Monday, September 13, 2010

Noah's ark - 2,000 pieces of it

Since we had quite a bit of fun putting together a jigsaw puzzle over the National Day weekend, I thought it would be nice to do another during the September holidays.

I've always been partial to the Heye cartoon jigsaw puzzles, they're so comical and quirky. I searched online and this one caught my eye - a 2,000-piece Noah's Ark. After some price comparisons, I found an affordably priced one on Amazon (the challenge is always finding reasonable shipping rates!) and ordered it.

It arrived just a few days before the start of the holidays. When I first opened it and tipped all the pieces onto the dining table, I thought out loud, "this won't take us a week." Andre took one look at the daunting pile before him and added, "yah, it will take longer."

O, ye of little faith! Admittedly it was tough going at first but we were game for the challenge (except Kenneth who refused to participate in what he thought was a crazy endeavour). Bit by bit, over the next few days, we made progress.

Andre's enthusiasm quickly waned so it was mostly mother and daughter, piecing it together doggedly.

The end in sight!

Finally, the finished product. It took us under five days and it wasn't too painful. Maybe someday (an unspecified time in the future), we might even attempt it again.

This photo on the right is specially for Lilian (I forgot to take it before we dismantled the jigsaw, so this is a pic of the box) - Pink Panther hiding among the leopards! How wild is that??

10 comments:

  1. You dismantled it????!!!!! The entire endeavour is crazy man, just crazy. I really kowtow to you guys.

    The "Where's Wally"-style Pink Panther is simply awesome :)

    No wonder you were so quiet all of last week. So where did you guys have your meals with the dining table occupied by the jigsaw puzzle?

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  2. Lilian: If don't dismantle, where would I keep the monster? Anyway it's fun to do lah, haha.

    We had to eat at the coffee table. Quite a pain really! But getting a table just for jigsaws would be going overboard, I think :P

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  3. Hey Mon,

    Some days I seemed really quiet because the comment box was not working after I posted it or the word verification was not working.
    By nature I am not quiet... LOL..

    Anyhow, jigsaw puzzles, an all-time favourite. I think there is a strong correlation. One who likes Math, will like puzzles and jigsaw-puzzles.

    My memory is failing now..I believe my biggest piece was done with my dh, 1000 or 1500 pieces completed in 4 days. Van Gogh's sunflowers.

    As for keeping your good work, you can buy a ready frame and work the puzzle inside it and cased it up for display on the wall in a special place in the house. Currently my Sunflowers is on loan to a friend as she has pretty bare walls....I have a strange feeling it is going to be a permanent fixture in her place..and that's fine as long as she is enjoying it. LOL...

    qx

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  4. QX: I was wondering how come you've been so quiet! Looks like the Blogger issues with comments still haven't been resolved, how frustrating.

    I don't frame the jigsaws cos I've run out of picture space on my walls! You won't believe how many I have, of jigsaws, cross-stitches, artworks etc. And I figured that I prefer doing the jigsaws to looking at them :) Agree with you that those who love maths tend to love puzzles and jigsaws. I remember back in my university hostel room, I often had jigsaw puzzle pieces all over my floor and burning the midnight oil to finish it instead of studying!

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  5. haha! Lillian asked the exact same 2 questions I had! We still have a half done black and white tromphe l'oeil jigsaw, sitting on a board on top of the bookcase gathering dust in the past 1 year. No one can bear to dismantle it (in case we want to continue it) and no one can bear to face it because it's so confusing.
    I guess we were too ambitious when we bought it because we had so much fun with the previous one which we framed. You can buy this liquid glue that you pour over jigsaw so that it can be framed up.
    Wall space? - have you tried the toilet walls?

    elan

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  6. Elan: A black and white tromphe l'oeil jigsaw sounds like an impossibility! That's why I like cartoon jigsaws cos from experience, the photograph types tend to drive me mad, either with a huge expanse of sky and clouds, a field of gazillion multi-coloured flowers, etc. Never even know how to start! Those are the ones I will frame up cos I know once is enough, heh.

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  7. eh! donch generalise hor - ppl who HATE maths also LOVES jigsaw puzzles. (= me!) u're lucky to have 2 kids helping you. it's just me and Bernard. he refuses anything to do with jigsaws. my 101 dalmations are still sitting in the box... i started 12 yrs ago at my parents' place but never completed.

    re wall space - go for the ceiling! leonardo did.

    :-) kjj

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  8. KJJ: Painted on ceiling was Michelangelo lah, keke...

    I'll happily help you with your puzzle but aiyoh, 101 Dalmatians!!! Sounds impossible.

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  9. aiyoh, die. i don't know maths and now, for sure, i don't know arts stuff either! but i do know picasso. maybe one of these days, i'll do a picasso interpretation of those dalmatians.

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  10. "Dalmatian descending staircase"...

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