Buffalo "Songbird Garden" by Johanna Basford

This puzzle is from a collection that goes with one of the first puzzles I did this year, "Forest Owl."  Its bright colors make this puzzle so soothing and fun, transporting you to a fantasy garden.  

Cobble Hill “Just Before the Bell” by Jim Daly

This is the same brand and style as the last puzzle I just did.  However, that one was perfect as a library donation.  Not sure what I'll do with this one; perhaps resell, or perhaps find a teacher friend that might want it for a classroom.

TCG Sure-Lox “Playful Kittens” by Jenny Newland

Landon just celebrated his seventh birthday!  There are 500 pieces in this Jenny Newland puzzle.  And of course, cats.

Cobble Hill "Drifting Off"

 Cobble Hill's "Drifting Off" is near to my heart as I loved books as a child.  This sweet image is one of my favorite puzzles I've completed, and I thought it is perfect for a library.  So I'm framing this to donate to my local public library, if they'd like it.  But my photos seem to take better without the glare of glass from a frame, so I took a couple pictures after gluing the back with Mod Podge.  An easy 500pc puzzle, this one only took me a weekend to complete.  I love the quality of Cobble Hill and have collected several more.  Can't wait to see this hanging up!

F.X. Schmid "Meeting at the Amazon Cafe" by Timothy Knepp

I loved the coloring, detail, and imaginative fancy of this puzzle, but unfortunately found it to be missing two pieces.  It was a thrift store find that I started while babysitting, so once again I'll never know if I bought it incomplete or lost pieces while working it.   The square shape was unusual, as was the 600 piece count.  A vintage from 1994, with artwork by Timothy Knepp.  I'll be looking for more F.X. Schmidt as the puzzle quality was great; nice, tight fitting pieces that hold together well.

 

Masterpieces "Hero's Helpers" by Jenny Newland

I couldn't find a more fitting puzzle to do over the 4th of July holiday than this one, honoring fire dogs.  It was bought from a puzzle club in Orange County, so I assumed it to be complete.  When I found that to be the case, I knew it had to be glued and framed to donate to my local fire station.  Stay tuned for pictures of the donation and where it gets placed.

As I am learning how best to glue and frame puzzles, the lesson I took from this one was that I only mod-podged the back of the puzzle, so that it would stay together.  If the front is glued and it is not hung in a temperature controlled area, the glue can melt to the front in places, giving the illusion of a "bubble" inside the glass.  

I'm hoping kids who tour the firehouse will have fun with this artwork.

Go! Games "Jack Russell Terrier"

I saw this puzzle on Ebay and splurged because it looked so much like my rat terrier babies.  The box is beautiful, but the image on the puzzle proved to be a bit faded, with poor resolution.  I thought it was vintage, till I did an online search for the puzzle company and found it was not that old.  The pieces were loose fit and often more than one piece seemed to fit a given spot, so it was hard to tell which were correct.  It sat on my kitchen table from mid April to late June, with little improvement, so I finally scrapped it and set it aside for another time when I have more help or patience.  I was ready to do something more fun, quicker and easier.  So I started another with a lower piece count and more vivid colors.  Maybe I'll come back to this guy another time.  I did realize I needed to simplify the pattern on my kitchen tablecloth, so I bought foamcore to use under the next puzzle for an even background.