Piczzle - Your special puzzle with your own photo: Review + Giveaway

My daughter LOVES puzzles. She is 3 1/2 and has been doing puzzles since before she was 2. We started her out on thick wooden vintage preschool peg handle puzzles from the 60's. We had bought several off etsy. Recently she has become a master at solving large floor puzzles in a very short period of time and so she moved on to more intricate and slightly more complicated puzzles. I recently had the opportunity to review a company (Piczzle) that does puzzles from a photo. I thought this sounded amazing for her, and so I sent a digital copy of a baby picture of her and her first dolly. I knew she would love it. I wanted to keep it a surprise from her until it arrived.

The ordering process was quite easy. The website is laid out in such a way that you can fully customize what size you want your puzzle from the available sizes and number of pieces. There are borders and options for personalizing with a memorable quote. The sizes range from Small (4.5 x 6.25'' (11.5 x 16cm)) in 6 pieces or 24 pieces, to GIANT (26.5 x 35.5'' (67.2 x 90.2cm)) which has 2000 pieces! There are many sizes in between for you to choose.

Check out the many different options here on the Piczzle website.

To create your photography puzzle:

First, select if you want a standard rectangle puzzle, a heart or a round puzzle. Then you can choose if you want a cardboard or wooden puzzle. Choose a basic design, or a holiday themed one such as Christmas or Valentines day. Choose your desired size and number of pieces. The puzzles are constructed from cardboard that has been laminated with a glossy finish. Prices start at $14.95 (plus shipping cost) and go up in price as the sizing increases.

Piczzle's standard puzzles are "precision press cut so that all pieces will be perfectly separated from one another and they are printed using an advanced digital printing technique that results in sharp, multicolored prints." (Piczzle website)

I was sent the size medium cardboard standard puzzle (no text or border) in 8.5 x 11 sizing and 48 pieces ($21.95 plus shipping). My puzzle was shipped, and an email was sent to me for notification. It arrived promptly about a week later and was stored in a cardboard box with the photo printed on the outside. I immediately showed my little girl and she was super excited, especially to see herself as a baby and with her dolly that she cuddles with at night.

The outside picture looked nice considering the picture sent was a digital image taken with a 8 megapixel cell phone and a touch grainy to begin with. The picture appeared to be securely attached somehow to the cardboard lid with some sort of adhesive perhaps as it seemed a bit raised as if the image was on a photo paper attached to the lid (sorry if I am not describing it clearly).

The pieces were neatly contained in a plastic bag inside the box. I made sure to count the pieces ahead of time and sure enough, there were exactly 48 as listed. My daughter got to work on it right away. I did have to help her some, as a few of the pieces needed to be popped in at the edges when connecting together. They did fit together, but in some areas it needed a little extra pressing. As for quality of the puzzle/craftsmanship, (I realize my original photo was not the sharpest or best digital quality) I did notice an area where the puzzle piece seemed creased or flawed and some of the pieces had white/lighter edges.

Here is the original picture:

Here is where the piece seemed flawed in an area (this was taken before the puzzle was played with). The following pictures show a slight light or white edging on the pieces in some areas. I am not sure if this is due to my image or if this is a flaw or if I am just extremely picky.

The puzzle was a fun experience for my daughter and I enjoyed helping her on it. She has played with it again a few times since we got it. I think perhaps I might like to try the wooden version of puzzle next time as it might be a bit more durable. Being a photo puzzle I am a bit more careful with it than if if was of a silly cartoon. I like how we have a puzzle with a sweet familiar face on it.

This Piczzle puzzle would be a great gift for someone such as a grandparent, parent or a child. It would also be a fun way to make a Valentines Greeting card into a puzzle for your special someone. Just add a picture of the two of you, and a verse from a poem you wrote them, or a simple "I love you." I would suggest the puzzle be kept in a safe place away from moisture, direct sunlight or places where things might spill on it.

For more information or to customize and purchase your own puzzle, check out Piczzle.

Would you like a change at winning your own medium size puzzle from the Piczzle company? (USA applicants only please) The company has generously offered one of my readers a puzzle from one of their photos! HURRY, this is a 3 day drawing! Deadline to enter is the evening of July 25th.

If you found this review or any of my other reviews interesting or helpful, please rate is as "helpful" and or leave a comment. I enjoy writing reviews and hearing feedback about what I have written as I feel reviews help those interested make an informed decision before purchasing. I also feel that honest and informative reviews improve a product by providing insight to the company. I believe reviews should be honest no matter whether an item was free, at a discount, or purchased. I am not connected to this company or any of the companies of products that I review. I am not paid for my opinions and do not receive any benefit for any purchases made based on my review.

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I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.