped over a few weeks this summer, where did July go?!?

Well some of it - in the evenings anyway- went into puzzling. I do so enjoy a couple of hours in the evening, sitting with a puzzle or some knitting, a colouring book etc watching, or sometimes listening to!, a programme on TV or getting lost in a good audio book...perfect!

This cat puzzle was just too special to resist...Cats and books, now what is not to like in such a combination? There was a few tricky bits but on the whole it was just a nice challenge and looked absolutely beautiful completed. The puzzle is called 'Feline Bookcase' and is currently not in stock at Cobble Hill, but you may find it at a local retailer or on Amazon. It's worth hunting for!

I kept is sitting around a little while so we could all enjoy it, before tucking it away into it's box for a future treat.

Continuing the alphabet challenge with the Puzzling Together group on Facebook.

N is for Notion, National Parks, Native American. I have had this lovely Ravensburger since last year, so it was a good time for doing it. It was OK, did not enjoy it quite as much as I had expected, but will do it at least once more before trading.

For O - Olympic Sports, Ornaments and Occupations, I went for Christmas in July with this delightful Bits & Pieces shaped puzzle, featuring art work by Larry Jones.

The 

Monthly Jigsaw Puzzling Themes Facebook group for had vacation as a theme ' If I were going on vacation/ on a trip/ going camping... I would.........?' Well I would go to the ocean, beach, so enjoy the sea air, sand between my toes and look at pretty shells. So this was my puzzle choice.

I had issues with getting the colour right on this picture...

This is a lot more accurate as far as colour goes..nice little build even if nothing special...

And then for just the fun of it I enjoyed every minute of this colourful entirely FUN little puzzle

A quick fix build...and a sure keeper!

And that was the only puzzling that happened in July. It was a good 'adventure'!

Puzzle Adventures - June 2020

Finally time to catch up on the June puzzles! 

It was a much slower month as there are other things that take time, especially this time of the year. Suffice to say the vegetable garden is looking good...

I did this wintery themed puzzle for a challenge over on the Puzzling Together group on Facebook.

This one was for 'Olympic Sports'

I've had this for a few years and have done it a few times...the Christmas gift from a friend that I get to enjoy for decades! 

I do enjoy all the little details in the Dowdle puzzles. He has his technique down pat and it works well for jigsaws!

And of course because we were in summer - I was only too happy to do the next puzzle in the 'Country Diary' series by Cobble Hill. This was another delightful puzzle. A little easier to do than the Spring one, because I now had a 'method' of going about it.

Thoroughly enjoyed all the little details in this one... and the beautiful inspiring art work

Next up was the start of the new alphabet challenge in the Puzzling Together Facebook group.

B for beach, boats or bears.

I went searching for this oldie from back in the 70's for 'Boats'. I've done this sooo many times (and still do not enjoy that sky!?! there is something about a piece of mostly solid blue sky that just bugs me, even if it is this small!)

The box has seen better days, but it is nice that we still have all the pieces

And finally something for 'Beach' this newbie to me that I bought last summer. Loved every minute of this beauty from Bits and Pieces, 'Down by The Sea' It is definitely on my favourites list!

Just look at all that lovely colour!

And so...on to July! June was hectic...hope yours was good!

Puzzle Adventures - Final

Well! June certainly started at top speed! Good, but busy!

Let me recap the last of the puzzles I did during May
First up...what can I say? I've been an Edith Holden fan since her 'Country Diary' made it's first appearance back in the 70's. And yet, when I first saw this gorgeous puzzle by Cobble Hill, I wondered if I would actually enjoy doing it. The soft colours caused me to hesitate. When a friend offered to trade me this 'Spring' one for a ball of yarn...well that was a deal quickly sealed!
The dark overcast days made taking pictures of this really hard, but even so, the beauty shows through I think.
I made a start on the easiest to identify bits and assembled little vignettes which I then located on the poster and placed in it's approximate place within the border.

It came together quicker that expected and although there is always the pleasure of looking at the finished image, I was disappointed that this was 'over' for now...

I enjoyed every minute. Each little puzzle piece is a miniature piece is water colour art...and together they produce sweet images such as this rabbit sniffing away at the leaves

...and numerous delicate butterflies scattered allover the image, with identifying names for all the images included, just as Edith had it in her diary.

Such lovely detail...

A totally satisfying experience. I'm looking forward to doing the rest of the months. I have 'Summer' lined up for June and plan to do 'Autumn' in September. So far I've not been able to locate 'Winter' but am hoping to find it ready to do in December.

I think the artist/designer who used the original images to compile this puzzle image did an outstanding job! Thank you Cobble Hill for yet another masterpiece!

Next up was the 'free mystery puzzle' included with a Bits & Pieces order. It wasn't something that I would buy myself, but I did enjoy putting it together and was able to trade it locally for another puzzle. Win-win for me!

Last year I found this little puzzle at the local Salvation Army Thrift Store. The fact that it was a map and had a book of riddles with it, was enough for me to take a chance with the purchase. One never knows with thrift store puzzles, do you? However this one was complete. It is an older puzzle but in good condition and I had a good time solving riddles and locating the 'treasure'
I wonder who won the cash prizes back then...

I particularly liked this polar bear...just taking a casual stroll..

 
and this bit at the southern tip of Africa, recalling stories of the lost city in the Kalahari and the fabulous wealth it contained...not to mention all those gold coins President Kruger was supposed to take with him to Europe to try to by help during the Anglo-Boer War...

And with childhood memories and remembering walking long paths in the African bush, my puzzle adventures for May came to an end. Varied, full of colour and rich in enjoyment.

Bring on June!