u/1AdultMostOfTheTime

Thought this was pretty awesome!

Recently I did a puzzle with art from Kinuko Y. Craft. I really like her art style so I researched her art online. Turns out she's a commercial illustrator.

One of her other illustrations caught my eye, Winter Rose. Sunsout has a version as does Ceaco. However the prices for her puzzles pretty much start at 50 dollars and up, they are collectors items. Typical me, champagne tastes, beer pocketbook!

I found the artwork very mesmerizing. Just couldn't stop looking at it.

So I keep watching various sites, hoping for a deal. Somehow I stumbled on an ebay listing for a nib Ceaco version (see pic one) for $25. It was listed with Kinkade in the title, which was either a typo or they just didn't know what they had. I offered $20 and got it!

While waiting for it to come, I figured there might be a story behind the art, and a reason for the artwork to be so oddly asymmetrical and indeed there is. It's an illustration for a book jacket called Winter Rose, by Patricia McKillip 1996 which is a retelling of the Scot ballad/fairy tale Tam Lin, aka Tamlane, which I had never heard of before.

Of course now I have to read the book! I check my local library which rarely has books I want and amazingly, it had a copy, one of only 3 libraries in the state that did. I checked it out, read it in 2 days. It was very good, very much matched the art. Or vice versa.

I've just finished the Mystic Maze by the Magic Puzzle Co. So quite appropo for Winter Rose to be my next one up after going into this maze of discovery!

So this was a trip down a rabbit hole triggered by a puzzle. Anyone else have a similar experiences of synchronicities triggered by a puzzle where you were led to things you never knew before?

Title correction: Boardwalk Puzzle Company, not Masterpieces.

Easy breezy summer fun puzzle! Decent quality, random circular cut pieces with lots of 'personality' made it move right along. Came with poster but I rarely needed to refer to it.

This was tough. I started with the chickadees which were easy and the lower left and upper left out of focus bits. Then I worked on the branches to try and give things a bit of structure. After that I filled in the leaves. Then I was left with the lilac flowers themselves. Oh my goodness they were so very hard. I had to shape sort and then at some points just pick up a piece and try it, pick up another piece and try it. The purples and pinks of the lilacs were all so similar it was just really difficult. As this was thrifted for $4 I lost track of how many times I said oh that must be a missing piece because I just couldn't find them!

Several times I considered just packing it up but I persevered. I do like the Cobble Hill quality, not too shiny kind of a satin finish and a satisfying click when placing a lot of the pieces. I also came to admire Rosemary Millett's skill as an artist, she's amazing with the depth of field and the layers of color and the subtlety. You stare at something as long as I did on this one and you really get to appreciate the artist's talent.

While I love the image (Love those sassy chickadees!) I probably won't do this one again.

Something a little different, quick and fun. And educational!

I learned the sun has 99.86% of the total mass of our solar system. Who knew?! I always thought it was just a ball of hydrogen but apparently it's a very dense and heavy ball of hydrogen, and a little helium.

Planets are not to scale, obviously. There's a disclaimer in the upper right about that.

I love the feel of these Pomegranate ArtPiece puzzles, so nice. This one was full of false fits, and the foliage was very challenging. Most of the nubs throughout the puzzle were very similar in shape and there was a good bit of 'murk' with such a soft focus puzzle. But overall a nice experience.

My first Pomegranate, first Harper, but I don't think it'll be my last. I love this image and it was a joy to put together.

The artwork grew on me over time, and it was fun to find all the people scattered throughout.

What wasn't fun was the pieces are too small and shiny! Many of the pieces were still attached so the cut was poor and for some reason I had a hard time picking them up. Loose fit, hard to move segments around without them falling apart.

There was no poster as this was second hand. I spent a lot of time squinting at the box cover which is a quarter size the completed puzzle and the detail was not very good.

Might do another Dowdle but not from this manufacturer. And I'll try a 500 piece!

Arizona, USA

I think I hurt my brain a little on this one.

Largest one I've done so far. Started as I usually do by doing the edges and then sorting by color. I quickly discovered that sorting by color was pretty pointless as, besides the yellow, the colors are pretty scattered all over. Even some of the yellow is scattered.

Luckily this one had a color grid on the back that you could sort the pieces into 6 sections, and then work the sections one at a time. Even with that this one was a challenge, a good challenge but a challenge! The most false fits I've seen in a puzzle so far.

Good quality, it had a little damage to the protrusions from the previous builders as I got it at a yard sale for $2.50!

Nice linen finish on the pieces, and the box. Made in Italy.

The sky was challenging. So. Much. Pink! But fun for 500 pc, thrifted.

Fun build, crisp clear image. No artist listed. (edited per mod instructions)