Back to School Blues
The most dreaded time of year. Or at least, it was when I was a kid! Coming off of the freedom that summer gives- going back to school was always the worst. However, now that school is squarely in my past, I wonder if it isn't a relief for a lot of people! Moms and dads with school aged children may breathe a sigh of relief- as they get their puzzle time back. DINKs (dual income, no kids) like myself breathe a sigh of relief for other, non kid related things, such as cooler weather, the upcoming Football season, hot drinks and candles and scarves and fuzzy boots (no, I am not a pumpkin spiced latte sort of girl- GASP!). So many good things happen with the culmination of back to school days!
Rainbow Supplies | Colorcraft | 1000 pieces
For this blog though, let's pretend that back to school means that all of a sudden, you get lots of uninterrupted hours of potential puzzle time! Where to start? Well, the second I saw this puzzle, I had a vivid flashback to my elementary school days. As a kid who went through adolescence in the 90's, I pretty much owned everything in this puzzle. From the tiny fruit shaped erasers (that were just to look cute, they didn't erase a darn thing!), to the star shaped pencil sharpeners and the stackable waxy crayon pencil thingamajigs, the nostalgia was strong with this one. So I just could NOT resist owning and piecing this puzzle together.
This was my first Colorcraft puzzle, and I was absolutely thrilled with the quality! The pieces were semi glossy with normal cardboard backing, and were thick and sturdy. It has a varied ribbon cut- if you've ever done a Ceaco puzzle, these shapes are very similar. The piece fit was very good, and I had no false fits at all.
What was so enjoyable about this puzzle was how bright the colors were rendered- it almost had this electric pop to it with absolutely no blurriness! I pretty much just sank into nostalgia as I pieced this one together!
So now for the bad news, and it is truly terrible for puzzle lovers everywhere. Colorcraft is going out of business. I was so sad when I heard this, that before even having done one puzzle by them, I went out and bought three more! After having experienced the quality now, I'm sad I didn't get even more! The silver lining is that Puzzle Warehouse still has a decent stock of their puzzles, so you have a great selection for now. However, I do highly recommend that if you want one, two, three or more of their puzzles, you snatch them up as soon as possible! They specialize in vibrantly bright and colorful puzzles- with themes such as candy, presents, buttons and more! However, a few that immediately drew my attention and stray just a bit from their norm, are:
Boats at Sunset Bay | Colorcraft | 1000 pieces
The Colorful Wilds | Colorcraft | 1000 pieces
Beautiful Breakfast | Colorcraft | 1000 pieces
On a quick side note, if you’re looking for puzzles to do with your kids that have an educational twist, I encourage you to check out Genius Games. This innovative company has some of the coolest puzzles I have ever done! Here are two teaser pictures of three of the puzzles I've done by them, and, shameless plug, I'll be doing a full in depth brand review for you in November. The first picture shows three different puzzles that can be ‘stacked’ together to start to build the human body. The second picture has my adorable 30# Wheaten for size reference! If you're interested, don't forget to come back and check it out in the month of Thanksgiving!
I think puzzles are a great way to chase away the back to school blues- so enjoy sending the kiddos off to learn, while you get time to unwind with some much needed self care!
Until next time my Jigsaw Junkies, happy puzzling!
-Amanda @600hoursofpuzzle
