Small Thoughts- Puzzles and Hobbies
Puzzles, crafts and other smaller thought activities!
Nice to to have some Small Thoughts today, beginning with one of my favourite puzzles to do this time of year, “Manfred’s Store from Bits and Pieces Puzzles. The artwork is by Rosalind Solomon. It looks like it could be watercolour and has Tons of hidden mages and small surprises to discover. I love this puzzle.
Autumn Memories
Number of pieces: 500
Completed size: 21.25×15 inches
Puzzle Artist: George Kovach
George Kovach on Facebook
Note: Reference poster included
I was so happy with Autumn Memories, another puzzle from the “Days to Remember” puzzle series from Buffalo Games! This is one of several puzzles from the series I have completed over the past few weeks. This was a great transition puzzle to do from summer into fall. George Kovach did the beautiful images in this puzzle. It features an early evening scene by the water’s edge. There is a cozy inn, with a fire lit inside. People line the edge along the docks, looking at the night sky or hopeful fishermen by the row of red canoes. There is a full moon in the dark blue sky and cars park outside the local inn and bar. People gather here to spend time together one last time before heading home for the season.
Have you done Autumn Mmemories or another “Days to Remember” puzzle? What did you think?
I would love to hear your ideas about this puzzle and other fall puzzles- please leave a comment here on my Small Thoughts Puzzle channel on Youtube. Thank you!
In this two-part puzzle video: Check out the two-part series of my fall and Halloween puzzle collection video!
I do a video walk-through of ALL (for now!) my fall-themed puzzles, including some adorable Halloween puzzles. Some of the jigsaw brands in the video: Bits and Pieces, Pomegranate Puzzles, Buffalo Games, Vermont Puzzle Company, Cobble Hill Puzzles and more!
🧩 Do you have a question about puzzle brands? Do you have suggestions for a new puzzle review? Please leave your thoughts and ideas in the comments section here on my Youtube puzzle channel:
🧩 Instagram: @smaller_thoughts
🧩 Buffalo Games – Country Store – 500 Piece Jigsaw
USA: https://amzn.to/3FNxVFn
Canada: https://amzn.to/3ALkySd
🧩 Buffalo Games-Days to Remember-Country Road, Hiro Tanikawa
USA: https://amzn.to/2YTIHJH
Canada: https://amzn.to/3p6Osyf
🧩 Bits and Pieces – Quilting Room, Parker Fulton
USA: https://amzn.to/3ANPscN
Canada: https://amzn.to/3j4O9A4
🧩 Ravensburger The Fishing Lesson, Mary Ann Vessey
USA: https://amzn.to/3FVgIda
Canada: https://amzn.to/3j5pUBF
🧩 Bountiful Meadows Farm puzzle review
USA: https://amzn.to/3DLsxAG
Canada: https://amzn.to/3p6P5b5
🧩 Halloween Town Puzzle
USA: https://amzn.to/3p9pBtJ
Canada: https://amzn.to/3ALk4eR
🧩 Read my puzzle review for Kawase Hasui: Autumn at Saruiwa
🧩 Bits and Pieces: Hens and Chicks
USA: https://amzn.to/3FVgcMg
Canada: https://amzn.to/3FVgcMg
🧩 Read review for : Cobble Hill: Halloween Buddies
USA: https://amzn.to/3aI8ZRd
Canada: https://amzn.to/3aI8ZRd
🎵
Music: “Somewhere” from Leonard Bernstein’s Westside Story arranged and performed by Mr. Bill
Mr. Bill played bass professionally for over 40 years. He was classically trained. In his retirement years, Bill decided to learn how to play dinner jazz on piano. He has arranged mostly well-known, slow-tempo songs that have interesting chord progressions.
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The sheet music for “Somewhere” arrangement can be found at: https://musescore.com/user/4506351
Puzzle Company: Cobble Hill
Number of pieces: 500
Completed size: 19 x 26 inches
Puzzle Artist: Nancy Wernersbach or follow on IG : @nancywernersbach
Buy Harvest Festival in USA
Buy Harvest Festival in Canada
This is one of my favourite puzzles to do! To me this is the Fall version of “Spring Cleaning” also a puzzle made by Cobble. The illustration is done by well-known puzzle artist, Nancy Wernersbach. I believe she also does puzzles for Bits and Pieces puzzles as well.
Once again, so many details in this puzzle to keep it interesting! This fall puzzle is packed with images of cute little creatures, like ducks and ducklings. The usual hay, pumpkins, scarecrow and of course a brimming over bushel basket of apples. I love this puzzle 🙂
This puzzle comes with a high-resolution poster for reference and a sturdy box. The puzzle pieces are low glare, they have a textured linen-like finish to them. The puzzle pieces have interesting random cut shapes. I do prefer random cut pieces to traditional grid cut pieces. I love their puzzle pieces. I wish other puzzler makers would follow suit. I do not enjoy glare while doing puzzles.
Do you have a preference?
READ MORE: Halloween puzzle reviews
I give this puzzle a 9/10. I love the quality and the bright vivid colours.
Puzzle Company: Cobble Hill
Number of pieces: 500
Completed size: 19 x 26 inches
Puzzle Artist: Douglas Laird
Overall rating: 8/10
Notes: easy-medium difficulty (medium because there is a lot of gray in the image!), random cut pieces, reference poster included
More information on puzzle brands and puzzle brand comparisons.
One of my favourite Halloween puzzles is “Halloween Buddies” from Cobble Hill. The artwork on this 500 piece Halloween puzzle is by Douglas Laird. He is originally from Edinburgh, Scotland in 1946 where he graduated from Edinburgh College of Art. He came to Canada in 1965 and now lives in Ontario. Douglas Laird’s artwork typically features landscape, wildlife and everyday life.
The reasons I love Halloween Buddies so much are because of the quality of the puzzle pieces, the adorable illustration by Douglas Laird and the vibrant pigmented inks used in reproduction.
The puzzle quality of Halloween Buddies is excellent! They are thick sturdy pieces with a matte finish. The jigsaw pieces are random cut and the included poster is high resolution. Obviously, Halloween Buddies is a Halloween-themed jigsaw puzzle! There are many familiar (pun intended!) spooky Halloween images of trick or treaters out on a dark and stormy night.! It was so fun to discover a cute hidden pumpkin or a missed creepy spider while puzzling away. This was a joy to do and one of my all-time favourite puzzles.
Do you have a favourite Halloween puzzle? What do you think is the BEST Halloween puzzle? I would love to hear your ideas!
Puzzle Company:Cobble Hill
Number of pieces: 1000
Completed size: 26.5x 19″
Puzzle Artist: Terry Isaac
Skill level: Intermediate- challenging
Overall rating:
Notes:
Cobble Hill makes their puzzle pieces a random cut and has amazing thickness. The random acts make the puzzle doing experience a little more fun.
Very little puzzle dust and beautiful, clean cuts in the wooden pieces.
This is likely one of the most beautiful pieces of art I have seen in a puzzle illustration. The artist is Terry Isaac, from British Columbia, Canada. The colour palette that was used but the artist is stunning. He paints the totem Thunderbird” from well-known carver Willie Seaweed, carved in the 1930’s.
The puzzle quality, the beautiful image and the included poster all made this one of my favourite puzzles.
This is a 1000 piece puzzle and the puzzle was a joy to do from start to finish.
The quality of the puzzle pieces is comparable to Ravensburger Puzzles. The price point is fantastic and Cobble Hill is a great value. The best part about Cobble Hill puzzles is the high-quality, high-resolution poster that comes with their puzzles. Including a poster makes doing their puzzles more enjoyable! The poster is not only a great keepsake but I love to be able to use a poster instead of a heavier puzzle lid for reference.
Recommend highly!
I like Japanese art, particularly watercolour. One of my favourite Japanese watercolour artists is Kawase Hasui (1883–1957). I especially love his subtle earth-tone colour palette and gorgeous gradients. Kawase Hasui helped to create the shin-hanga art style of the mid-century.
Pomegranate Puzzles have a beautiful buttery soft feel to their puzzle pieces. Their puzzles pieces have a wonderful feel and that makes for a pleasant puzzle experience. The puzzle pieces are cut in a grid pattern and have a good solid fit. The quality of the inks used is outstanding. The puzzle pieces are highly pigmented and the colours are vibrant and saturated.
This puzzle is a stunning piece of art. The stunning oranges, greens and ochres inks used made this a delightful autumn/ fall puzzle! I rate this fall-themed puzzle at a solid 7.5/10.
It was a medium-difficult level mainly because of the grid shape. If you are good with colours, then the gradients will be easy for you!
Let me know in the comment section here or on my Small Thoughts Puzzle CHannel
Purchase Autumn at Saruiwa Puzzle in USA
Purchase Autumn at Saruiwa Puzzlein Canada
Buffalo Games-Days to Remember-Country Road-500 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle
I am OBSESSED with the nostalgia-themed “Days to Remember” puzzle series from Buffalo Games. I have enjoyed doing three or four of them in the last few weeks. I recently did a review of Bountiful Meadows Farm Puzzle. The latest puzzle that I finished from this series is “Country Road“, and indeed it is! There are so many fall and autumn images to look at in the harvest-themed puzzle! Cutes illustrations of vibrant vegetables, plenty of pumpkins, baskets of apples and oodles of jams and jellies. made this puzzle a joy to complete. loved the bright oranges, greens and other fall colours. They made this puzzle an absolute delight to do!
Buffalo Games puzzles pieces are random cut, nice size and a good fit.
My overall puzzle experience was 7.5/10 and it was an easy-medium level of difficulty. I loved the image much more than I thought I would. The 500-piece size, with smaller pieces, is perfect. I finished it in about 4 hours.
I am OBSESSED with fall and autumn puzzles. I have a ton to do- way more puzzles than tables and time!
How about you?
Do you like fall puzzles? Do you have a favourite autumn puzzle you think I would like? Please let me know in the comments section here or on my Small Thoughts Youtube channel!
List of Top 10 Halloween Puzzles for Adults!
1. Halloween Town- Vermont Puzzle Company: My review for Halloween Town puzzle here
2. Halloween BuddiesCobble Hill- Coming Soon! This might be hard to find outside of Canada.
3. a href=”https://www.bitsandpiecescanada.ca/product/manfreds-general-store-500-piece-jigsaw-puzzle”>Manfred General Store Bits and Pieces:
4. Yesterday’s Halloween by Artist Christine Carey. Love this puzzle artist!
5. Any of the Ravensburger “Escape Puzzles”
I especially like Vampire’s Castle and The Witches Kitchen. They are a great size (750 pieces) and fun for whole family to do.
6. I LOVE this puzzle from White Mountain, Halloween House. Anything with little cutaways and behind the scenes. This is a good puzzle to do as a family.
7. LOVE anything by Charles Wysocki, they are hard to find in Canada, this one is super cute! Trick or Treat Hotel
8. Stunning Halloween “collage type” puzzle: “Vintage Halloween” by Bits and Pieces
9. Autumn Welcome by Vermont Puzzle Company
Canada: https://amzn.to/3hQUCOw
USA:
10. Ravensburger Bizarre Bookshop Series. Just a tad creepy, this makes for a good Fall into Halloween puzzle to do with family or on your own.
Purchase in USA
Purchase in Canada
Do you have a favourite Halloween puzzle?
I am really looking forward to doing this adorable 550 pieces Halloween Puzzle! Halloween Town is distributed by Vermont Puzzle Company. I think this might be the same company as White Mountain puzzles- they are very similar. The artist is Thomas Wood. I like this puzzle because I didn’t find the images too childish or cartoonish.
This spooky but cute puzzle features a neighbourhood scene of little trick or treaters who are all dressed up and knocking on doors. There are some very sweet Halloween outfits; I especially like the Super Mario costume and the little princess looking for treats! The images aren’t too spooky- little witches fairies and ghosts galore to look at while doing the puzzle.
