Tag Archives: Uncommon Goods

25 Days of XMAS – Day 8

December 14, 2018 PuzzlePaws Leave a comment

This post is about the next-to-last item from Uncommon goods. SC was over the moon when I chose this puzzle.

Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater®, a 2-in-1 500 piece puzzle. I hadn’t done a double-sided puzzle since the original My Little Pony 3D one in the 1980s. The one side is a glossy reproduction of one of Christopher Little’s photographs, while the other side is a matte reproduction of Fallingwater®’s blueprints.

With this puzzle being only 500 pieces, it only took me two days to assemble, and that was mostly because I would get distracted. The pieces are of a decent size, and I enjoyed the sensation of the different finishes on the two sides. I’ve only done one other Galison puzzle, but I’ve found them to be of excellent quality.

I did my best to reduce the glare, but sunny days and glossy puzzles don’t mix! I assembled the puzzle using this side, and really loved it. There is a reason Frank Lloyd Wright’s building are remembered, each one has a certain…emotion to it.

SC liked the blueprint side, and I can’t really blame him. There is something visually interesting about it. Honestly, this puzzle was just too pretty to put back in the box. SC is in the process of layering fixative to it in the mudroom as I write. He thinks we can rig a double-sided picture frame so that we can hang this lovely puzzle in the dinning room and simply turn the frame around when we need to change our decor. Man is a genius, I swear.

PUZZLE SPECS

Company: Galison
Title: Frank Lloyd Wright Fallingwater®
Artist: Frank Lloyd Wright / Christopher Little – Photographer
Year released: 2017
Pieces: 500
Cut-Style: Ribbon cut
Finished size: 24 x 18 inches
Bonus poster:Yes
Made in USA

QUALITY:

Box: Thin sturdy cardboard, 11.5 x 8.5 x 3 inches
Board: Mediumweight Recycled greyboard
Cut: Steel-cut dye
Image Quality:Excellent
Finish: Semi-gloss / Matte
Puzzle Dust:Minimal
Piece shapes: Traditional 2-Knob
Piece Fit: Excellent

Disability Notes: I found this to be a wonderfully easy puzzle to put together. The pieces are of a medium size and well-made. If you have mild hand issues, you should be just fine. If you have an eyesight issue, you may want a friend to help or a magnifier and light. All those greens and browns get tricky.

Where to buy: You can buy the Frank Lloyd Wright Fallingwater® puzzle for $16 USD at the Uncommon Goods Website, listed below.

Uncommon Goods: Website / FaceBook

Disclosure: I received these products for free in exchange for a review. The opinions are my own. All links are direct, I do not make money from them. Fallingwater®is a trademark and a registered service mark of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy. Photograph © Christopher Little.

Thanks for reading, and please click the Follow Button under my profile on the right side of the page. To support posts like this in the future, consider joining my Patreon!

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Ambitious Projects: UnCommon Goods Moving Flower Kit

November 29, 2018 PuzzlePaws Leave a comment

It’s been a crazy month. SC and I had a lot of emotional ups and downs, but hopefully, going into December everything will go back to normal. I know that my posts haven’t been as regular as I’d wish, so I have a few changes in the works to correct that as well as giving my Patreon the love it desperately needs.

So! Today is about more wonderful things from UnCommon Goods. When I chose my items, I made sure to think of SC as well as myself. SC’s job has him out in all weather, and his favorite pair of alpaca wool socks fell apart last winter. so I chose these lovely striped ones as a replacement! Shhh….It’s a secret, don’t tell him!

Anyways, today’s project was really ambitious for me. I’ve been branching out (pun totes intended), from my usual puzzles and brick kits. When I saw the Moving Flower kit, I knew I had to try it!

UnCommon Goods carries a few of the mechanical wooden building kits by UGears. The Moving Flower is made with Baltic Birch plywood that has been laser cut into the needed shapes.

This is the entire kit! Three sheets of pre-cut plywood, and instruction manual, some toothpicks and a square of sandpaper.

Overall, this was certainly a challenge for my skills! The kit recommends you use a candle to “wax” the moving parts so that they move better, which I did. While someone with at little more technical know-how might have an easier time, I had fun. The hardest part was connecting the flower part to the base without dislodging the internal gears. I ended up having to use a mini clamp from SC’s workbench to manage it.

This took several hours, but I can definitely see it as a fun engineering project for parents to do with their kids!

The Ballerina insert will hold your rings!

This is the Tree of Life insert that will hold your bracelets!

My quick video of the moving parts!

Disability Notes: This was a tricky project! I can’t really recommend it for anyone with hand issues, as it is really hand intensive. However, if you love a challenge and don’t have hand issues, go for it! The instructions are 99% pictorial, and for the most part, easy to follow.

Where to buy: You can buy the Moving Flower kit for $35 USD at the Uncommon Goods Website, listed below. Unfortunately, the socks I got for SC are no longer in stock; but they do have other cute and warm alpaca wool socks for sale! If you are like me, and can’t get out much to physically do your Holiday shopping, I recommend checking out their Christmas collection found here.

Uncommon Goods: Website / FaceBook

Disclosure: I received these products for free in exchange for a review. The opinions are my own. All links are direct, I do not make money from them.

Thanks for reading, and please click the Follow Button under my profile on the right side of the page. To support posts like this in the future, consider joining my Patreon!

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Uncommon Goods: Dragon Model and Literary Candles

November 5, 2018 PuzzlePaws Leave a comment

I’m home from Convention again, and in need of a low-key kind of day. I can’t be the only person whose mind has turned to the upcoming holidays and the dreaded shopping. Right? Thankfully, I have a friend who introduced me to Uncommon Goods.

Uncommon Goods is an online company who does still send out paper catalogues(on recycled paper!), and is dedicated to providing gifts for the hard-to-shop-for and enviromentally friendly. While I don’t consider myself a particularity hard person to get gifts for; I do appreciate nifty, one-of-a-kind things.

I love candles, but tend to get bored with the same scent day after day. So I jumped at a chance to try out the Mini Library of literary candles.

You get ten .5oz tealight candles, each with a different scent based upon bookish inspirations! The candles are made with 100% soy wax with natural fragrances and essential oils. The label can be used as a nicely scented bookmark. So far, I’ve tried Walden Woods, which smells of greenery(cedar, fir and pine) and Burning Books, which has a cinnamon/citrus scent(cinnamon,orange,fir). Both candle’s scents are mild, not overwhelming and I cannot wait to try the other eight!

I love trying new types of crafting, and SC recommended I look at 3D models that were not brick-based. Uncommon Goods has several of these, and I liked the look of this little dragon.

In keeping with Uncommon Goods’ goals, this is an environmentally conscious craft!

No paper waste here! The directions are inside the flaps of the box!

I found this to be a simple, but challenging project. It can be done in 15-20 minutes, but I took my time and enjoyed the process.

The pieces are individually marked, and the glue was fast-drying and not messy at all! The hardest part was placing the smallest pieces at the very end. I could have used tweezers, but instead just used the edge of a fingernail to nudge them into place.

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It came out super cute and little! I’ll definitely try another cardboard 3D model in the future!

Where to buy: You can buy the Mini Library tealight candles for $15 USD and the Mini Dragon 3D Model for $10 USD at the Uncommon Goods Website, listed below. If you are like me, and can’t get out much to physically do your Holiday shopping, I recommend checking out their Christmas collection found here.

Uncommon Goods: Website / FaceBook

Disclosure: I received these products for free in exchange for a review. The opinions are my own. All links are direct, I do not make money from them.

Thanks for reading, and please click the Follow Button under my profile on the right side of the page. To support posts like this in the future, consider joining my Patreon!

Little pieces make a bigger picture