Thomas Kinkade is the most popular American artist of all time – it is estimated that one in every 20 American homes own a copy of his work. Small wonder then that his images appear on more puzzles than those from any other artist.
Kinkade is often referred to as “The Painter of Light” and his work is loved by millions of people throughout the world but inevitably he has his critics… His work has been variously described as commercially successful kitsch, deeply hideous and “Mall Art”! Here at Jigthings we have never heard of any of his critics but we most certainly have heard of Thomas Kinkade and we believe that the jigsaw world should be truly grateful for his existence.
Sadly Thomas died in April 2012 but we expect that puzzles featuring his work will be enjoyed and loved for generations to come. There are some puzzles below that feature his work and even with small scale pictures on a computer screen it’s not difficult to see that he really earns the title “Painter of Light”. On jigsaw puzzles the images are truly stunning.
Home for the Holidays
A lovely winter scene set in the 1900s
Size: 27 x 20 Inches
Number of Pieces: 1000
Artist: Thomas Kinkade Buy puzzle on Amazon US
In the world of Jigsaw puzzles the winter is our busiest time of the year, we see a dramatic increase in sales in late November right through until March.
This year we have decided to use Fulfilment by Amazon as well as our own website and EBay and sales have gone through the roof, so please do not leave present buying for the holidays too late this year we would hate for your family and friends to miss out.
In the UK Dave Evans a puzzle cutter has set a new world record for cutting a 1000 piece puzzle by hand he completed the puzzle in 2 hours 26 minutes and 45 seconds if you would like to have a read of the article you can find it on the link below, it is an interesting read. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-30022902
Going to Grandma’s House for Thanksgiving
Loading up the car to go to Grandmas house.
Size: 27 x 20 Inches
Number of Pieces: 1000
Artist: H Hargraves Buy puzzle on Amazon US
Jigthings products that fit this puzzle: Jigboard 1500 Jigsort 1500
A very old style of Medievil puzzle.
Thanksgiving
Size: 28 x 20 Inches
Number of Pieces: 1000
Artist: Chamberart Buy puzzle on Amazon US
Jigthings products that fit this puzzle: Jigboard 1500 Jigsort 1500
Autumn at the Lake
Lovely lake scence from the makers Buffalo games
Size: 26.75 x 19.75 Inches
Number of Pieces: 1000
Artist: Buffalo Games Buy puzzle on Amazon US
Jigthings products that fit this puzzle: Jigboard 1000 Jigsort 1000
Keith Brown Hometown Thanksgiving
Vintage style puzzle by SunsOut puzzles
Size: 27 x 20 Inches
Number of Pieces: 1000
Artist: SunsOut Buy puzzle on Amazon US
Jigthings products that fit this puzzle: Jigboard 1500 Jigsort 1500
Harvest Colors
Vibrant harvest vegtables come to life in this puzzle.
Size: 36 x 28.75 Inches
Number of Pieces: 1000
Artist: Garry Gay Buy puzzle on Amazon US
Jigthings products that fit this puzzle: Jigboard 2000 Jigsort 1500
Autumn Traditions
Beautiful Autumanal house ready for Thanksgiving
Size: 27 x 20 Inches
Number of Pieces: 300
Artist: White Mountain Buy puzzle on Amazon US
Jigthings products that fit this puzzle: Jigboard 1000 Jigsort 1000
Horn of Plenty
Intriguing Harvest puzzle from Walt Curlee, very colorful
Size: 28 x 20 Inches
Number of Pieces: 1000
Artist: Walt Curlee Buy puzzle on Amazon US
Jigthings products that fit this puzzle: Jigboard 1000 Jigsort 1000
Gobbler Farms
Two prime Turkeys hiding in the bushes hoping that they can make it through to Thanksgiving 2015!
Size: 19.5 x 14.25 Inches
Number of Pieces: 1000 Pieces
Artist: Sunsout Buy puzzle on Amazon US Buy puzzle on Amazon UK
Jigthings products that fit this puzzle: Jigboard 1500 Jigsort 1500
Thanksgiving Day Parade
Lovely Parade puzzle from the NY Puzzle company set in the early 1940`s
Hi All
Sorry for the delay in the blog update – we have been really busy here in Jigthings Towers with a couple of new products coming along, the Jigboard 2000 and Jig Easel, and answering any questions that we get about them.
We have also been busy organising the new stock arriving and we are hoping that we have enough stock to get us through the busy holiday season, all the best and Happy Jigging!
This week’s blog is about Autumn and the great puzzles that can be found on the subject. Take a look below and see if any catch your eye!
Autumn Patchwork
Awesome Patchwork puzzle by Ravensburger
Size: 30 x 24 Inches
Number of Pieces: 1000
Artist: Ravensburger Buy puzzle on Amazon US
Jigthings products that fit this puzzle: Jigboard 1500 Jigsort 1500
Autumn Traditions
A lovely puzzle scene showing the loading of the pumpkins
Size: 27 x 20 Inches
Number of Pieces: 300
Artist: White Mountain Buy puzzle on Amazon US
Jigthings products that fit this puzzle: Jigboard 1000 Jigsort 1000
Autumn Glory
Showing a stag looking out for other deer. An unusual pieced puzzle.
Size: 21.5 x 15 Inches
Number of Pieces: 513
Artist: John D. Cogan Buy puzzle on Amazon US
Jigthings products that fit this puzzle: Jigboard 1000 Jigsort 1000
Autumn Morning
Another beautiful puzzle from the White Mountain puzzle company
Size: 24 x 18 Inches
Number of Pieces: 300
Artist: White Mountain Buy puzzle on Amazon US
Jigthings products that fit this puzzle: Jigboard 1000 Jigsort 1000
Autumn’s Golden Moments
A panoramic Autumn jigsaw puzzle by SunsOut
Size: 34 x 14 Inches
Number of Pieces: 1000
Artist: David Rottinghaus Buy puzzle on Amazon US
Jigthings products that fit this puzzle: Jigboard 2000
Autumn at the Lake
Lovely lake scene from the makers Buffalo Games
Size: 26.75 x 19.75 Inches
Number of Pieces: 1000
Artist: Buffalo Games Buy puzzle on Amazon US
Jigthings products that fit this puzzle: Jigboard 1000 Jigsort 1000
Autumn Gold
Nostalgic farming scene, comes in a John Deere collectable tin!
Size: 26.8 x 19.2 Inches
Number of Pieces: 1000
Artist: Masterpieces Buy puzzle on Amazon US
Jigthings products that fit this puzzle: Jigboard 1000 Jigsort 1000
Autumn Reflection
A glorious autumn scene filled with brightly coloured trees awaits you, this puzzle is only 1000 pieces but is huge!
Size: 36 x 28.75 Inches
Number of Pieces: 1500
Artist: Springbok Buy puzzle on Amazon US
Jigthings products that fit this puzzle: Jigboard 2000
Hi I hope you are well. As some of you may know I am an avid metal detectorist and had the pleasure of metal detecting close to a castle. I found some very nice coins and artefacts which were between 600 and 1000 years old! The castle had a gift shop and I decided to buy a jigsaw of the castle. Once I’d made the castle puzzle, I framed it and underneath the puzzle I have another frame with the finds in to remind me of the day’s detecting. That got me thinking to what other puzzles are available so this week’s blog includes some other great castles and fantasy castle jigsaws out there.
Mont Saint Michel
Superb castle with a full moon
Size: 24 x 18 Inches
Number of Pieces: 750
Artist: Buffalo Games Buy puzzle on Amazon US
Jigthings products that fit this puzzle: Jigboard 1000 Jigsort 1000
Castle Fantasy
A very colourful jigsaw to enjoy with the younger members of the family
Size: 24 x 18 Inches
Number of Pieces: 200 XXL
Artist: Ravensburger Buy puzzle on Amazon US
Jigthings products that fit this puzzle: Jigboard 1000 Jigsort 1000
Hogwarts Castle
From the JK Rowling books, a gloomy Hogwarts
Size: 27 x 20 Inches
Number of Pieces: 1000
Artist: Neca Buy puzzle on Amazon US
Jigthings products that fit this puzzle: Jigboard 1000 Jigsort 1000
Winter at Neuschwanstein Castle
A beautiful winter image at Neuschwanstein Castle. This castle features in many puzzles
Size: 38.5 x 26.5 Inches
Number of Pieces: 2000
Artist: Buffalo Games Buy puzzle on Amazon US
Jigthings products that fit this puzzle: Jigboard 2000
The Past
This wooden puzzle has many fairy-tale themed whimsy pieces; it is a must for wooden puzzlers
Size: 17 x 11 Inches
Number of Pieces: 519
Artist: Thomas Cole Buy puzzle on Amazon US
Jigthings products that fit this puzzle: Jigboard 500
Highclere Castle
A beautiful winter image at Highclere Castle
Size: 14 1/8″ x 9 7/8″ Inches
Number of Pieces: 250
Artist: WenthWorth Buy puzzle on Amazon US Buy puzzle on Amazon UK
Jigthings products that fit this puzzle: Jigboard 500
Highclere Castle
A beautiful winter image at Highclere Castle
Size: 14 1/8″ x 9 7/8″ Inches
Number of Pieces: 250
Artist: WenthWorth Buy puzzle on Amazon USJigthings products that fit this puzzle: Jigboard 500
Hi All
Welcome to the White Mountain puzzle blog. The White Mountain 1000 puzzle range is nearly all the same size at 30 x 24 inches, These puzzles do not fit our 1000 range of products as the puzzles are slightly oversized, but here at Jigthings we love the White Mountain range so much that we made a Jigsaw frame just so that people can accommodate the larger puzzles if they wish to hang them once they have been made.
This weekend saw the 2014 Puzzle Parley in Salem PA. If you are not too sure what a Puzzle Parley is take a look on http://www.puzzleparley.org/ – I am sure that you will find it of interest!
If you would like to know a little bit about the history of White Mountain take a look at the video below. It gives a brief history of the company and is an interesting video. It tells you about the overside die.
Dave Evans, a jigsaw maker who made a 40,000-piece puzzle for the Queens Jubilee, has called for challengers to face him in a “fastest jigsaw cutter in the world” contest.
Dave is hoping to hold the competition in September and will take on any experienced cutters. The competition will be to cut a 3ft by 2ft wooden puzzle.
Dave will be streaming live from the UK via the internet and he is looking for challengers worldwide to do the same.
This week in the UK it is the second British Jigsaw Championship! http://jigsawfestival.org.uk/
There are several types of puzzles to be made and there are competitions for making 1000 piece jigsaws in the quickest time. There is also a doubles competition where they make 1500 puzzles against the clock and each other. The Championship is held in Saint Mary’s Church in Newmarket. Newmarket is famed for horse racing in the UK. I hope the crowds in the church don’t get as excited as the punters at the races!
It sounds very grand but it is a bit smaller than the American Puzzle Parley which is in its twelfth year this year. I will give a few more details about the Parley in the next blog.
On with the blog. I hope you find the puzzles enjoyable – I know they gave me a hard time cropping the images (the sizes of the puzzles differ so much for Master Pieces).
Hi Welcome to the Jigthings Top Reviewed Puzzles on Amazon. I am not sure about you but when I like to buy something from the net, I really like to read the reviews first, so this week we look at some of the best reviewed puzzles out there. Take a look – there may be one that you have made before and would like to leave your own review.
Last month a museum in Rochester New York acquired the world’s largest collection of jigsaw puzzles. There are 7,000 puzzles and they all belonged to Anne Williams. You can read about the collection by clicking the link below.
Hi
It is now summer in the UK and it’s really beginning to warm up here.
Did you ever wonder when the first jigsaw puzzles were made? There is an interesting article on puzzling in another blog about Jigsaws.
Take a look at this link
I thought we would take a look at some of the puzzles out there that you can buy which reflect summer. Below are ten of our personal favourite puzzles.
Neuschwanstein Castle
Stunning scene of summer at Neuschwanstein Castle, this will fit the new Jigboard 2000
Size: 27 x 20 Inches
Number of Pieces: 2000
Artist: Buffalo Buy puzzle on Amazon US
Jigthings products that fit this puzzle: Jigboard 2000
Summer Delights
A high-gloss-finished jigsaw puzzle
Size: 24 x 18 Inches
Number of Pieces: 550
Artist: Ceaco Buy puzzle on Amazon US
Jigthings products that fit this puzzle: Jigboard 1000 Jigsort 1000
Summer Celebration
This beautiful puzzle is one from the range of adults with Alzheimer’s disease puzzles
Size: 24 x 18 Inches
Number of Pieces: 36
Artist: Springbok Buy puzzle on Amazon US
Jigthings products that fit this puzzle: Jigboard 1000 Jigsort 1000
Fairyland Summer Dancer
This is my favourite puzzle this week – a stunning puzzle but why can’t I buy it in the UK?
Size: 24 x 18 Inches
Number of Pieces: 750
Artist: Ceaco Buy puzzle on Amazon US
Jigthings products that fit this puzzle: Jigboard 1000 Jigsort 1000
We often get asked for larger frames than the ones we have on our website. Recently a lady called from Italy who had just finished the 13,000-piece-sized puzzle called ‘The Creation of Adam’ which is a jigsaw of the ceiling in the Sistine Chapel. I am afraid that we do not make a frame that large – I think the shippers would struggle to get it there in one piece!
The puzzle is available on Amazon and if you fancy the challenge you can buy it Here
There is a six-part video of the puzzle; the first part is below if you fancy a watch.
Hi welcome to the unique world of Photomosaic jigsaw puzzles. What are they you may ask? If you take a look at the Jigthings Jigsaw puzzle blog below you will certainly find out.
“Patented by digital artist Robert Silvers, the unique process takes thousands of small images and blends them to create a larger portrait. Beautiful and colourful on their own, each of the small photos work together to create the beloved painting.”
As the image shows to the left (click on it and the image will get larger) they look fantastic and they can prove a real challenge when making the Jigsaw puzzle. Colin (the owner here at Jigthings) thinks that these puzzles take around 4 times longer to make and prove to be a lot harder than normal puzzles – so if you fancy a challenge have a look at the puzzles below.
Yoda
Starting the Star Wars photomosaic theme is the Yoda puzzle
Size: 27 x 20 Inches
Number of Pieces: 1000
Artist: Buffalo Games Buy puzzle on Amazon US
Jigthings products that fit this puzzle: Jigboard 1000 Jigsort 1000
Classic Corvette
A must-have puzzle for corvette owners combines photomosaic and traditional puzzle
Size: 27 x 20 Inches
Number of Pieces: 1000
Artist: Buffalo Games Buy puzzle on Amazon US
Jigthings products that fit this puzzle: Jigboard 1000 Jigsort 1000
R2-D2
With iconic images from the Star Wars movies in the smaller pictures on each puzzle piece
Size: 27 x 20 Inches
Number of Pieces: 1000
Artist: Buffalo Games Buy puzzle on Amazon US
Jigthings products that fit this puzzle: Jigboard 1000 Jigsort 1000
Keeping with the Star Wars puzzles which we know get a lot of love, we have found a video on how puzzles are laser cut, not with the use of a lightsaber may I add! It really is amazing that a laser can make such a good job, it takes a lot longer than I thought it would.
Please take a look, the video is a bit drawn-out but very impressive to say the least.
images appear on more puzzles than those from any other artist.
