Saturday, September 29, 2012

Hamburger and Hot Dogs - 1000 pieces


Photobucket


18 x 24, by Puzzlebug.  I'm framing this one for a present, but wouldn't it look great in a restaurant?!

Thursday, September 27, 2012

How To, Part Three

Just one more step I left out!

Usually by the time my puzzle looks like this:

Photobucket

I have sorted out all the rest of the pieces by shape - one on one side and one on the other, like so:

Photobucket

If there are more than two shapes, I sort them into groups with a little space between.  Most puzzles with odd shapes actually have six basic shapes.  Then there are puzzles like that Cats! one I did recently, which defies all puzzle standards :P

PS - Taking pictures of your puzzles can be helpful in different ways, like planning what you'll work next, noticing different shades, spotting the pieces you've knocked to the floor...

Monday, September 24, 2012

How To, Part Two

Next I find another color - in this case, I found a lot of the relish pieces while I was looking for lettuce pieces.  I sort them all out.

Photobucket

And this brings up another good thing to show - when you have a lot of pieces that look alike, you can usually sort them by shape to make life easier.  For Puzzlebug puzzles like this one, there are two fairly distinct shapes.  I sort the pieces into those two groups.  In this case, longs and shorts.

Photobucket

It makes it much quicker to put together - if you get stuck, you can try each shape until you find the missing piece.  This works really well for plain blue sky!
Soon you will have your part of the puzzle complete...

Photobucket

Which often leads to getting more in the same area done, especially if you're close to other distinctive colors.

Photobucket

And that's basically it. Just keep doing that until all of your puzzle is done. Easy-peasy! Back to progress pics - this puzzle's going down!

Sunday, September 23, 2012

How-To, Part One

I have been asked, not so much how to put a puzzle together, but if I do any organizing or anything.  I do, so I thought I'd show you guys with this big puzzle.

I always do the edge pieces (I call it the 'frame') first.

Photobucket

While I'm looking for the edge pieces, I lay most of the others out, right side up, some spread out and some in little piles.

Photobucket

Then I pick a part of the puzzle, near the edge, with a distinct, easy to find color.  For this puzzle, I chose the dark green of the lettuce on the burger.  I spread out all the pieces, and turn the last over if there are any left, and I pick out and put those pieces together as I go, so I don't get bored.

Photobucket

And then it all looks like this:

Photobucket

The frame all together, the pieces all face up, and the puzzle off to a bit of a start.  I'm very lucky to have an unused table big enough for this.  Part Two tomorrow!

Friday, September 21, 2012

Pleas for Affection - 300 Pieces

Photobucket


24x18, by Ceaco.  Fun and fast.  Very fast.  I like to only post one picture a day, but all of the previous pics were taken in the hour or so it took to finish this puzzle.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

9-20

Photobucket

The result of buying yard sale puzzles - some one felt the need to write 'The Dog House' on this one in permanent marker.  See it on the door?

Oh, well.  Wasn't planning on saving this one, anyway.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

9-19

Photobucket


When they said 'oversized pieces', they weren't joking.  Look at these things!


Photobucket

The one on the left is from the castle I just finished.

Monday, September 17, 2012

Results from Gluing

Back in July (I think) I tried gluing a puzzle for the first time.  I meant to post my results but I forgot.  Here's the puzzle:


Photobucket

It's not too bad, but it is wavy, especially down the middle.  This is because I followed the instructions and laid it on newspaper.  The newspaper was wavy, and this puzzle wasn't heavy enough to flatten it.  Since I'd already started gluing when I saw this, I couldn't stop.  I've glued more since, and used a large piece of sturdy cardboard with cling wrap on it. Much better results; unfortunately I've given all those puzzles away.  The next one I do, I'll remember to take a finished pic.

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Neuschwanstein Castle, Germany - 500 Pieces

Photobucket


19x14 - unknown company, but since it came in a bag and the picture is like it is, my guess would be that it came from one of those 10-in-a-box puzzle sets, like you can buy at WalMart.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Next Project

Photobucket

This one's a classic - I've seen so many puzzles of this castle but this is the first I'm actually doing.  I also have a 1000 piece puzzle at a slightly different angle that I will get around to someday :D  I bought this puzzle in a baggie at a yard sale, so here's hoping it has all the pieces!

Monday, September 10, 2012

Cats! Cats! Cats! - 1000 pieces

Photobucket

30x24. by Springbok.  I paid $2 for this puzzle at a yard sale.  Despite the frustration, it was worth it!  This one was a real challenge.  Those horribly shaped, worn and frayed pieces!  How does it manage to look so shiny now that it's done?!

Saturday, September 8, 2012

9-8

Photobucket

These pieces have such weird shapes!  And this puzzle has also been claimed by my sister; she wants to hang it on her wall :D

Friday, September 7, 2012

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Like Little Potato Chips

Since my cat puzzle is taking so long, I got this little set out.

Photobucket

Tiny puzzles like these are kinda like that old Lays commercial - you can't do just one!  But I'm going to try to just do one at a time when the other puzzle gets to me, so they will be randomly popping up in the next few days.

Monday, September 3, 2012

9-3

Okay, so this one is taking a while.  It took me two days to finish the outline, one whole cat, one almost whole cat (needs its last ear) one partial cat and a few bits of cats.

Photobucket

It's getting a tiny bit easier as I go, but I think this one is going to take a little while.  The pieces are also old and worn, and sometimes hard to push together.  This is the last time this puzzle will be put together; I don't think it will make it through another time and my sister has claimed it for her wall, so its new destiny is to be finished and glued.

Sunday, September 2, 2012

9-2

Okay, so I don't have the edges completely done.  They look like this:

Photobucket

I'm giving up for now because I just can't find the other pieces.  It's not that I think they're not there, it's just that there are dozens upon dozens of pieces (see almost ALL of those on the table?) that look like this:

Photobucket

One of those is an edge piece.  Can you guess which one?

Also, I could only find two corners.  I was about to give up and say they were gone, when I realized that a puzzle as wonky as this probably had some trick to at least one corner.  I was right; the two missing corners turned out to be four different pieces.  Like so:

Photobucket

This puzzle is being really hard.  So yay, a challenge!  I'm going to just work on the individual cats, though, and let the remaining edge pieces turn up as they may.

PS - The edge piece was the smaller one, on the left.  The other one belongs to a cat in the middle of the puzzle.