A Jacarou Love Letter

I am an only child. That one statement likely tells you quite a bit about me! Growing up, I lived in a teeny tiny rural town in Minnesota, so I had oodles and oodles of time where I had to entertain myself as a kid. Thank goodness I had a very active imagination! I lost hours running around our backyard pretending to be April O’Neil alongside my imaginary TMNT team, playing lion tamer to the feral kittens in my neighbors backyard, or jumping off of my swing set into imaginary long forgotten eras (I’m pretty sure I single handedly came up with the plot to Jurassic Park!). 

But probably one of my all time favorite things to do was play dress up. During those cold months of winter, when I wasn’t able to run around my backyard without some serious snow gear, I would play hours and hours of dress up inside. Some days I would be a pop star, or a cat, or even an astronaut. But a never ending theme would be dressing up like a princess.  

So the second I saw this 1000 piece Jacarou puzzle Runaway Princess, I absolutely had to have it. Somehow, artist Hannah Lynn read my mind, and created the perfect fantasy out of my innermost wishes. That red dress with the pink swirls in the hair, a dragon best friend, a faroff castle to escape from, even down to the key anklet, everything about this image is pure perfection for me. Let me prove it: here’s one additional picture heading off to senior prom in a red poofy princess dress! 

Ok- no more personal pictures ever! So this blog was going to be mostly about the puzzle image. But that all changed the second I saw these pieces. I think as a puzzler, we all have a puzzle weakness. I mean, I like matte puzzle pieces. I like normal cardboard backing vs white paper backing. I like a nice tight fit so it’s easy to move big sections around. Don’t we all?

But my true puzzle weakness? The one thing that makes every other little detail practically inconsequential? I LOVE wonky shaped puzzle pieces. I tend to call them wonky wobbles, but if the puzzle pieces have swoopy curves, funny angled nibs, or jutty arms and big fat legs, then I am in absolute puzzle heaven. There is just nothing more satisfying to me as a puzzler, than being able to pair up wonky shaped pieces. 

However, in addition to the amazing piece shapes, Jacarou is just an all around incredible puzzle brand. The box is nice and sturdy with the entire image on the front of the box. The pieces come in a resealable plastic bag! The piece fit is glorious- I could move small, medium, and large sections around with ease. They have normal cardboard backing, and a semi glossy finish. Honestly, this was my first Jacarou puzzle, and I immediately added so many more to my wish list. 

This puzzle image was also just a complete joy to puzzle. I love when I can sort into big sections, but then the sorted sections are challenging enough to be fun. That is exactly what this puzzle had! Of course I started with her red dress! Then I moved on to the birch trees in the background while simultaneously working on her hair. Then filled in all the greenery. I saved the linework of the trees for last. 

This one puzzle had just about everything I look for in a puzzle. A fabulous image, a perfect puzzle build, and the most satisfying piece shapes I’ve worked with in a long time. I would be happy to feature every single Jacarou puzzle in this blog if I could!

Well, this blog kind of turned into a love letter to Jacarou, and it really wasn’t what I had in mind at all! But sometimes things get out of hand, and you just have to go with it! If you have not tried a Jacarou puzzle yet, I must urge you to get your hands on one of these amazing puzzles as fast as you can! 

Until next month my Jigsaw Junkies- happy puzzling!

Amanda @600hoursofpuzzle