Category: Jigsaw Puzzles

Posted on

Buy A Cat Puzzle and Donate To Charity

By contributing artist Dora Hathazi Mendes

Dora Hathazi Mendes is based in Portugal and she creates the most beautiful cat portraits and designs, including commissions. An avid cat lover, she has created a design, available on a jigsaw puzzle, about the ‘House of Nekko’ an amazing cat playground created by Peter Cohen. Every sale creates a donation for a non-profit charity entitled ‘Zen By Cat’, also founded by Peter.

About The House of Nekko

‘Nekko’ means ‘cats’ in Japanese. Peter Cohen originally started with just two cats and over the years his adoptions continued until he reached 24. By using his expertise in construction, Peter transformed his home by installing colourful ‘cat walks’ on his walls. There is also a Koi fish pond and a ‘kitty room’ that any cat would want to play in.

house of nekko painting by dora hathazi mendes
House of Nekko Painting by Dora Hathazi Mendes

Zen By Cat

Zen By Cat is a non-profit organization dedicated to raising both awareness and money to help save cats’ lives by fighting against FIP (Feline Infectious Peritonitis) a horrible disease. FIP affects up to two per cent of kittens and up until now has been 100% fatal.

Why The Focus On FIP?

One of Peter’s rescue cats, Miss Bean, was found to have FIP and was unable to be saved. In memory of Miss Bean and all other victims of FIP, Zen By Cat was established as a non-profit to raise money and awareness for FIP research. Since the charity started, they have managed to save 25 cats struck down with FIP. With every jigsaw puzzle sale, a donation is made from Dora’s artist profit to help this important cause. By using a special code at checkout ZBBNBR we will know that with your purchase you want make a donation for FIP Research.

The Painting ‘House of Nekko’

Dora’s original painting, which is featured on the jigsaw puzzle, is an imaginary composition. It was created from the details of the House of Nekko, including 25 cats, 23 of which are currently resident and sharing home with Peter. Peter cares passionately for his cats and as a cat lover herself, Dora could really relate to this piece.

The painting composition is created in great detail, based on the cat walks and the amazing details of the House of Nekko. Let me introduce you to all the cats. You can find them all in the painting and, of course, the Jigsaw Puzzle.

house of nekko jigsaw puzzle
The Jigsaw Puzzle of the House of Nekko
poppyseed
Poppyseed

Starting at the right hand top corner, Butter is sitting in front of the window. To the left is Vanilla in a yellow look out, and to the right Poppyseed who recently crossed the Rainbow Bridge.

Next to the entrance, Cheesecake is enjoying a cat walk around the tree. Bolumo, Blackbird and Professor are relaxing where they can also watch the Koi fish and the turtle in the pond. In front of the aquarium, Nutter and Mini Bean are having a snooze together. At the center of the image Smokey is exercising in the colorful cat wheel. Mango is at the great lookout on the green spiral cat tree.

cookie monster
Cookie Monster

The three black cats, Smudge, Nugget and Jupiter Jones are enjoying the green shelves on the climbing wall. Meanwhile Climber, the tortoiseshell cat is lazily stretching above them in front of the painted tulips.

Resting under the green arch is Coffeebean, a snowshoe Siamese and under there is Secret and Chocolate, each asleep in comfortable cat beds. Going down the blue stairs is Mikan and Donut is enjoying a blue cat bed. The two blue cats, Rumple and Cookie Monster are enjoying themselves, staring out of the window.

secret
Secret

At the top of the cardboard tower is Crumple and Little Mocha is peeking out from inside a box. Finally, the red cat Kabocha is enjoying the warmth of a pumpkin bed with a paw stretching out towards a toy snake.

Dora’s fabulous painting connected all the spaces so the cats walk around freely, as they do in the actual house created by Peter.

How To Purchase A Jigsaw Puzzle

Purchase a designer jigsaw puzzle at: https://dora-hathazimendes.pixels.com/shop/puzzles and use code ZBBNBR to ensure a donation is made from your purchase to Zen By Cat.

For more information visit Zen By Cat at https://zenbycat.shop/collections/karavella-atelier All puzzles include a 30-day money-back guarantee.

dora hathazi mendez avatar

Click to learn more about the artist: Dora Hathazi Mendes.

Posted on

Ships on Jigsaw Puzzles

By Contributing Artist Mary Bedy

I live in Michigan in an area where most freighters and tankers and a few cruise ships sailing on the Great Lakes regularly pass by. After living here for a few years, I photographed a couple of freighters when I was down at the boardwalk in town, and slowly got hooked on collecting as many of these majestic ships as possible. I downloaded a tracker on my phone and now one of the first things I do in the morning is check that tracker to see what might be coming through here on that particular day.

Federal EMS Ship on a Puzzle
Federal EMS Ship on a Jigsaw Puzzle

Since I live on the very eastern edge of Michigan, and in fact I can see Canada from the boardwalk across the Saint Clair River, I check to see what might be in range between about 1:00 pm and dusk, since the ships in the morning are backlit from the east, so the lighting is not good for photography.

If you are interested in these majestic vessels, there are a couple of websites that provide lots of interesting information, like Boat Nerd and Marine Traffic (type as one word to find their websites), that will show you where these vessels are at any one time and contain descriptions of the ships, etc.

I waited for the Arthur M. Anderson to come through town for years. She would come through either in the dark or the very early morning when the lighting here is dismal, but I finally caught her a couple of times recently in decent lighting. For those of you who are not familiar, the Arthur M. Anderson was the ship following the Edmond Fitzgerald the night the “Fitz”, as we call her, went down off of Whitefish Point on Lake Superior during a powerful storm on November 10, 1975. All 29 crew members were lost. You have no doubt heard the Gordon Lightfoot song “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”. The bell from the ship can be seen in the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at the lighthouse at Whitefish Point in Michigan’s upper peninsula.

Browse and shop at the following links to my online gallery.

These ship images look great and are quite challenging as jigsaw puzzles. However, they make wonderful wall art pieces and are also available on a variety of home decor items.

Arthur M Anderson Closeup 042121
Arthur M Anderson Closeup 042121

Arthur M Anderson Closeup 042121: https://mary-bedy.pixels.com/featured/arthur-m-anderson-closeup-042121-mary-bedy.html

Paul R. Tregurtha Closeup 120720
Paul R. Tregurtha Closeup 120720

Paul R. Tregurtha Closeup 120720: https://mary-bedy.pixels.com/featured/paul-r-tregurtha-closeup-120720-mary-bedy.html

Walter J. McCarthy Jr. 082922
Walter J. McCarthy Jr. 082922

Walter J. McCarthy Jr. 082922: https://mary-bedy.pixels.com/featured/walter-j-mccarthy-jr-082922-mary-bedy.html

Federal Ems and Blue Water Bridge 072922
Federal EMS and Blue Water Bridge 072922

Federal Ems and Blue Water Bridge 072922: https://mary-bedy.pixels.com/featured/federal-ems-and-blue-water-bridge-072922-mary-bedy.html

mary-bedy-profile-image-200x200

Click to learn more about the artist: Mary Bedy.

Posted on

A Lambretta Or A Vespa?

By Contributing Artist Dorothy Berry-Lound

There is a huge divide across the world between those that prefer either Lambretta or Vespa scooters. It is somehow frowned upon to like the two! Living in Italy, these are vintage classics and we see them all over the place. But there is a long time rivalry between the two camps of supporters and it goes back a long way!

Competition From The Early Days

Both of these elegant scooters were developed as a means of cheap, two wheel, transport after the Second World War.

The two models of scooter developed in parallel and became more similar in many ways which is really what kicked off the rivalry. Here in Italy, even today it is not unusual to see a Vespa and a Lambretta next to one other at traffic lights having a race when the lights go green! With much tooting of horns and waving of hands of course!

Vespa

Puzzle Red Vespa
Red Vespa Motor Scooter as a Jigsaw Puzzle

The name Vespa means wasp in Italian and the motor scooter was produced in 1946 by Piaggio in Tuscany. Gradually, as it’s popularity grew, the Vespa was developed into a whole range of scooters. According to Wikipedia, in 1947 Piaggio sold 2,500 Vespas but by 1950 that had increased to 50,000.

The use of the Vespa scooter in the film Roman Holiday gave an incredible boost to the company, a real PR coup, leading to 100,000 sales in 1952. Fans of the film will remember that the characters played by Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn travel around Rome on a Vespa. The scene with the Vespa was plastered all over the movie posters, even though it was only a small part of the film. By the way, the Vespa used in the film sold at auction for a quarter of a million dollars in 2017.

Here is another interesting fact about the Vespa by the way, John Wayne was said to ride one between film sets.

Lambretta

blue lambretta jigsaw puzzle
Jigsaw Puzzle featuring a Blue Lambretta Scooter

The name Lambretta comes from the river Lambrate which flows through the district in Milan in Northern Italy where the Innocenti factory was located. Lambrettas were introduced to the market slightly later than the Vespa.

Always recognisable, though sometimes under different names (eg the Siambretta in South America), Lambrettas were manufactured under licence in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, India and Spain.

Times Changed

Over time, popular culture and demand shifted. As cars became more affordable, there was less demand for scooters into the 1960s. This meant that both manufacturers, Piaggio and Innocenti, began to struggle financially.

But, Piaggio survived, adapted and finally thrived in large part thanks to the nostalgia of their brand. The British Leyland Motor Corporation took over Innocenti in 1972. Also in 1972, the Indian government bought the production machinery of the Lambretta Milanese factory in order to produce the Lambro three-wheeler under the name Vikram for the domestic market.

Mods And Rockers

puzzle there they go
There they go – on scooters – on a Jigsaw Puzzle

So you would think that living in Italy my first introduction to these beautiful scooters would be there? Not so! It was in Brighton, UK where I grew up.

In the UK during the 1960s and 1970s a sub-culture arose among young people called ‘Mods’. With the movement went smart suits, parka jackets and haircuts, Ska music (as well as jazz, soul and R&B). And the scooter of choice was a Vespa or a Lambretta. I recall, they would lavishly decorate the scooters, including putting streamers on the handle bars and in some cases adding loads of wing mirrors stacked above each other. Looking back, I don’t know how how they balanced the scooters to ride them at times.

We talk about screen idols now, but the Italian film star Marcello Mastroianni, was a mod icon, thanks to his impeccable appearance in the film La Dolce Vita, directed by Fellini.

The rival group to the Mods were called Rockers. The rockers had motorcycles and any rivalry between the Vespa and Lambretta enthusiasts was put aside as they had a common ‘enemy’.

puzzle scooter and motorcyle enthusiasts
Scooter and Motorcycle Enthusiasts depicted on a Jigsaw Puzzle

This was all featured in the film Quadraphenia. But for me, seeing the groups gather down on Brighton seafront was a colourful, noisy and exhilarating experience! My younger brother was very into Ska music (for example ‘The Specials’ and ‘Selecter’) and dressed like a Mod for a while. Every time I see a scooter here, particularly a Vespa, I am reminded of those days.

So, which would you choose? A Lambretta or a Vespa?

Links:

The Red Vespa

‘The Red Vespa’ is available from:

https://www.pictorem.com/176348/The%20Red%20Classic%20Scooter.html – available in four sizes up to 1000 pieces. Free shipping in Canada and the USA

also

https://pixels.com/featured/the-red-vespa-dorothy-berry-lound.html?product=puzzle&puzzleType=puzzle-18-24 – available in 500 or 1,000 pieces. Worldwide shipping

The Blue Lambretta

‘The Blue Lambretta’ is available from:

https://www.pictorem.com/183035/The%20Blue%20Lambretta.html – available in four sizes up to 1000 pieces. Free shipping in Canada and the USA.

There They Go

‘There They Go’ is available from:

https://www.pictorem.com/489284/There%20They%20Go.html – available in four sizes up to 1000 pieces. Free shipping in Canada and the USA

‘Scooter And Motorcycle Enthusiasts’ is available from: https://www.pictorem.com/489287/Scooter%20And%20Motorcycle%20Enthusiasts.html – available in four sizes up to 1000 pieces. Free shipping in Canada and the USA.

Dorothy Berry-Lound Artist

Click to learn more about the artist: Dorothy Berry-Lound.

Posted on

The Joy of Jigsaw Puzzles…

…a centuries old pastime that has been enjoyed by people of all ages.

Jigsaw Puzzle Sample Pieces

Jigsaw puzzles are a centuries old pastime that has been enjoyed by people of all ages. Today, there are many different types and sizes of jigsaw puzzles available, making them more accessible than ever before. Whether you’re looking for a relaxing activity to do on your own or a fun way to spend time with family and friends, jigsaw puzzles are a great option.

The allure of jigsaw puzzles

There is something special about the challenge of piecing together a puzzle, and the sense of accomplishment that comes with completing one. For some people, jigsaw puzzles are simply a fun way to pass the time. For others, they are a serious hobby, and there are even competitive tournaments held each year. Whether you enjoy solving puzzles on your own or with friends and family, there is no doubt that jigsaw puzzles can be quite addicting!

The history of the jigsaw puzzle

Jigsaw Puzzles date back to the 1700’s, when woodworkers would make intricate and detailed wooden puzzles to sell as decorative items. In 1767, a London craftsman named John Spilsbury produced the first printed jigsaw puzzle. The puzzle was made of steel and featured a map of England. The jigsaw puzzle was very popular in England for many years, and soon the idea spread throughout Europe. The first jigsaw puzzles made in America were produced in 1848 by Samson Fox, a New York wood engraver.

How to get started with a jigsaw puzzle

Jigsaw puzzles are easy to use. The trick is to find a puzzle that has enough pieces to be challenging, but not so many that it becomes frustrating. If you have never done a jigsaw puzzle before, start with one that has about 500 pieces or fewer. As you complete one puzzle, get a larger and more challenging one. The best jigsaw puzzles are the ones that are used to create a picture of a scene or an object. These are fun because they often have a story behind them.

Many puzzles are based on photographs, paintings or artwork. The most challenging puzzles have no picture and instead just have a series of shapes, letters or numbers to create a pattern. Choose the one that suits your skill level and that you find interesting.

The benefits of working a jigsaw puzzle

Working a jigsaw puzzle is an excellent way to stretch your mind, and improve your mental stamina. It also helps you physically because it improves your fine motor skills, which are the smaller movements of your hands and fingers. The best jigsaw puzzles are the ones that contain more than one image. These types of puzzles can sometimes be used as educational tools for young children.

There are many ways to solve a jigsaw puzzle

Matchbox Label Collage 200 by Dorothy Berry-Lound
Starting at a corner…

There are many approaches to solving a jigsaw. Some people like to start by finding the four corners, some like to find all the pieces with a flat edge, meaning they are the edge pieces, and build the perimeter and work inwards. Other solvers find similar colors of a certain feature – and sort of start from the center out. Take your time. Don’t rush the puzzle, and only work on it in short spurts. If you try to solve a jigsaw puzzle too quickly, you may make mistakes. Give yourself plenty of time to get all of the pieces in place. Be patient.

Here’s a little more about Solving a Jigsaw Puzzle.

The different types of jigsaw puzzles

There are many different types of jigsaw puzzles, ranging from the very easy, to the very difficult. The most common type is the 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle which is usually made for beginners who are just starting out with jigsaw puzzles. 1000-piece puzzles are usually made of heavy, coated cardboard and contain nice, detailed pictures. They can take anywhere from an hour to many, many hours to complete. If you want something a little more challenging, there are 1500-2000-piece jigsaw puzzles that can prove to be a real challenge.

Conclusion: the satisfaction of completing a jigsaw puzzle

The satisfaction of completing a jigsaw puzzle is just as rewarding as solving one of the most difficult logic and reasoning puzzles. The puzzle itself can be a great conversation piece in any room, and it can spark an interest in jigsaw puzzles, which once you get started with them, you may never want to stop. If you’re looking for a new hobby, or something to do with the family, try a jigsaw puzzle. It just may be a surprisingly enjoyable experience.