u/LunaLovepuff

I WFH and I always say “whenever I leave the house I spend at minimum $50 if not $100.” And that’s bc I do things like take detours to Home Goods because I want to “check out those Hobbry Puzzles everyone’s been talking about.” lol. Well. I’m proud to say that I started with the larger stack, and was able to talk myself down to the three puzzles in the second pic. There were MORE that I discovered after this stack but I held strong. I loved the Galison one on the bottom but abandoned it bc I figured I could pick that bad boy up anytime. I am still thinking about the cute cat library one. UGH! Also this location was popping, the resellers haven’t found it yet 😅Thanks for the tips yall!

Artist is Marcy Hokenson! I loved the colors in this bad boy. Watery and blobby and cool. Sturdy pieces and another good sticky puzzle. Another one to tuck away to do again.

Art by Christine de Carvalho! Picked this gorgeous girl up at a small bookstore on vacay. I loved the foil accents and of course the bugs and blooms. A bit of puzzle dust, but sturdy pieces and sticky enough to pick up and move. It was challenging while also being super enjoyable. She’s a keeper.

I have generally been a casual puzzler as an adult. I used to do them all the time as a kid/teen then screen and social media and internet took over and well, you know. Over COVID I grabbed some puzzles, and have been steadily incorporating them more into my life as an actual hobby. I love how chill I feel, how nice it is to not be looking at a screen for a leisure project, and how I feel like I’m giving my brain some exercise as I get older.

It’s extremely satisfying, I’ve been purchasing more, AND I found this subreddit this year! Well I also found out about AI puzzles this year (thanks to this sub) and I came to a personal realization that while I can’t do EVERYTHING to make this world a better place, I can do a little thing. And that means being choosier about the puzzles I purchase and supporting artists. This of course leads down a very pricey road bc well it COSTS something to pay for quality work. So my collecting has slowed down, which is good bc I’m also working on not consuming as much and reducing/reusing as much as I can in my day to day life.

After tips from this sub, I decided to try to find some secondhand puzzles and for the first time ever checked out the thrift store. Well dang I scored bc I found four—one marked $4.99, but the others didn’t have a price so I got ‘em for $1.25! Decided it was worth the risk of missing pieces (still low key scared of bed bugs)at that price.

So, thanks for the inspiration-for speaking up about/around AI art, and also for recommending other avenues of getting puzzles (swaps, thrift store, etc). It’s made my little world a better place in a sweet way. Can’t wait to pass some of these along to fellow puzzlers in the future.

After returning two AI puzzles, and being defeated by Jonathan Adlers Safari, I needed a win! Cue this gorgeous puzzle by Hiroo Isono. As soon as I saw it, I knew I wanted it. The print, the soothing colors—it has everything I want. No notes. This is a keeper. Sticky pieces and gorgeous colors.

I was so excited to find this Jonathan Adler puzzle for $10ish bucks at Home Goods. Even opening the box feels like a luxury experience (pulling the box from the container vs opening the top.) I sorted by green, pieces with white, then just gold and black. The pieces were thick and shiny. I was so excited. Cue 6 hours later, so many false fits, and not even the outline done. I got online and found this took some puzzlers months to complete. I got some hope when it was suggested to use the box/I found some completed pics. I thought—maybe I can use the pics/the pieces on the box to complete this. Nope. My pieces were all slightly off. So many pieces appearing to fit together, but just not. Super frustrating, and I decided to put him back in his box and let someone else try him. We will see if I try another Jonathan Adler. Not sure if this was just a bad batch, or they’re all so stinking wonky!

Saw this bad boy at Home Goods for less than $10 bucks so bad to snag her. I love the vibrant artwork, the colors, the flowers, and the arrangement are all things that make this a perfect puzzle—I only wish it was 1000 piece so I had more time with her. Took me an hour and 45 minutes to put her together. Adding her to the keep pile.

Wanted to mention the pieces stick together so well! I picked it up in one piece with no trepidation!

Got this and another puzzle at some garage sales this weekend—I was super stoked bc it was on my wishlist! Loved the difficulty of this one while enjoying the art. Definitely a keeper.

Another banger. Varied shapes, sticky (put them together and then lift and place in the puzzle) pieces, and just a fun design. Started this on our month crafty night on Friday (had 5 ppl working on it) and finished it with a friend while watching a cult docuseries on Saturday. Peak puzzling vibes. 😝 There are four others in this series and I’m gonna go ahead and add them to my list.

A couple of Elena Essex puzzles I was able to snag on sale. I love her wheel designs—honestly I love most everything she does. The burst of color, the fun designs—you can’t go wrong. After the post asking about how long it took people to put together a 1,000 piece puzzle, I ended up timing myself on the winter wheel. Took me around 3.5 hours to complete which surprised me, but I do think these puzzles are a bit easier for me due to the design and color blocking. Either way—they’re keepers for me!

Got this puzzle as a gift, unfortunately it didn’t have an artist listed so take that information as you will :)

Loved the theme and colors. Loved how sticky the puzzle was—the pieces didn’t slide around. I hated that it only had 4 puzzle shapes. It made the puzzle pretty tedious. This one will probably go in the donate pile.

What a fun one! Had 20 large shapes that fit within the puzzle. This created a lot of funky puzzle pieces and I loved and hated it since the non edge pieces were getting mixed up with the actual edges. Was fun and to put two of my hobbies together: plants and puzzles. This one’s a keeper for sure, artist is Holly Macguire. Edit *Planter Perfection jeez lol