About my ratings

Perhaps because of my day job, I'm a tough rater. Everything 3/5 and above I consider worth the time and money. If I purchase on Etsy or a similar platform and the puzzle is as expected, I will give a top rating on the platform because of how seller ratings work, but here "as expected" is probably a 3/5 in most cases.

Friday, June 26, 2026

Mary Benson, Delicate Poppy

 Artifact, 306 pieces. A quick build with lots of curves. 3/5





Pride and Prickly Pears

 Rebel Puzzles, approx. 300 (if they put piece count on the box, I missed it; I wish everyone would put the piece count near the rest of the puzzle info!). This was tricky because the cactus cut created a lot of similarity in shape, and had a very nice effect when fully assembled though that took some time to emerge. 3/5





Fourth of July 1916, Childe Hassam

 Liberty, 234 pieces. Sadly, a missing piece, but otherwise a nice smallish Liberty with old-style whimsies. 3/5





Thursday, June 25, 2026

Bumblebee and Dragonfly

 3 Cat Max, about 35 pieces. I'm not a big fan of acrylic puzzles but these are pretty! I couldn't get the dragonfly quite right and didn't want to force it.







Tropical Fish

 Stave, 215 pieces. This Stave has clearly been put together a bunch of times--it was a lot looser than most other Staves I've done, but still fun! The border was cut to still be tricky. 6/10






Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad

 Liberty, 630 pieces. Slightly unusual proportions on this one. As with many map puzzles, a ton of detail and similar colors throughout. 3/5





Wednesday, June 24, 2026