Postage Themed Puzzles
I’ve never been a full-fledged philatelist, but I’ve enjoyed collecting stamps since I was a kid, mostly to decorate scrapbook pages and journals. Since I’ve always sent lots of cards and letters, traveling postcards, and have had quite a few pen pals over the years, picking a special stamp for the envelope is just another fun way to express myself. My friends are amused at how often I manage to coordinate the design on the card, the stamp, and all my embellishments on the envelope!
If you enjoy these miniature works of art, or the stories of history and culture represented on stamps like I do, Puzzle Warehouse has plenty of postage-themed puzzles to choose from. I’m a fan of collage-style designs, so that’s a bonus! One of my favorites is Re-Marks Air Mail. It’s a quick and colorful 500 piece that I really enjoyed—and I remember so many of the stamps that are pictured and used a few of them myself.
For a little nostalgia, check out U.S. Stamps of the 80s by USAopoly. It features some of the collectible USPS stamps series from the 1980’s including Winter Olympics, Summer Olympics, Desert Plants, the Statue of Liberty 100th Anniversary, and the popular Love stamps. It’s 1000 pieces that should be easy to sort and fun to assemble.
I’m both a bird and nature lover, so I really enjoyed assembling Birds of Our Shore Stamps from Willow Creek Press. This beautiful puzzle had enough variety of birds and background colors that it was easy to sort and separate, and the pieces have a good, snug fit. I assembled the border as I went along, which worked out well for this 1000 piece puzzle.
Another Willow Creek Press puzzle in my to-do stash is Vintage Equestrian Stamps. (Yeah, I love horses, too!) I’m sure I’ll enjoy it every bit as much as their bird puzzle.
If 300 piece puzzles are your preference, check out Re-Marks Snail Mail. It features a variety of vibrant stamps from around the world. This is another in the to-do stack for me, since Re-Marks is a brand I always enjoy and look forward to working!
Of course, cats are a popular puzzle subject and Buffalo Games has a great variety of 750 piece puzzles in their cat series! They’re one of my go-to brands and for me, 750 is often the perfect piece count! The aptly-named Cats On Stamps is another from puzzle designer Lewis T. Johnson (who also designed the equestrian stamps puzzle above.) I got rolling on this one and finished it in an afternoon.
For a different style of “stamp” puzzle, I couldn’t resist picking up Halloween Dance from Sunsout.
The vultures, bats, ravens and owls perched on skulls in graveyards and other spooky settings will be the perfect puzzle to put together on a couple of chilly October nights. I love how the border really ties this design together.
I’ve always liked the retro style of state postcards that showcase famous landmarks, scenery and state pride. Vintage American Postcards from Cobble Hill was more challenging than I anticipated! I put together the ‘map’ portion and larger postcards first and then filled in the rest, but it definitely took me longer than most 1000 piece puzzles. Maybe the fact that I couldn’t sleep and was working on it until the wee small hours was a factor! It was so satisfying to finish!
Whether you’re like me and have fun sending and receiving ‘snail mail’ or your correspondence is completely electronic, I hope you’ll find a postage puzzle or two that you enjoy. ‘Drop me a line’ and let me know!
Dawn @5wolves
