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Puzzle: Notre-Dame Basilica of Montreal


Size: 1000 pieces
Dimensions: 73cm x 48.5cm
Producer:  Sure-Lox, Impressions series
Location: site
Notes: Notre-Dame Basilica (French: Basilique Notre-Dame de Montréal) is a basilica in the historic district of Old Montreal, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The church is located at 110 Notre-Dame Street West, at the corner of Saint Sulpice Street. It is located next to the Saint-Sulpice Seminary and faces the Place d’Armes square.

The church’s Gothic Revival architecture is among the most dramatic in the world; its interior is grand and colourful, its ceiling is coloured deep blue and … Read more

Puzzle: The Old Town, Cracow, Poland


Size: 1000 pieces
Notes: Kraków Old Town is the historic central district of Kraków, Poland. It is one of the most famous old districts in Poland today and was the center of Poland’s political life until King Sigismund III Vasa relocated his court to Warsaw in 1596. Medieval Kraków was surrounded by a 3 km defensive wall complete with 46 towers and seven main entrances leading through them. The fortifications around the Old Town were erected over the course of two centuries. In the 19th century most of the Old Town fortifications were demolished. The moat … Read more

Puzzle: Pabellon Mudejar, Sevilla, Spain


Size: 750 pieces
Dimensions: 59.37cm x 39.4cm
Producer:  Sure-Lox, Impressions series
Location: site
Notes: The Museum of Arts and Traditions of Sevilla is a museum in Seville, Andalusia, Spain, located in the María Luisa Park, across the Plaza de América from the Provincial Archeological Museum. The museum occupies the Mudéjar Pavilion (Pabellón Mudéjar) designed by Aníbal González and built in 1914. The exterior is ceramic over brick, and has three doors with archivolts adorned with glazed tiles (azulejos). [Wiki]

Book: Bilingual By Choice: Raising Kids in Two (or More!) Languages, by Virginie Raguenaud

Title: Bilingual By Choice: Raising Kids in Two (or More!) Languages
Author: Virginie Raguenaud
Source: Veddma library
ISBN: 978-1857885262
Available online

Notes: The first eight chapters (out of ten) of this book are devoted primarily to the discussion of why it is beneficial to be bilingual, why it is important to retain your heritage language and teach it to your children, and why being bilingual is not unpatriotic. The author’s target audience is clearly the American readers, and she repeatedly uses Barack Obama’s family as an example of why being bilingual does not … Read more

Puzzle: Merlin’s Oak by Myles Pinkney


Size: 500+ pieces
Producer:  New Fangled Angles series
Artist: Myles Pinkney is an outstanding fantasy artist. Magic flows through each one if his illustrations, bringing to life a fantasy realm outside that of the architecture of traditional mythology. He also deals with Arthurian legend and religious subject-matter. Works such as “Christmas Presence” and “Merlin’s Oak” demonstrate Pinkney’s ability to articulate his artistic vision in the painstaking detail of his painting. [Gallery of Wizardry site]
Painting: photo
Notes: Merlin’s Oak is a famous oak tree that once stood on … Read more

Puzzle: Dreams of Camelot by Josephine Wall


Size: 750 pieces
Dimensions: 68.58cm x 48.26cm
Producer:  Crystals and Candlelight series
Artist: Josephine Wall
Painting: photo
Box: photo
Notes: Camelot is the most famous castle and court associated with the legendary King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French  romances and eventually came to be described as the fantastic capital of Arthur’s realm and a symbol of the Arthurian world. The stories locate it somewhere in Britain  and sometimes associate it with real cities, though more … Read more

Puzzle: Connecticut River, U.S.A.


Size: 1000 pieces
Producer:  MB Puzzle
Notes: The Connecticut River is the largest river in New England, flowing south from the Connecticut Lakes in northern New Hampshire, along the border between New Hampshire and Vermont, through western Massachusetts and central Connecticut discharging into Long Island Sound at Old Saybrook and Old Lyme, Connecticut.

The river’s name is the French corruption of the Algonquian word “quinetucket” and means long tidal river. The first European to see the river was the Dutch explorer Adriaen Block  in 1614. As a result of this exploration, the … Read more

Puzzle: Three Graces, by Josephine Wall


Size: 500 pieces
Dimensions: 33.02cm x 48.26cm
Producer:  Rose Art, Jewel Scapes series
Artist: Josephine Wall is an English born artist who currently resides in the seaside community of Dorset, England. She specializes in mystical, surreal-like, fantasy paintings. [Bio on Josephine Wall site]

Notes: Three inseparable sisters – daughters of Zeus, representing all that is noble, beautiful and pure, keep watch from above. Aglaia (brightness) symbolised by brightly coloured butterflies, Euphrosyne (joyfulness) symbolised by the joyful sound of birdsong, and Thalia (bloom) symbolised by a headdress of flowers.

Above … Read more

Puzzle: Venice Carnival


Size: 750 pieces
Dimensions: 73cm x 48.57cm
Producer:  Sure-Lox
Notes: The Carnival of Venice (Italian: Carnevale di Venezia) is an annual festival, held in Venice, Italy. The Carnival starts around two weeks before Ash Wednesday and ends on Shrove Tuesday (Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras), the day before Ash Wednesday. Carnival started as a time for celebration and expression throughout the classes, as wearing masks hid any form of identity between social classes.

Masks have always been a central feature of the Venetian carnival; traditionally people were allowed to wear them between the … Read more

Puzzle: Alphabet of Thorn, by Kinuko Craft


Size: 1000 pieces
Producer:  Master Pieces
Artist: Kinuko Craft – Japanese-born American contemporary painter, illustrator and fantasy artist.  Craft came to the United States in 1964 where she continues to live and work today. Her art has included paintings for the book covers of many well known fantasy authors such as Patricia A. McKillip, Juliet Marillier, Tanith Lee  and many others. She has also designed opera posters, fairy tale books and painted cover art for many national magazines such as Time, Newsweek and The National Geographic. [Wiki]
Notes: … Read more

Puzzle: Moonlight Calm by Anthony Casay


Size: 500 pieces
Dimensions: 35cm x 48cm
Artist: Anthony Casay has been described as one of the world’s most creative contemporary painters today. It has been said that the “ocean dances” at the tip of his brush, and that the sun pulsates from his canvas. Casay depicts the colors, fragrances and shapes of the sea; its waters in turmoil–providing a spectacle of rare excitement. Each Casay wave has a personality of its own as it crests, breaks and swirls into a flood of white foam. His paintings explore some of the choicest treasures … Read more