Moving Mountains

They say that when you move mountains, you can make the impossible possible.  In other words, you can achieve something you may not have thought you could initially.  I think it's safe to say that we avid puzzlers have an appreciation for the beautiful art that goes into puzzles.  I doubt any of you would buy a puzzle while thinking, "Wow, this is really ugly, let me go ahead and buy this puzzle so I can spend countless hours looking at the blah details of it while putting it together.". Yup, didn't think so.  

I've had my eye on a couple of puzzles and thought, "these artists really accomplished something spectacular when they painted these.". And the funny thing is, that all the puzzles featured in this post just so happen have mountains on them.  You're probably wondering what these puzzles have to do with moving mountains- don't worry I'm getting there, but let's jump into the puzzles first.

Putting together puzzles that have clean lines and clear sections are even fun to sort if it was possible for sorting to be considered "fun".  (Sorry to all you sorters out there.) Actually, I will say, sorting can be totally therapeutic. Just look at the oh-so-warm color palette featured in Mudpuppy’s 750-piece puzzle, Desert Terrarium.  

Artist Ayang Cempaka truly captured the beauty of this landscape with her use of colors-pinks, tangerines, and yellows. She has such a bright, cheery art style. Her colors pop yet flow at the same time if that makes sense. But my favorite part of Desert Terrarium is its shape. It was so much fun to build, and I love how Mudpuppy thought outside of the box (no pun intended).  It takes the modern feel of it to the next level and gives it that little something extra.  

Puzzle Warehouse also has Mount Cook by Karmin International which is 300 pieces.  This one differs from those I just mentioned in that the lines aren’t as crisp, but the color scheme again is modern.  This puzzle is great if you like large pieces, too, which it just so happens to have.

The patterns within the mountains remind me of a collage.

So, just an FYI- Mount Cook was out of stock when I wrote this blog. Everyone probably couldn’t wait to get their hands on this one.  But don’t worry…Did you know that you can search for items that are out of stock by adjusting the search on the Puzzle Warehouse website?!? If you find a puzzle that is not currently available, Puzzle Warehouse’s website has this handy dandy feature which will allow you to enter your email address so you can be notified once it’s back in stock.  Cool, huh?!?

Another series of mountains worthy of mentioning are those by Lantern Press. Lantern Press offers a line of puzzles featuring many national parks, cities, and landmarks.  Their puzzles are meant to be durable for all you rough puzzlers.  The artwork featured in this series has clean, crisp, and sortable lines. Grand Canyon National Park Arizona is 1,000 pieces and its rich color scheme just works.

…or how about the sky in Acadia National Park Maine?!? The sky just looks fun. You know because everyone loves assembling a solid blue sky with no variation.

All the puzzles mentioned have a similar style yet they each have a completely different feel.  If you haven't tried these brands, be sure to check them out.  Not only is every single puzzle more gorgeous than the next, but the artwork is so scrumptious. 

But before I go, I wanted to share a fun fact about myself. Although I was born and raised in New Jersey - I live in Florida.  Yeah, it's sunny and stuff, but I think it's got to be the flattest state in the country.  Maybe this is what inspired me to write about these mountainous puzzles in the first place.  

So, in my professional opinion ("professional" lol). These artists have moved mountains. Let these puzzles inspire you to head outside with your loved ones. Heck, set up a picnic somewhere, bring one of Puzzle Warehouse's Roll & Stow puzzle savers or their Puzzle Mats by Brain Tree and eat lunch while putting together a puzzle.  I'll have to do this and pretend that there are mountains in the background.  If you're not from a state like Forida, you can envision some palm trees and we’ll call it even.  

If you heard one thing from this post, enjoy those close to you and spend time together doing things you enjoy.  Surround yourself with things you find beauty in and when you have your friends and family around you, you can move mountains!

Jaime  @introvertedpuzzler