Puzzle Hobby Magazine December 2021 Issue

Supporting Women Puzzle Preneurs

PUZZLEHOBBY.COM

INTRO

Welcome to the second edition and Christmas issue of the Puzzle Hobby Magazine.

There's an in depth article with Lori Schory, who is dedicated to creating some of the most popular jigsaw puzzle images. She shares her 'side' of the jigsaw puzzle and the process she uses while planning new ideas.

Another favourite in this edition is the Disney Memorial Moments and an up-to-date Q&A with Anne D. Williams, author of the two most historical jigsaw puzzle books on the market today.

Cover Image: Christmas Balls by Cobble Hill Puzzle Company, 500 pieces, Size 26.625" x 19.25" Back Image: Hill of a Lot of Snowmen by Cobble Hill Puzzles, 500 Pieces, Size 26.625" x 19.25"

Y BB O H E L Z Z U P W A S G I J

This magazine focuses on supporting women who are dedicated to producing and marketing puzzles in one form or another. For them, we are grateful.

Puzzle Hobby Magazine

EDITOR Linda Richard ASSOCIATE EDITOR Judithlynn Krusky CONTRIBUTORS JaCaRou Puzzles Lori Schory Anne D. Williams RockRecipies - Barry Parsons Disney- My Jigsaw Journal Sherri Demos Ceaco Puzzle Scoop Puzzle Peak Grateful House ByAllison Arte et marte Puzzles PuzzleUp Puzzles

Table of contents About

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JaCaRou Puzzles

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JaCaRou Puzzle Company was founded by Anie Maltais. Six years ago she started out independently with one image and turned it into a very successful small business with puzzles selling around the world.

Disney Memorial Moments

My Jigsaw Journal Puzzler assembled 42320 pieces to complete the Disney Memorial Moments jigsaw puzzle by Ravensburger.

Wentworth Wooden Puzzles Contact:

info.puzzlehobby@gmail.com www.puzzlehobby.com

VOL. 1 - ISSUE 2 © 2021

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When a company like Wentworth Wooden Puzzles asks you to help them celebrate Christmas early, a Puzzler instantly says yes.

Two Christmas puzzles are reviewed here.

About Puzzle Hobby Pays It Forward Goal: Support Women Entrepreneurs in their jigsaw puzzle related business endeavours. The contents here will be a useful resource for marketing purposes and connections with other possible partnerships.

Puzzle Hobby has been immersed in jigsaw puzzles for the last seven years and has seen thousands of jigsaw puzzle images and read many articles on the topic.

Also during that time, there have been several women who have taken on the challenges of producing their own jigsaw puzzle images, products and/or businesses.

Then, with social media, there have been many women who have taken on the role of Social Media Marketing Influencers for jigsaw puzzle companies and have become quite successful.

Puzzle Hobby Magazine will continue to promote and support the endeavours of these women Puzzle Preneurs.

Linda Richard Editor

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Christmas Message to Our Readers To all our puzzle friends and group members, we would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued contributions, participation and support for our website, Facebook pages and Facebook Groups.

We wish you all the best this Christmas and a safe, healthy and happy Holiday Season.

The following video is a lovely display of Christmas decor and puzzle images that have been accumulated over the past seasons....enjoy

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Supporting Empowered Women Puzzle Preneurs The women presented here all have one thing in common, their LOVE of puzzles, and have found their niche in the puzzle world.

Lori Schory Puzzle Artist

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Anne D. Williams Puzzle Historian

PUZZLE HOBBY MAGAZINE

Shelley Davis Puzzle Artist

Linda Richard Puzzler/Author

Is this You? Contact Us

Supporting Empowered Women Puzzle Preneurs Each woman has their interpretation of how to express their passion for puzzles which helps promote the benefits of jigsaw puzzles to the world.

Anie Maltais JaCaRou Puzzles

PuzzleUp.org Wooden Puzzles

Mari and Eva Marieva Puzzles

Jamie Lane Grateful House

Lauren Altman PuzzlePeak.com

Arte et Marte Puzzles

Is this You? Contact Us

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Author of the Month Anne D. Williams - Jigsaw Puzzle Historian

The Jigsaw Puzzle Book, Piecing Together A History Jigsaw Puzzles An Illustrated History & Price Guide The following email interview was greatly appreciated. Here Anne shares her present thoughts on jigsaw puzzles and more.

Photo credit: Rick Tucker 1. Do you still assemble jigsaw puzzles?

Yes, of course! I have been doing them since I was a toddler and there’s no reason to stop now.

I don’t buy as many as I used to - I have run out of room. But the senior living community where I am has several common areas where there are always jigsaw puzzles in progress. I rarely pass one of the puzzle tables without stopping to help put some pieces into place.

My favorites have always been the hand-cut wooden puzzles, especially the ones with figure pieces in them. The crafters who made them in the past and those who continue to do so today put a tremendous amount of creativity and artistry into their cutting designs.

The best ones incorporate little tricks, such as divided corners and cutting along colored lines, to keep puzzlers on their toes.

I enjoy puzzles with attractive images. In the past I have occasionally slogged though puzzles that are all one color just so I could say I had done it - remember Springbok Editions’ “Little Red Riding Hood’s Hood”? But in my view, that is just too much work for not much gain.

2. What have you been doing for the past 20 years with your life?

When I retired from my day job of teaching, I had more time to concentrate on my other job - researching, documenting, and preserving the history of American jigsaw puzzles their creators and their users. I spent about five years searching for a permanent home for my lifelong collection of more than 10,000 puzzles. I was delighted, for several reasons, when most of them wound up at the Strong Museum in Rochester, New York.

First, the Museum is the premier destination in North America for anyone who is interested in the history of play and playthings. It houses the National Toy Hall of Fame, which inducted the jigsaw puzzle into its ranks in 2002. The Strong’s displays, Archives and Library are a must visit destination for researchers, scholars, and interested puzzlers. Their Library and Archive collection includes toy trade magazines and reference books, tens of thousands of historic trade catalogs, plus the papers of important inventors and entrepreneurs in the field of play.

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author of the Month Second, the Museum collects all types of jigsaw puzzles - old and new, wood and cardboard, children's and adults' - so I did not have to scatter my collection among places with more limited goals.

Third, the Strong provides great access. The staff has cataloged all the puzzles and is putting photos of them all online, so people worldwide can view them. Of course, they also welcome visitors to the galleries, and (by appointment) to the storage. Best of all, the curators and staff at the Museum are great people - knowledgeable, helpful, and fun.

About 7,000 of my puzzles went to Rochester in 2014. Since then I have been continuing my research on the thousands of companies that made jigsaw puzzles over the last 200 years in the United States, then transferring it to the Strong Museum Archives. Organizing reams and reams of notes to make it easier for future researchers to use them is slow work. I think I am now almost three-quarters done.

Additionally, I still get many emails each year with questions from puzzlers around the world, and I take the time to answer each one individually.

3. What is your opinion of the jigsaw puzzle market of today compared to your collections back in the day?

The development of the Internet over the last 25 years, the evolution of laser cutting, and the pandemic craze have all had major impacts of the jigsaw puzzle market.

When I first began serious collecting in the late 1970s, I searched for antique and vintage jigsaws at flea markets, antique malls, and shows, all in the northeastern US. Twenty years later at the advent of eBay and online auctions made it easy to search more widely and to find puzzles from different parts of the country and even from other countries.

Laser cutting of wood jigsaw puzzles started in 1984 at Robert Longstaff Workshops in England. High equipment costs in the early years meant that few other companies followed suit. Wentworth came on the scene in 1994, and Liberty Puzzles in 2005. It has been only in the last five to eight years that there has been an explosion of new laser-cutting puzzle companies along with a corresponding burst of creativity in images and cutting designs.

Etsy is notable as an incubator space for home to dozens of small scale makers of wood puzzles.

On the demand side of the equation, the changes came even more recently. Covid-19 and the ensuing lock downs stimulated an immense interest in stay-at-home entertainment.

The public wanted the comfort of a traditional plaything - a puzzle that could be solved, in contrast to the seemingly uncontrollable pandemic. Today it seems a new company is popping up every week with a mouth watering selection of cardboard puzzles. They feature carefully selected images by new artists - photographs are out. It is fairly easy to outsource the manufacturing of a cardboard puzzle. And the Internet and social media are all that is needed for marketing a new innovative design.

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author of the Month

4. When it comes to your 'Jigsaw Puzzles, An Illustrated History and Price Guide' book, would you say the value method used there is still applicable these days?

The published values are definitely out of date. After all I wrote that book more than 30 years ago, when the market for collectible and antique puzzles was very different. Values for all categories of puzzles have increased over time, but some have increased more than others. For example, prices for the best of the twentieth century hand-cut wooden jigsaw puzzles (Par, Pastime, Falls) have gone up five-fold, whereas a nineteenth century child’s puzzle may have only doubled in price.

Within a category of puzzles, however, relative values have remained about the same.

Among advertising puzzles, for example, a Dr Seuss “Foiled by Essolube” puzzle still brings three times as much as a Procter & Gamble “Professor Quackenbush” puzzle.

5. Do you know which is the most valuable puzzle out there 'today' and what is its value?

The Guinness Book of World Records has listed two records in the past, both in US dollars.

1993 edition of the book, most expensive puzzle: the limited edition “Dollhouse Village,” a set of 5 large hand-cut and hand-painted linked puzzles, totalling about 3,000 pieces, available from Stave Puzzles for $15,000. If a copy came on the market today, I expect it would sell for much more.

2005 edition of the book, most expensive jigsaw puzzle sold for a charitable art auction to benefit a non-profit organization: A one-of-a-kind handcrafted wooden puzzle of Golden Retrievers, “The Outing,” made by 92-year-old Rachel Page Elliott of Carlisle, Massachusetts to benefit The Golden Retriever Foundation, for $27,000. The 467-piece puzzle contained numerous figure pieces of birds, dogs and other animals.

"Hibiscus Time in Bermuda," a Parker Brothers Pastime Puzzle, made for Josephine Flood's Picture Puzzle Mart, circa 1935.

Note the irregular bottom edge and many elaborate figure pieces.

Photo by Anne D. Williams _____________________________________ A Parker Brothers children's puzzle circa 1905.

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Author of the Month The Jigsaw Puzzle Book, Piecing Together A History

by Anne D. Williams Linda Richard Review This book is by far the most interesting non-fiction and pleasurable read I have had since I cannot remember.

I am simply and continuously amazed at all the different jigsaw puzzles that appear nonstop in our jigsaw puzzle world. BUT, I can tell you this.... Anne sheds a fantastic light on the early history and fact finding timeline of jigsaw puzzles and writes it in such an organized flow which gave me a very long and enjoyable read.

It's rare I do not want a book to end but I think I could have read this one if it continued on to 500 pages or more. She provided many superb interesting details and a plethora amount of information associated with jigsaw puzzles.

I actually felt myself evolving with the history of ancient jigsaw puzzles to the era of the early stages of computer jigsaw puzzles - that's how it flowed - along with excellent images and tidbits of this and that - AND she coated it with a her own personal experiences associated with jigsaw puzzles which attached a human connection to the reader.

Also included were a couple of appendix's and one was of particular interest. It was titled Making Jigsaw Puzzles for Fun or for Sale. It says (quote from book) "It introduces the basics of modern puzzle making, provides an overview of the puzzle industry and lists some additional resources that those who are considering a business venture should consult."

It touches on the cutting of wooden jigsaw puzzles and patterns while following up to computerized technologies.

There is also a section with resources for Puzzle Entrepreneurs which provides titles of books and magazines to research should you be interested in this idea.

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Author of the Month The second Appendix is filled with several websites for puzzlers. It has links for museums, libraries, antiques, collectables, history, wooden, retailers, custom, virtual, business and trade magazines.

As I have said at the beginning of my review this was like having a pleasant conversation with another jigsaw puzzle hobbyist. I highly recommend reading her book if you would like to take a closer look at your passion.

This is the type of book to take on vacation, a bus trip or an airplane....it is quite delightful and an informative light read.

Jigsaw Puzzles An Illustrated History and Price Guide 1990, 362 Pages

by Anne D. Williams

Linda Richard Review Does your jigsaw puzzle hobby hold a vintage gem or have you located a very rare looking one?

Whichever the case may be, you will have a better understanding of the value attached to it by referring to this book.

Keeping in mind the date of the book, you can look beyond that because a great portion of information in the book is based on details that apply to value. Take the following example.

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Author of the Month Using Chapter 4, the value of jigsaw puzzles is broken down as follows (quoted from book) general criteria for puzzle prices visual appeal and subject matter craftsmanship condition rarity manufacturer and historical interest size type of market state of the market today.....and the list goes on....

So now you can see your 'prize-puzzle' value is based on more than just the age. This is common among collector's items such as stamps, coins, baseball cards etc. The point being shared here is that your puzzle has value based on several conditions.

So where do you find out how much your jigsaw puzzle is worth today? Please scroll further down to the links for more information on that topic.

However, IF you want to review a price guide or look for a particular puzzle within a certain era, Anne definitely has it covered. The book illustrates 750 photos with several in colour. Each photo is categorized into the price guide on page 326 with a dollar figure beside it. Note the value is based on the time of writing but it will give you a 'general' idea.

I think it was important for her to start with the brief history, then a follow up with the major manufacturers in the industry and finally 'How to Develop a Jigsaw Puzzle Collection'. That brought a lot of clarification, solid background and built depth into me as a collector and hobbyist. So now I have been 'schooled' on the subject.

Chapters 5 to 15 inclusive presents the pictures (some sections in colour) of some of the most extremely rare puzzles in the world's collection. It's like viewing an exhibition in a book! I glossed over every picture and read each detail as the eras unfolded before my eyes. So many interesting images, cutting styles and geographical locations where they were produced, were chronologically presented to the reader.

Anne then continues to cover puzzle related items such as postcards, books and games followed by an outlook for puzzles in the future. The last section of her book has lists of the selected Bibliography, American Puzzle Manufacturers and an Index of Puzzle Titles which I find most handy and have referenced often. Personally I found this book to completely cover all my questions regarding the value of jigsaw puzzles. If you are interested in locating this book you may like to try eBay or some of the online stores.

You may contact Anne D. Williams via email puzzles@bates.edu PUZZLE HOBBY MAGAZINE

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Puzzle of the Month

HOLIDAY CANDY

BY COBBLE HILL PUZZLE COMPANY ARTIST : ANDREA MISTRETTA 500 PIECES 24" X 18"

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Puzzle of the Month Finish Quality: Smooth matte Box Quality: N/A Sealed Pieces Inside Box: N/A Was this purchased new? no Price: Swapped with a Puzzler Recommend Level: High Time: 19.5 hours Overall Experience: Great Cut Quality: Great Board Quality: Firm Shape Cut: Random and various sizes Image Quality: Superb Hardest Area: All areas were tricky Puzzle Dust? None I did manage to get the border done quickly enough having the edge pieces being the most helpful. I seemed to do a LOT of sorting according to patterns on the candy. So off to the side of the puzzle I had basically set up the pieces where I thought they might go. It was like building 2 puzzles. That way I was able to use the shapes of the puzzles to fit on the puzzle with the border completed.

By building a secondary puzzle using the colored patterns into the approximate position on a separate board certainly helped but was extremely slow going. I did not want to clutter the 'main' puzzle image with so many pieces as that was simply not getting me anywhere fast.

It seemed like I built the puzzle from the bottom up which is not my 'norm' but my usual puzzling form was not working. I did not want to become frustrated with it because this puzzle was on my wish list for a very long time so when the opportunity arose for me to acquire it by swapping with another Puzzler, I jumped right on it.

However, for a 500 piece puzzle which can take 4-5 hours turned into almost 20 hours.

Yes, this one certainly is a challenge but well appreciated on my wall during this Christmas season!

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Christmas Mood

Some interesting objects that will bring life to your house

Home Alone

Christmas Eve

Stay updated to what is trending on our website

Get to know amazing artist's that are changing the world

PuzzleUp Christmas Collection Page

Christmas wooden jigsaw puzzles are a wonderful way to spend time with the family during the festive season or as a bit of peace and quiet just for you. Several puzzle makers bring out a new Limited Edition Christmas jigsaw puzzle each year, so the stock of these items are strictly limited - don't miss out.

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Christmas Mood Christmas is truly on the way! Turn on your favourite Christmas songs playlist and do our Spirit of Christmas jigsaw puzzle. These unique whimsy shapes will become a perfect gift for both ‘I love Christmas puzzle’ geeks and those new to jigsaws.

Delight your loved ones with an eco-friendly Christmas gift jigsaw puzzle that can be done alone or in a group. Order jigsaw puzzle Christmas mood to help your kids get off their phones and boost critical thinking, logic, and memory instead!

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Christmas gift jigsaw puzzle perfectly takes away the boredom that sometimes creeps in during the time leading up to Christmas. Plus, Christmas Day wooden puzzle Home Alone is available with 44% OFF!

Christmas Eve May this Christmas be merry and bright with our new Winter Wonderland round jigsaw puzzle!

“I love Christmas puzzle,” both kids and adults say as they put the last piece and see how the vibrant imagery comes to life.

High-definition prints on eco-friendly wood make our Christmas Eve jigsaw puzzle a safe present for people of all ages. The wooden Christmas jigsaw puzzles become perfect season gifts for the keenest puzzlers and those new to this activity. If you’re looking for Christmas wooden puzzles for the Holidays, with our puzzles the boredom will never strike!

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Lori Schory The Artist's Side Of The Puzzle When it comes to jigsaw puzzles, more often than not, many puzzlers do not pay much attention to the artist, yours truly included. However, the more puzzles you do, you may tend to start favouring Artists like I did. The following is an in depth look at how this Artist's life gravitated towards a successful career designing jigsaw puzzle images. Special thanks to Lori Schory for sharing her side of jigsaw puzzles during an email interview.

Q. For our Readers, which state do you live in?

Southeastern Wisconsin. I was born in Chicago and raised in Park Ridge, IL Q. Where did you grow up?

I lived in Park Ridge until I went to Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, IL, and enrolled as a Fine Art major. I graduated in 1981 with a Masters of Fine Arts degree and moved to New Jersey where I lived for the next 6 years. I went there to explore career possibilities in the art world in New York City.

Q. What kind of education do you have that gives you the abilities for your artwork?

I was introduced to art as a child, and grew up in a very artistic household. I was heavily influenced by my Mother and Father (both graduates of Pratt Institute in Brooklyn NY). My Father was an industrial designer and my Mother was a stay at home Mom, and art hobbyist. I was most influenced by watching my Mother paint portraits and still- lives and she would give art lessons to myself and my school-mates in our home. She taught us perspective drawing, rendering with various art mediums, and composition.

I spent as much time as possible in art and photography classes in High School and won art scholarships that allowed for the continuation of my art education in college. The art program at Northern Illinois University offered an array of excellent artists/instructors who introduced me to many styles of art and painting and drawing techniques.

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Lori Schory The Artist's Side Of The Puzzle In 1997, my eldest brother, Kenneth bought me my very first computer and graphics art software. At first I was intimidated, and didn’t have a clue as to how I would put it to good use. Eventually I hired a tutor who was familiar with Corel Draw and Corel Photo-Paint. His use of the program was geared more towards designing pamphlets, menus and business cards. I had to teach myself how to apply the techniques I learned from him to my needs and way of working.

Q. Did you travel a lot and which images were created as a result of your travels?

I have traveled but not extensively.

In 2011 I went to Ireland, England and Scotland with Diane Skilling (the owner of Sunsout) to take photographs for the Irish themed puzzles I designed for her.

We also attended the Licensing Show in London.

I have also been on several cruises which inspired me greatly. The Caribbean Cruise and Panama Canal cruise inspired many of my tropical themed puzzles.

The Alaskan cruise was also an inspiration just to experience another part of the world.

A trip to Fort Myers Florida also was inspirational for the more tropical themes in my work.

My return trip to New York City in 2004-- to attend the Licensing Show at the Jacob Javits Center was my introduction to art licensing. I met some wonderful artists and agents during that trip who have been an ongoing inspiration to me and helped me get through some difficult times while trying to establish myself and search for my niche in the art licensing world.

Lance Klass from Porterfield’s Fine Art Licensing encouraged me to attend the Licensing show after I contacted him through email inquiring about how to get started in the art licensing business. I met Howard Robinson and Kevin Walsh at that show and they have also been very encouraging and influential in my pursuit of creating artwork for licensing.

Q. What did you do for a living before you decided to get into art licensing?

While attending undergraduate school, I was employed as curator of the Museum of Anthropology at NIU. In graduate school, I worked as an art instructor/TA. I also had a job as Merchandising Coordinator for a chain of 6 record stores. (Back when vinyl-records were the means by which people purchased music!) Gosh! I feel like a dinosaur! HA! While living in New Jersey, I sold color separations to magazine publishers for a printing company in New York City. I also tended bar while apprenticing for a local sign painter. I considered the craft of hand-lettering an art form of sorts and it truly was. When I returned to Chicago in 1986, I worked freelance for various sign shops throughout Chicago and the surrounding suburbs before venturing off on my own as “Lori’s Signs & Graphics” in 1988.

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Lori Schory The Artist's Side Of The Puzzle Q. Have you always identified yourself as an artist?

Ever since I was a youngster, I loved to paint and draw. I was inspired by watching my Mother paint with watercolors and oil paints in our home-- and she also took me to Park Ridge Art League meetings and outdoor art exhibits in Park Ridge Il. The art league regularly invited visiting local artists to their meetings.The visiting artists would demonstrate and openly discuss their artwork. My Mother also took me to the art Institute museum in Chicago and to art galleries to see the works of artists throughout history and contemporary artists. As a child I had an easel with a large roll of white paper and plenty of materials with which to sketch and draw. That and a set of Prismacolor colored pencils were some of my favorite “toys”. My parents had an extensive library in our home of drawing techniques, artist biographies and art history that I loved to page through and read.

In High school (Maine South) I had some wonderful art and photography instructors. They, too, were a great inspiration for me and whenever possible I would spend extra studio hours in the art classroom and photo dark room. I won many awards and art scholarships that inspired me to continue to develop my art skills in college. I dreamed of being a successful fine-artist making my living painting anything I felt like painting. Perhaps I was a bit idealistic as a younger person, and I was repeatedly warned that I should have a backup plan if I were to attempt to pursue a career in art. Like marrying a prince! HA! All kidding aside, I did consider becoming a college art instructor but that never materialized.

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Lori Schory The Artist's Side Of The Puzzle

Licensing Q. How did you become interested in art licensing in the first place?

Before I got into art licensing, I was self- employed for many years as a sign painter and mural artist. I worked freelance for many sign shops throughout the Chicago area and had a shop of my own in Lake Geneva, WI. I also painted realistic murals in peoples’ homes.

While working in the Lake Geneva area I hand lettered many boats, stock cars and vehicles for contractors. I also hand-painted many bill-boards which included pictorials.

After losing my sign shop in a fire in 2001, I was eventually forced into finding another way to employ myself as an artist. At that time… I was also employed traveling the South painting signs and murals for theme restaurants owned by Carlson Restaurants Worldwide.

I traveled from West Palm Beach, Florida to Dallas TX and beyond whenever there was a new restaurant under construction.

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The same year I lost my shop in the fire, I lost my travelling sign-painting job due to 911. After the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, the theme restaurants were sold off to private owners who didn’t require or care about paying extra to have lettering done by hand in their establishments. I tried to keep my sign painting business going, but the invention of vinyl letters made my craft extinct, and I couldn’t compete with the cost of vinyl letters vs hand lettering.

The writing was on the wall that handpainted signs were not the wave of the future. I said to myself, “Reinvent yourself or else!”

While exploring different ways to make a living as an artist, I was reading the 2003 publication of “Artist’s & Graphic Designer’s Market” (a guidebook for freelance artists) and I came across an article written by Lance Klass (Owner of Porterfields’ Fine Art Licensing) about the world of art licensing.

After reading his article, I had a strong feeling that this was the direction I should head into if I was to reinvent myself in an art-related field. I couldn’t imagine trying to work for someone else in a non-art related field. I knew I would be facing a huge challenge, and I would need to educate myself as to what kind of art I would have to create in order to be marketable in a completely different field from the one I had been in for so many years.

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Q. Who were/are your biggest influences and inspirations in the art licensing world?

At the 2004 art licensing show in New York City, I met Lance Klass (the author of the article I mentioned).

Had it not been for Lance, I never would have attended the 2004 Licensing Show, and I would not have met people like Howard Robinson, etc. I stumbled upon both Howard Robinson and Kevin Walsh’s booth the very last day of the 3-day show.

Howard took the time to look at what little artwork I had to show him and he then gave me the phone number of Elaine Citron of Cypress Fine Art Licensing to contact.

I mentioned to Howard I was looking for an agent to guide me and represent me as I didn’t know where to begin in this strange-new-world I was investigating. I would have to say these folks were top on my list of people who are responsible for giving me the strength and encouragement to make my art licensing career develop into the reality it is today.

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Lori Schory The Artist's Side Of The Puzzle One thing led to the next, and when I eventually contacted Diane Skilling of Sunsout Inc. to see if she might be interested in my art for her jigsaw puzzles, she nearly knocked me over when she said, “yes!”. She gave me my very first assignment designing a Hummingbird shaped jigsaw puzzle. That opportunity was a huge stepping stone for my inspiration and self-confidence making art for jigsaw puzzles. Diane Skilling has since become my best customer, and she and I have learned to work in sync together. Working on art for her was a huge challenge at first as she was very strict about what she was looking for. Working for Diane made me work extra- hard to learn to create the type of imagery puzzlers are looking for.

Cronan Minton of White Mountain Puzzles was also a very strong influence when he decided to accept some of my early art for his line of jigsaw puzzles.

Elaine Citron was hesitant at first to represent me as I didn’t have a portfolio of the type of artwork she was accustomed to or able to sell. After finally agreeing to work with me, she spent hours and hours on the phone with me --directing me and educating me as to what type of art I needed to create for her markets such as wall décor, greeting cards and garden flags to name a few.

Elaine taught me how to research products on my own and study what kind of imagery works best for different types of products before even beginning to create the art.

Elaine agreed to represent me nonexclusively which allowed me the freedom to explore other areas of art licensing on my own.

Elaine was able to license some of my early art primarily for products outside of jigsaw puzzles.

That was my first introduction to actually earning income as an art licensor!

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Lori Schory The Artist's Side Of The Puzzle Q. Why did you end up mostly licensing jigsaw puzzles?

I found that over time, the artwork I was doing for jigsaw puzzles matched my style and sensibilities best, and I could work more freely with a wide variety of subjects. I enjoy telling a visual story through my imagery and that was most appropriate and encouraged more in the world of jigsaw puzzle art than in other areas of art licensing. Other areas such as fabric designing, decorative wall art, or home related products relied more on current trends, and didn’t allow me as much leeway for creative expression. It’s like anything else… you do it long enough, you find out what you are best at. For me it was jigsaw puzzle art and the positive feedback and repeat orders I was getting from my customers that inspired me to focus mainly in that area. Also, I began spending so much of my time designing for jigsaw puzzles that I didn’t have extra time to design for other products as well.

Q. What other products have your licensed artwork?

I have licensed my art for quilting fabric, wall décor, thermal tumblers and light switch plates, tile murals, mural wall paper, bath décor, cross-stitch patterns and greeting cards, T-shirts, coasters and decorative clocks. Also, stationery and those decorative stained-glass window décor. None of those areas were very lucrative for me as I never licensed enough art to those companies to make it profitable. I guess that's the reason they usually preclude the word artist with starving! Ha! Q. How many puzzles have you licensed over the years?

I have licensed over 300 jigsaw puzzle designs since 2006 when I licensed my very first design to Sunsout Inc. (15 years ago!) Many of my designs have expired their usual 3-year contract but some have stayed in the marketplace for over 12 years. There are instances where a company will re-license an expired design that had been licensed by another company, but that doesn’t happen often. I save pictures of my licensed designs in folders on my computer by year, so I can reference how many puzzles I have licensed in a year and of which puzzle images were licensed in what year. This year I have licensed 26 new jigsaw puzzle designs. I just counted 30 in my 2020 folder. It takes me anywhere from 2 days to a month of 12-hour days (or more) to complete a design. Now that my library of objects has grown, time spent masking and digitally enhancing images is shortened which allows for finished pieces to be completed much faster. For instance, if I am asked for a collage of butterflies…I can put that together very quickly because I have a library consisting of hundreds of butterflies already ready to be digitally placed into the design.

Some designs require me to go out and research a particular theme which involves time away from the computer to collect the imagery necessary to complete the design. In which case the art may take a month or even longer.

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Lori Schory The Artist's Side Of The Puzzle Q. What is your advice to anyone wanting to get into art licensing?

My advice to anyone that would like to make a career from art licensing is to start out with enough money saved to live on while you are trying to find your niche. I would say at least two years of expenses.

Either that… or have another source of income so you can focus on creating a lot of art work with less pressure and stress.

Study products in stores that use artwork on them, and see where your artwork might be fitting.

If Licensing shows are going to be happening…try to attend the shows’ art licensing section. Surtex (in NYC) and Licensing (in Las Vegas) are two shows I have attended which were helpful.

Create a large body of artwork for the given area of art licensing you would like to work in. The more artwork you have to show the more likely some of it will be accepted.

Research the different companies and find out to whom you should send your artwork.

Contact the art directors of the different companies and introduce yourself. Ask them if they would like to see what you have to offer before sending low resolution images of your artwork. Read up on art licensing. Books about art licensing can be found at Amazon.

Read this article by Lance Klass of Porterfield’s Fine Art Licensing: https://www.artlicensing.biz/ Go to art licensing agents’ websites and study the artists they represent.

Be prepared to have your artwork rejected more times than not. Don’t give up if your art isn’t accepted immediately. Be willing and able to make adjustments to your artwork if the client wants to make changes. Deliver revisions to your client in a timely manner and be dependable and easy to work with. The client is always right. Do not try to argue with them or convince them you know better what will work for them.

Be proficient in a digital art program so you can provide high-resolution artwork to the client that is the correct size for their product. I happen to use Corel Graphics Suite/Corel Draw and Corel Photo-Paint however the industry standard is Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photo-Shop. If your artwork is not created in a digital art program, know how to present high quality representations of your artwork to the client.

Equip yourself with a high-powered computer that can handle large files if you are creating art for jigsaw puzzles as they are often times very large files. It is good to have a technician who is familiar with that and can assist if you run into technical difficulties.

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Lori Schory The Artist's Side Of The Puzzle Work with an agent if you find one that will represent you, but note you will pay them a percentage of your advances and royalties for their hard work. If you can sign a nonexclusive contract with an agent, you will be able to license to companies on your own as well as through your agent.

Keep accurate records of your contacts and all business dealings and follow up with them in a timely manner. Be certain to keep good records of your expenses and earnings, and understand the tax-implications of being a self-proprietor. You will have to pay estimated taxes quarterly, and you will have to pay your own social security taxes in addition to income tax.

Get a good accountant. If you are fairly young, contribute now to an IRA and SEP savings plan. You will be glad you did when it comes time for you to retire.

I spend so much time isolated in the studio and I was never a solitary type of individual.

One drawback of the art business is isolation. Make the conscious effort to get outdoors and make time for socializing with friends as much as you can.It's a tough business and it's not for everyone but it can also be very rewarding!

Work hard…be polite and pray a lot!

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Lori Schory The Artist's Side Of The Puzzle How Designs Are Created Q. “Where do you get the photos for your designs?”

I like to take photos whenever I am out and about. It seems that everything and anything is fair game for me to photograph as I never know what I will need in the way of objects to include in my designs. I am constantly adding to my “library” of masked objects. That is, photographs that I digitally remove the object I want to save from its background, and enhance it to make it the best it can be for a potential design. When I finish isolating the part of the photo I want to save for future use, I save the object with a transparent background in a named folder where I can find it again when I need it. I have hundreds of folders on my computer from “Barns” to “Trucks” to “Kittens” to “Flowers”, etc.

I go to flea markets in search of unique and interesting things. That is oftentimes things that are vintage or antique-- as I find they have more character than newer things. I photograph toys, tools, barnwood, costumes, shoes…you name it. Thrift stores, museums and garage sales are also great places for me to find interesting things to photograph.

I love to include animals in my puzzle designs. Especially ones with character and personality that shines and make the designs come alive. To acquire photographs of different animals I like to go to the county fairs, dog shows and cat shows and wherever else different animals can be found.

I spend a lot of time in the various animal barns at the fairs taking hundreds of photographs --striving to capture the personality and different expressions of the animals.

It is oftentimes a huge challenge to get the right shot…and to get the animals to cooperate!! It is oftentimes a huge challenge to get the right shot…and I enjoy the challenge of actually getting a good photograph that is in focus! If it appears that the animal is smiling or has a funny face…that’s even better as that can add humour to a design.

Those are the photos that inspire me when I’m thinking of new designs and funny animal images are attention-grabbers and can delight and amuse the puzzler.

Sometimes people send me photos of their pets for me to potentially use in my designs.

They get a “kick” of my making their pet “famous”!

I also use photographs in my designs because for me it is a much more efficient way of working. I used to hand-paint all the objects in my designs for jigsaw puzzles, and found that method to be too time-consuming.

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Lori Schory The Artist's Side Of The Puzzle When I design for a jigsaw puzzle, I intentionally use many-many objects in order to make each of the individual puzzle pieces interesting to look at. I prefer lots of objects in a puzzle design over large swatches of a single color or texture. My thought is that complexity of design gives more clues for the puzzler to find in order to match the pieces together..

I prefer realism over abstraction, therefore photographs are the best way I know how to capture true realism.

I used to spend up to 8 hours painting one realistic butterfly!!! Some of my designs have 50 or more butterflies in them. I would be in the poor-house painting butterflies if I depended on hand-painted objects for my designs.

Oftentimes, the art director will want changes made to a design. (“Take out the black cat and replace it with a yellow one”—Or put a red barn in there instead of a white one” for instance) By working digitally…I can quickly make revisions without having to start the design over from scratch every time a change is requested.

In my opinion, the story I am telling and the attractiveness of the composition are key aspects of a good puzzle design. I think the final designs are just as engaging when I use photographs as when I hand-paint the image--. The time I save by not hand-painting objects is used to tweak the composition, lighting, contrast, etc. to strive to make the overall design as attractive as I can make it.

Q. How do you come up with such creative ideas?

A lot of my ideas come when I am either getting into sleep-mode or just waking up. I go to bed thinking of a particular idea... and wonder how I can enhance it. Then if I'm thinking about that before I go to sleep...I often wake up with a creative solution!!!.

First of all, I think of a setting...much like a theatrical setting for my "story". Then I go into a dream world kind of state of mind and think about all the "characters" in the "play". It is really quite invigorating and inspirational! It puts me in a very positive frame of mind!

I love to tell a story that can be interpreted in many different ways. I love thought provoking with my critters and settings rather than just simple dazzling imagery.

I strive to give puzzlers more than just a pretty picture to assemble. I like to think I inspire thoughts and conversation along the way.

My images....I like to keep them overly "happy" or "calm" as to create an atmosphere that allows a break from the real world. I like to create a sort of meditative image that encourages the puzzler to spend some time in a pretty/happy place away from the daily news!!!!! I strive to make people smile, and perhaps even laugh while puzzling.

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Lori Schory The Artist's Side Of The Puzzle

Generally Speaking Q. Do you love your job?

YES! I DO LOVE my job and I don’t see myself getting tired of it. Of course, there are times when I feel as though I’ve already covered all the bases, and that there isn’t anything new I can come up with. Artist blocks are common for all artists, I think. The best part of the job is when I receive an assignment and an idea comes to mind quickly. I just start working on the idea, and as it comes together it becomes more exciting and enjoyable. The best part of the job is when I finally come to a point when I think the design is finished and the concept is presentable. At that point I send it off to a client for feedback or approval. Just because I happen to love a new design doesn’t guarantee the customer will like it as much as I do. In this business one has to accept rejection as well as appreciate acceptance. I love my job the most when I receive a reply from my submission, “I love it!” “Let’s Do It!”.

If a design sent to a client is rejected, try not to take it personally. It may be that your design just isn’t what the client is looking for at that particular time or they may already have artwork that is similar.

When I am working on a fun jigsaw puzzle design and everything is falling into place, I find myself smiling while working. I can also find myself laughing out loud when a perfect expression on a certain animal in the piece gives extra punch and humor to the piece!

When I see a positive post on one of the jigsaw puzzle groups on Facebook that shows someone putting one of my puzzles together alone or with friends… or posts a photo of a finished puzzle I’ve designed… that brings me great joy as well. The fact that the process of assembling one of my designs in jigsaw puzzle form brings people a sense of peace and accomplishment makes me love my job even more.

Q. Do you have one Favorite image?

I would have to say that one of my all-time favorite designs is the one I’ve attached.

“Bobbing For Apples”! I just love the overall happy feel of this one. So far it isn’t an all-time best-seller, but I do love it. The Lions shape is also one of my favorites. I created it when we first learned of covid spreading everywhere and the Lion roaring expresses how I felt and continue to feel about the virus and the effect it has had on the world. The two designs are licensed to Sunsout, Inc. Coral Reef Majesty was licensed to Ravensburger in 2017 and has sold very well. It has since expired its license, but may be picked up by their division in Germany. I am still hopeful and anticipating a contract from them. Snowmen sold very well for White Mountain Puzzles, but has finally expired. I believe the Snowmen ran for 12 years! It is currently available to another puzzle company if interested! I am sorry I could NOT pick just ONE!!! HA!

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Sunsout Puzzle Company Bobbing For Apples 300 pc puzzle 18" x 24" White Mountain Puzzles Snowmen 1000 Pieces 24" x 30"

Lion Family Sunsout 1000 Pieces 25.5" x 38.5" Coral Reef Majesty Ravensburger 1000 Pieces 29.5" x 38.5 PUZZLE HOBBY MAGAZINE

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Lori Schory The Artist's Side Of The Puzzle Q. What other hobbies or activities do you enjoy?

I love baking homemade granola and sourdough bread...and I am way into gardening. Both veggies and flowers! I have a little cottage in Southeast Wisconsin that I have been renovating since 1989. It needed a LOT of work but I love my little cottage-home and the nearby lake and the change of seasons.

Q. Can you share some personal thoughts with us?

As my dear Mother said..."with Lori...what you see is what you get!" She knew me best of all, and was a great influence on my artistic endeavours! Dad, too. It's been a crazy ride but I am so grateful that I have such sincere fans on your groups pages. That gives me great joy and inspiration to continue creating new jigsaw puzzle art way into my retirement years. I am 65 now. Believe it or not! HA!

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Special thanks to Edna Mefford for photo credits PUZZLE HOBBY MAGAZINE

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JaCaRou Puzzles Anie Maltais, Owner of JaCaRou Puzzles Established in 2015 Jigsaw Puzzle Enthusiast Successful Entrepreneur High-quality Quebec-designed products

Our history How it all began...

The JaCaRou project started with my passion to assemble puzzles in my spare time. Having some background in drawing and graphics, I started creating pictures thinking about what would make a good puzzle illustration. Then I found a manufacturer to manufacture them and offer them to the general public. This is how the brand was born with the release of our first puzzles in May 2015.

I am the creator, designer of many of our images and the graphics of our products. I take great care in every detail. Our products are of very high quality and compare favorably with the biggest brands on the market. Our goal: to offer exceptional products at a competitive price.

Since fall 2020, we are pleased to also offer you an Artists collection. The images selected are all personal favorites. Hope you like our selection. Our products are of Quebec design.

Our goal: to offer exceptional products. Our images are original, colorful with various textures.

We are very happy to showcase artists from here. I am convinced that the whole family will enjoy putting our beautiful images together as much as we enjoy creating them.

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JaCaRou Puzzles Puzzle Hobby Review Title: Night Owl Pieces: 1000 Size: 27" x 20" 70x50cm

Overall Experience: Great Cut Quality: Awesome Board Quality: Smooth Shape Cut: Ribbon/grid Image Quality: Superb Hardest Area: The greenery Puzzle Dust? minimal (skiffs)

Finish Quality: Glossy Box Quality: Good and solid Sealed Pieces Inside Box: yes Was this purchased new? no Price: Sent for review Recommend Level: High Time: Approx. 12 hours

Anie Maltais creates her own line of jigsaw puzzles at JaCaRou Puzzles . Since 2015 she has created and sold her own jigsaw puzzle images in Canada, USA and some worldwide.

JaCaRou Puzzles maintains very high quality The top and bottom box are quite sturdy The puzzle pieces inside the box are in a Resealable bag (YES!) No puzzle dust (no extra clean up) The pieces fit together great (very important!)

The pieces are of high quality which is a real factor for jigsaw puzzlers. It makes the puzzling experience so much more delightful when a section can be built in one area of the board and lifted carefully to another section without falling apart. A most important part of the puzzling experience indeed.

JaCaRou Puzzles How a puzzle business is born...

When I started the Jigsaw Puzzle Connections Facebook Group, one of the first puzzlers I hooked up with was Anie Maltais and knowing she lived in Quebec Montreal engraved a deeper connection. It is not easy to locate Canadian puzzlers on Facebook.

She decided to share one of her images that she had 'digitally' created with us Puzzlers in the Group, asking for our feedback which we were delighted to share with her. After a short time, she was able to provide us with her finished product and I was able to order her 'freshoff-the-press' puzzle. And I was not disappointed.

She found a way to produce a top quality product with her style of production. She designs her products from start to finish which means she designs the box right to the point of cutting the pieces. Hence, JaCaRou Puzzles was born.

Since then, JaCaRou has expanded it's business. Like other puzzle companies, Anie invested her images to be produced into Diamond Paintings - that was a great idea as the colours in her images are perfect for this craft.

I could not resist this product the instant I saw this. I got 2 of them instantly, one for my sister. We both worked on them together. I have also completed a few of the Astrology Diamond Paintings as well.

Then, as innovation would have it, she introduced new Artist's work in the form of puzzles, thus expanding the jigsaw puzzle options for her buyers. Now the latest products available are shaped wooden puzzles made of linden wood and 150 pieces each. There are 6 available at this time. I have not sampled them yet so that's a review for another day.

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JaCaRou Puzzles DIAMOND EMBROIDERY Diamond embroidery is easy and fun for everyone. Based on the same concept as mosaic and paint by number, diamond embroidery uses tiny rhinestones called diamonds to create colourful patterns that create a shiny finish with the reflection of light. Applying the diamonds is a simple process providing hours of fun as you create a stunning image that you can then frame.

Each 5D diamond embroidery kit contains: * Premium Eco quality printed canvas * Stylus * Sticky eraser pad

* Small diamonds sorted by colour * Grooved tray *ANIE MALTAIS DIAMOND EMBROIDERY

ARTISTS ANDREA MARQUIS (6) ANIE MALTAIS PUZZLE (48) ANNE-MARIE BOISVERT (4) COLETTE FALARDEAU (4)

KARINE SIROIS (7) PUGUESS (3) SUZANNE CLAVEAU (7) ANN MURPHY (2)

JaCaRou - NEW Wooden Puzzles 150 Pieces

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Memorable Disney

Moments

(1) Snow White (2) Fantasia (3) Dumbo (4) Bambi (5) Cinderella (6) Peter Pan (7) The Jungle Book (8) The Little Mermaid (9) Beauty and the Beast (10) The Lion King

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Memorable Disney Moments

" I was so unbelievably proud of myself for completing this enormous puzzle!

My Jigsaw Journal Stacey is the Blogger at My Jigsaw Journal and she has been reviewing her puzzles since September 2016. There are well over 1000 jigsaw puzzle articles to browse through making it a great resource for searching puzzle reviews. She is also a Guest Blogger at PuzzleHobby.com.

CONGRATULATIONS to Stacey on her accomplishment!

This month we present a huge feature puzzle assembled by Stacey. The following is a recap she posted in her journal. For full details on each section click the blue link above.

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Snow White - Snow White was begun on September 28, 2016 and completed on October 17, 2016. I almost wish I’d saved this one till nearer the end. I was overwhelmed when I first started and don’t know if I enjoyed it as much as I could have.

Cinderella - Cinderella was started on October 21, 2016 and completed on November 5, 2016. Ole Cindy here was a difficult section, but I got her done! The picture is quite dark and doesn’t do her justice, you’ll see when the entire puzzle is assembled.

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Dumbo- Dumbo began assembly on November 8, 2016 and was finished on November 19, 2016. Dumbo was so enjoyable to assemble, and super cute as well!

Peter Pan - Peter Pan (the hardest section in my humble opinion) was started on November 22, 2016 and completed on December 5, 2016. that day. I think I’m proudest of this section as it was the most difficult for me.

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The Jungle Book - The Jungle Book, my favorite Disney movie, got started on December 7, 2016 and was completed for the FIRST time on December 19, 2016. It was done for about 5 whole minutes before I tried to move the board to take a better picture and it all fell off. A horrible day. I assembled it for the SECOND time from December 20, 2016 to December 27, 2016. Click here for the post for that day. Thank goodness for digital cameras/pictures!

The Little Mermaid - The Little Mermaid was assembled from December 29, 2016 to January 11, 2017. This one was one of my favorite sections to assemble. It looks like all that blue would be difficult but I loved this section!

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Fantasia - Fantasia was started on January 14, 2017 and completed on January 28, 2017.

This section I was dreading the most and I was happy to be wrong about it – it wasn’t nearly as hard as I thought it would be! And if I want to I can assemble this one again because I have an extra section.

The Lion King - Getting near the end now! The Lion King was assembled from February 2, 2017 to February 16, 2017. The sky in this section is absolutely GORGEOUS! The pictures don’t even come close, the colors are stunning!

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Beauty and the Beast - Beauty and The Beast began assembly on February 22, 2017 and was finished on March 8, 2017. This was one of two I saved for last because I knew it would be fun! I wasn’t wrong – loved it!

Bambi - Last but definitely not least – Bambi. I got started on Bambi on March 16, 2017 and finished up on April 2, 2017. I’m so proud!

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At Arte et Marte Puzzles and gifts, we love all types of puzzles. We have picked some of our favourite categories for you to review, or go directly to our shop and search for the gift to suit your needs. Are you looking for something else, let us know and we will find it for you. Did you know, a puzzle is great entertainment and challenges us and helps improve problem solving skills, creativity and can be a great education tool? Do you know someone who needs puzzles in their life?

We offer a range of gift wrapping to make your gift purchase something really special, gift tags, ribbons and gift bags available, add them to your cart to send a beautiful gift to your someone special.

Ho Ho Ho – FREE Christmas Wrap on all our Jigsaw Puzzles, ensure you add the wrap at the checkout using the link.

FREE Shipping on orders over $100. Do you like to give meaning to your gifts? Read our puzzles stories to find a unique story or the history of the puzzles you buy. Visit our stories page to see more.

Advertisement

Wentworth Wooden Puzzles NEW Christmas Puzzles

Recently I was offered to sample and review two of the newest Wentworth Wooden Puzzles for their early Christmas celebration. Special thanks to Wentworth Puzzles.They sent me two puzzles: 1. Santa Has Arrived - 250 pieces 2. Joyeux Noel at 206 pieces and borderless.

SANTA HAS ARRIVED Overall Experience: Great Cut Quality: Great Board Quality: Great Shape Cut: Random Image Quality: Great Hardest Area: snow tracks Puzzle Dust? none

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Brand: Wentworth Puzzles Title: Santa Has Arrived Pieces: 250 Size: Approx. 15" x 10" Artist: Richard MacNeil

Finish Quality: Smooth Box Quality: Great Sealed Pieces Inside Box: yes Was this purchased new? no Price: Received for review Recommend Level: High Time: 2.5 hours

Christmas Tree

bird

wreath

cat

snowman

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Wentworth Wooden Puzzles After the puzzle was completed I turned it over to see the back, as it is always with Wentworth wooden puzzle, it's just as fun to see the whimsies on the back as it is the image on the front. I located the following whimsies.

Snowflake Santa bird wreath the Wentworth symbolic tree mailbox telephone flower reindeer present dog cat Christmas tree Santa Has Arrived Puzzle Comments...

The Wentworth Santa Has Arrived Puzzle is a such beautiful Christmas puzzle and the image is by Artist, Richard MacNeil. The wood quality is outstanding which is another one of their traits.

Another important detail is the information on the back of the box. Wentworth goes to great lengths to maintain its product quality while preserving the environment in every aspect of production. I can certainly appreciate that.

I have always recognized Wentworth Wooden Puzzles as the 'elite' of wooden puzzles, filled with class and superiority. They are the 'better known' wood puzzles and customer loyalty combined with continued top quality, they should maintain the lead among the plethora of wood jigsaw puzzle companies on the market these days. This kind of 'leadership' comes with a price, however it is well worth it.

Along with this Santa Has Arrived puzzle, I also have in my collection, He Looked Like A Peddler and Zebra Stallion and Mare Wentworth wooden puzzles.

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Wentworth Wooden Puzzles

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Wentworth Wooden Puzzles JOYEUX NOEL Overall Experience: Great Cut Quality: Great Board Quality: Great (wood) Shape Cut: Random Image Quality: Great Hardest Area: snowflakes Puzzle Dust? none

Brand: Wentworth Puzzles Title: Joyeux Noel Puzzle Pieces: 206 Size: Approximately 14" x 10" Artist: Hello Angel

Finish Quality: Smooth Box Quality: Great Sealed Pieces Inside Box: yes Was this purchased new? no Price: Received for Review Recommend Level: High Time: 2.5 hours

I did not do my usual sorting routine as this is a 206 pieces puzzle so laying the pieces out face-up is good enough. Then I decided to locate a board that would fit all the pieces and the completed puzzle size. I found this cork board for messages which had edges. That seemed to be suitable for this project plus it would be movable so I could work it practically anywhere.

Without a border, the next most obvious place for me to start would be the only unique details available as the text, so that's the path I chose. It was not difficult so I carried on with more familiar pattern details. I continued to assemble clusters on the board.

Once I completed the nine separate balls, I lined them up nicely in place onto the work space. Now all that was left was the blue pieces with white snowflakes. Even that turned out not to be too tricky either.

The Wentworth Joyeux Noel Puzzle is such a beautiful Christmas puzzle and the image comes from a licensing company called Hello Angel. The wood quality is outstanding which is another one of their traits. The highest level of quality comes in the packaging too.

For instance, the quality cloth pouch that keeps the puzzle pieces safe with the draw-string closure. Inside is your delivery notice details in case there is an issue with your purchase.

There is an enclosed 'Returns' Form. Also included is a brochure on their hand-designed wood puzzles and their personalized custom puzzles.

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y d n a H 4 s e i r o s s e c c A

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Puzzle scoop Puzzle Mat Puzzle Trays Puzzle Stands

Advertisement

Puzzle Accessories - Scoop The Puzzle Scoop is the neatest little multifunctioning jigsaw puzzle tool I have seen yet! I suggest you do not wait as this is a tool in demand.

As soon as I showed a few puzzlers they immediately said they had to get one! And it does not have to be used just for jigsaw puzzles. I have found it handy for numerous little household situations.

Here’s the features: easily move puzzle sections with the large flexible surface it has a 3X magnifying screen that is amazing - the best I have seen yet pieces that looked "dark" actually had multiple colours and patterns it uses a built-in LED light (batteries included) that is nice and bright Instructions for changing batteries If you’re working on dark areas on a puzzle, this is a must! its nice and light-weight Makes a terrific gift Very helpful for serious puzzlers I will be using the Puzzle Scoop with every puzzle in the future The tool is under 8" in length and the Puzzle Scoop is 4.5" x 4" which has a very smooth surface on the bottom and the magnify surface on the top I found that if I scoop in a downward direction to slide under bigger sections of clumped pieces worked in the easiest manner. I also covered my hand gently on top of the scoop with the puzzle section sandwiched between, then I could move larger sections I definitely like the size of the handle however I have small hands. It's lightweight enough to be user friendly for most hand sizes.

Now this sure is a MUST HAVE for puzzlers! It’s excellent for the small text and object/details on puzzle images using the light/magnifying glass feature. It’s perfect for moving small sections of puzzle pieces to different areas!

IF you get lucky to buy more than 1 of the Puzzle Scoops, you should be sure to get additional ones for your puzzle friends and family members or for Puzzler gifts. These sell very quickly and at the current price of under $10 it's well worth it's value.

Special thanks to Ceaco Puzzle Company PUZZLE HOBBY MAGAZINE

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Puzzle Accessories - Mats

use o H l tefu a r G ts a n o M ew zzle u P Revi w Jigsa I have been given the opportunity to try the Grateful House jigsaw puzzle mats. First of all, research indicates these mats are highly recommended with at least 80% of the reviews giving it 5 stars on Amazon reviews.

As you saw in the video above, I took plenty of photos as I thoroughly investigated this 'new to me' product. Everything about the packaging was perfect...from the delivery time to the complete unpacking - perfect!

Note the complimentary Bonus Tag that is inserted for the free 2 year warranty - first time I have ever seen that!

I tried the Grateful House grey mat first! Before I get into it, you should know that I have used the green Rollo puzzle mats - the Grateful House mats are comparable by product name only being called puzzle mats. The thickness and quality of these Grateful House mats is the finest of all felts I have ever touched. Now my puzzle table is smooth and shiny but the weight of these mats have such minimal movement that it did not give a negative experience. The touch of the felt is that of luxury.

After rolling out the mat and sorting the puzzle pieces, I started with the border of the first puzzle. None of the pieces move on the mat. The pieces are picked up individually and put into place. There is no slippage or sliding - again, that did not give a negative experience.

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Puzzle Accessories - Mats I did not roll up the first puzzle as I normally complete a puzzle from start to finish.

However, I did want to try how well that process would work, so I used the black mat for that test on a second puzzle. I took many pictures of the black mat and once again all the same perfect packaging and layout was there.

This time, as I was partially finished the second puzzle, I tested the 'Roll-away' process on the puzzle. The test was to see how well the Tube would work. Along with Hubby's assistance, we discovered the proper way to inflate the Tube as it is designed to hold the air as it is blown into, then seals instantly to hold the air - that makes for a quality air tight hold.

When it is time to deflate the Tube, the air-intake-nozzle must be pinched open. So pinch the air-intake-nozzle to fill it with air and pinch the air-intake-nozzle to deflate it. And the Tube is made of really good quality plastic to hold the air over time.

Then I followed the instructions to easily roll the puzzle around the tube and conveniently wrapped the ties around the puzzle mat. Once that was completed, I packed it into the carrying case that provides the drawstring to seal it closed and easy to carry handles.

Clearly the puzzle pieces are VERY safe and still in the exact place when re-opened.

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Puzzle Accessories - Mats I do a LOT of puzzling however I do have a couple of puzzles 'rolled-away' for the future that are very time consuming puzzles yet I do want to complete them. These Roll-away products are perfect for that reason and also for the convenience of a quick storage issue as many puzzlers are using kitchen tables to do puzzles. If that is your situation and you know you will not complete your puzzles in a timely manner, then this product does come highly recommended as the best product for puzzle mats and storage.

Grateful House is an owned and operated family business. Jamie Lane contacted me to see if I was interested in trying their products. I want to thank her for the opportunity and I am very pleased to provide this review.

You can try one of their products for free if you are willing to provide feedback as well - just CLICK HERE You can also visit them on Instagram

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Puzzle Accessories - Mats

s ' Q A F

How do I use my puzzle mat? (link to video) What is the difference between the Grateful House wool blend mat and other felt mats?

Grateful House mats are made out of a wool and felt mix providing a thicker and heavier puzzle mat to work on. It is not a craft felt and therefore provides a nice puzzling surface that comes rolled in a long box and will lay perfectly flat on arrival.

What puzzle sizes do the wool blend puzzle mats accommodate?

Grateful House offers two sizes. The 26x46 inches for puzzles up to 1500 pieces and the larger 30x48 inch mat is for puzzles up to 2,000 pieces.

How does the mat arrive?

Unlike other mats that are folded and stuffed into a small square box, Grateful House puzzle mats come rolled and therefore delivered to you in a specially designed long gift box to prevent folds and creases. Great Gift-, come on we know you got a puzzler in the family!!

Why do Grateful House mats roll better and store more securely?

We have the LARGEST DIAMETER SOFT TUBE with a SPECIALLY CREATED FLAP EXTENSION to tuck and roll the felt flush against the tube to ensure no pieces fall loose or disjoin. It allows for an effortless even roll and is perfect for safe storage and travel. Don’t be fooled, a lot of cheaper roll up mats on the market simply don’t secure well. We do!! Many competitors have either small tubes or hard tubes and no way of starting the rolling procedure tightly therefore not securing your pieces tight against the tube.Our mats roll past the competition on this!!

How can I store my puzzle mat?

Each mat comes with Grateful House’s AWESOME STORAGE BAG. It is made of high quality fabric with an adjustable shoulder strap and drawstring for perfect storage. Know your puzzle will be safe from people and pets and will stay the same as you left it. This allows for easy transportation and storage of your jigsaw puzzles.

Where are your puzzle mats made?

Our puzzle mats are not American Made due to keeping the product cost-effective for the consumer.

We care deeply for our customers and promise to go beyond expectations to make sure they are happy. We offer the highest quality puzzle mat available, there is no comparison. It is made in China with a small factory that we have partnered with that is also run by a family. The majority of our employees & businesses we work with are also American based families. We work hard, care about your concerns, and we are here for you!

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Puzzle Accessories - trays The ByAllison Jigsaw Puzzle Trays are the most impressive top quality trays I have sampled Brand: ByAllison Title: Jigsaw Puzzle Sorting Trays Pieces: for use with up to 1500 pieces Number of trays: 8 Overall Experience: Great Cut Quality: Stitching and snaps solid Purchased new? no, contacted by Supplier Finish Quality: Smooth one side-thick felt cloth one side Box Quality: Great I cannot say enough about the quality of this product. The felt is very thick, the trays are solidly stitched, the colors are very pretty and the overall packaging is very appealing. If you like using puzzle trays, then I can highly recommend the ByAllison jigsaw puzzle trays for long term enjoyment. I was contacted via Facebook from ByAllison. They offered to send me their product for review.

ByAllison puzzle sorting trays provide as much as 3 times sorting space of existing sorting trays on the market.

Stackable large surface folding trays - Tray Dimension 11"x11" Double sided - Felt on one side & leather on the other side Great for board game dice rolling

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Puzzle Accessories - stands Here's a nifty little Poster Box Lid Stand for your jigsaw puzzles. I was contacted by PuzzlePeak.com to see if I was interested in reviewing their product - the answer was quite easy of course. The video gives you a quick view for using the stand or you can read more details below the video. (ps, I know I used the word horizontal in the video but I really meant 'vertical' - my bad :( First it was delivered by UPS which is quite reliable for their service over the years. It was well packaged and arrived without any damage - these days anything goes. The box looked to be the correct size of a puzzle stand and as you can see below, the stand itself as it sits beside the box it comes in. The side panel shows how easily the puzzle box lid fits perfectly into the 'slanted-back-slot' so it positions the puzzle box lid perfectly for viewing.

You also see on the box, the back side of the stand/puzzle box lid. It sure is secure in it's position.

It's a great little compact unit for jigsaw puzzles lids. I do like the size and the solid-sturdy plastic the product is made of. I expect it will work great for the majority of puzzle box lids but when it comes to posters, it will be a matter of size. Your going to pay for the sturdiness and how useful it is for the majority of puzzle lids and most posters will be suitable for it. Plus it will be a perfect Christmas gift. I would definitely recommend this for puzzlers. You can also purchase it on Amazon for free shipping if you have Amazon Prime.

Special thanks to PuzzlePeak.com for giving me the opportunity to review their product.

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Christmas Puzzles Reviewed Here are a few puzzles from our Christmas Collection that we have had the pleasure of reviewing.

We hope you enjoy reading how these puzzles came together.

Snowman Delight

12 Days of Christmas

Christmas on the Farm

Santa's Toy Shop

Toy Factory

Christmas Balls

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Village Wreath

Shaped Gingerbread House

Peanuts Christmas

Christmas Puzzles Reviewed Here are a few puzzles from our Christmas Collection that we have had the pleasure of reviewing.

We hope you enjoy reading how these puzzles came together.

Christmas Campers

Christmas House

Christmas Town

Christmas Train

Holiday Cats

Joyeux Noel

Christmas Stories

Village Tree

Hill of Alot of Snowmen

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Christmas Puzzles Reviewed Here are a few puzzles from our Christmas Collection that we have had the pleasure of reviewing.

We hope you enjoy reading how these puzzles came together.

Ready for Christmas

White Christmas

Wolly Mittens 62 |

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Lazy Creek Country Store

Falling Star

Winter Patchwork

Sparkling Tree

He Looked Like A Peddlar

For Christmas Give Your Heart

Christmas Puzzles Reviewed Here are a few puzzles from our Christmas Collection that we have had the pleasure of reviewing.

We hope you enjoy reading how these puzzles came together.

Christmas Keepsake

Cool Friends

Everything's Up to Date at the North Pole

Gingerbread House

Sweet Christmas

Mickey Mouse Christmas

Nutcracker Suite

Santa Surprise

Holiday Candy PUZZLE HOBBY MAGAZINE

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Mosaic Puzzles An Alpine Christmas 250 pieces

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Displaying the fine cuts of An Alpine Christmas Jigsaw Puzzle

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Sherri's Review Mosaic Puzzles I was blessed to be gifted with this beauty. I do not normally gravitate towards landscapes or scenic views like this, but something about

My puzzle was absolutely LOADED with whimsies!

this image pulls to me.

Too many to showcase in a single photo, Of course, the fact that it is a wooden puzzle

although I gave it a shot. The whimsies are

would be a positive thing in my estimation, but

unique in that they are not a solid closed

the scene is so peacefully beautiful that I want

shape, but they use the cut lines to cleverly

to step through the puzzle and visit this

fit them into place with pieces that fill in the

village.

gaps.

I can hear the crunch of the snow under my

The sled, for instance, has a single thin

feet. I can smell the delicious smells coming

section that attaches the runner to the sled

out of the buildings, a delightful mix of

body. The laser cut pieces that are not

woodsmoke, chocolate, and savoury stew. I can

whimsies have a common design element

hear the church choir practicing for the

reminiscent of a snowflake’s points. I took a

Christmas Eve service. And the gorgeous

closeup photo to try to show you what I

backdrop of the majestic Alps makes my heart

mean, but my interior lighting does not do it

yearn for a Christmas experience like no other.

justice (it is the last photo).

This is my second puzzle that I have done from

The pieces are sturdy but have a delicacy to

Mosaic Puzzles, and I am quite impressed with

them that I find charming. The matte finish

their puzzles.

was very easy on the eye, and I was enjoying myself so much that I did not take as many

This company, based in Atlanta, Georgia, is a

progress photos as I normally do.

newer company and believes in offering

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quality products to their customers. The box is

I highly recommend this puzzle company and

very sturdy with a magnetic flap, protecting

will be ordering more puzzles from them in

your treasure beneath the tissue paper.

the future.

PUZZLE HOBBY MAGAZINE

A GIFT

just for you A FREE download for the richest Old Fashion Shortbread Cookies you will ever bake this Christmas

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Courtesy of www.rockrecipes.com Recipe Used For The Jigsaw Puzzle Shaped Cookies Old Fashion Shortbread Cookies Prep Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 20 mins Serves 3 - 4 dozen depending on size Ingredients: 2 cups butter (1 pound) at room temperature 1 cup icing sugar (powdered sugar) 2 tsp vanilla extract ½ cup corn starch 3 cups flour Maraschino cherries or baking gums for the centres (optional)

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Rock Recipes Instructions 1. Cream together the butter and icing sugar very well until very smooth and creamy. No lumps of butter should be visible.

2. Blend in the vanilla extract.

3. Sift together the flour and corn starch.

4. Blend slowly into the creamed mixture until a soft dough forms.

5. Split dough into 2 equal round portions.

6. Wrap the dough rounds in plastic wrap and chill for a couple of hours at least.

7. You can freeze one of the cookie dough portions for later if you like.

8. This dough will also last in the fridge for 3-4 days so that you can bake a few up at a time and enjoy them fresh from the oven if you like.

9. To bake the cookies preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

10. Roll the dough out to a little less than ¼ of an inch on a lightly floured surface.

11. Use a 2 inch cookie cutter (or holiday shaped cookie cutters) to cut out the cookies.

12. Place the cookies on the parchment paper a half inch apart.

13. Add a half maraschino or glacé cherry to the centre, or a baking gumdrop if you like.

14. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until they just start to turn brown at the edges.

15. Let cool for 10 minutes on the pan before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

16. Store in an airtight container

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Advertisement

Christmas Puzzle Review As avid puzzlers, we here at Puzzle Hobby Magazine like to encourage our team members to enjoy puzzles.

So for celebratory days we always send jigsaw puzzles to encourage the benefits they provide to our daily well being. Here's one member's review ;)

A Charlie Brown Christmas Jigsaw Puzzle Review I have to start out by saying that I have only done about 3 puzzles in my adult life.

That is to say until recently. I have been 'gifted' at least five puzzles over the past year. This puzzle is called A Charlie Brown Christmas and was sent to me as a birthday gift. This puzzle is by Aquarius and it is 1000 pieces. The size is 20 inches x 28 inches. There is very little puzzle dust.

It arrived about a week before my 'big day' and I just could not resist opening the box and at least putting the border together. Well once I started I couldn't stop.

The colours are so vibrant and clear. I was attracted to Charlie Brown's bright red jacket. This caused my partner of 29 years to get his hands in on the action. Again he was attracted to the red Christmas ball in Charlie's hand and from there he was hooked!!

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Christmas Puzzle Review

This was a situation where the one puzzle piece was sitting there in plain site!!

And when it came to the 'title' I managed to find the pieces along the border then I gave up. Fear not my partner patiently finished the rest of the 'title' before he was 'done for the day'.

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Christmas Puzzle Review As I have mentioned that I have not done a lot of puzzles and with this one I'm not sure how long it took to finish.

I can only say great things about this puzzle experience. I truly adore how bright the colours are!!

And of course I just Love the Charlie Brown gang. This is one DVD that is played in our house every year at Christmas.

Merry Christmas!!

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