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.
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!
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.
