SunsOut “Animal Kingdom” by Howard Robinson

Here's another wild animal themed puzzle, this one by SunsOut, titled "Animal Kingdom" from artist Howard Robinson.  At 300 pieces this is definitely a puzzle Landon could do on his own, though mom Jenny may have kept him company.  Its finished size is 24"by 18.  It's made in the USA.  I love the combination of animals and the tropical leaves lending a jungle feel. 

Landon and Jenny may be ready for a little puzzle break, after completing eight puzzles in just over a week.  I'm sure they'll be back with another puzzle before the school year ends. 

SunsOut "Lazy Afternoon" by Terry Doughty

Now that school's out for summer, Landon is blowing through his puzzle stash!  This SunsOut 100pc puzzle was a fun quick project for him, at 7" by 9".  Artist Terry Doughty created a whimsical scene of a bear lazing on a tree branch.  Even outdoors, Landon is using his brain power to solve puzzles. 

SunsOut "Waiting for the Mailman" by Susan Brabeau

Today I hosted a puzzle exchange event for meetup.com.  This was my second hosted event, the first being a few months ago.  But this time I cross-posted to several different groups, and so we had about ten people come and go, with about eight people who stayed for the full time.  In addition to trading puzzles, we also did a puzzle together while there.  It was one I'd brought that I had gotten for free on craigslist, SunsOut "Waiting for the Mailman" by Susan Brabeau.  A used puzzle, that turned out to be complete, with 500pc.  As a group, it took us about two hours or so to put together.  

It was so much fun to do a puzzle as a collaboration!  We had great conversation as we worked, and great beverages since we met at a local coffeehouse.  There were even people in the restaurant that approached us during and after our event that were interested to find out what we were doing, so we referred them to the main meetup group.  I hope we have a few new people join for next time.

I ended up with my first Eeboo brand puzzle from the exchange, so I'm excited to try that out.  And another White Mountain that is a collage of backyard birds which I'm excited to put together too.  And I donated five or six puzzles to the exchange, while only bringing home two, so I came out ahead in terms of household clutter.

SunsOut Item No. 38066 "Blueberry Lunch" by Kirk Reinert

I did this easy 300pc SunsOut puzzle in a single evening and glued it to donate to the local animal shelter.  I was a bunny mama before I had dogs, so I love this image!  The colors are really beautiful, with so many shades of green and blue.  The image is copyright 2011.  Once again Caitie was my perfect model.

At 18"x24" the frame was quite expensive, but the local Aaron Bros. got bought out by Micheals, and so I lucked out with the store closing sale.  

SunsOut Item No. 59356 "Pets' Picnic" by Howard Robinson

SunsOut "Pets' Picnic" is a wonderfully furry image that contains every possible domestic pet.  So I'm preserving this puzzle by gluing it with Mod Podge, then attaching foam core as a backing.  I plan to donate it to the local animal shelter to bring a little whimsical atmosphere to the building.  It measures 18" x 24" and is copyright 2006.

I received this puzzle as a freebie in a box off Craigslist.  Because it was only 300 pieces, I was able to complete it in one night of babysitting. 

SunsOut "A Friend in Need" by C.M. Coolidge

Another fun and quick postcard-sized puzzle with a classic image.  I'll be taking pics of the dogs with this one sometime soon.