Art Jigsaw Puzzles

Art is the process or product of deliberately arranging elements in a way that appeals to the senses or emotions. It encompasses a diverse range of human activities, creations, and modes of expression. Traditionally, the term art was used to refer to any skill or mastery. The nature of art has been defined as a vehicle for the expression or communication of emotions and ideas, a means for exploring and appreciating formal elements for their own sake. Art Jigsaw puzzles are a great way to express oneself. Not only do they exercise the brain but they can be a beautiful piece to hang on the wall when finished. Wouldn't a beautiful picture of the sunrise over a country cabin sitting on a lake give some peace to onlookers.

Puzzles and Plush Toys

Jigsaw Puzzles and Stuffed Animals are great gifts for any occation.

A jigsaw puzzle is a tiling puzzle that requires the assembly of numerous small, often oddly shaped, interlocking and tessellating pieces. Each piece usually has a small part of a picture on it; when complete, a jigsaw puzzle produces a complete picture. In some cases more advanced types have appeared on the market, such as spherical jigsaws and puzzles showing Optical Illusions.

Jigsaw puzzles were originally created by painting a picture on a flat, rectangular piece of wood, and then cutting that picture into small pieces with a jigsaw, hence the name. Jigsaw puzzles have been around since 1760. Jigsaw puzzles have since come to be made primarily on cardboard.

Some typical images found on jigsaw puzzles include Ocean and beach, Disney characters, and animal jigsaw puzzles. Castles and mountains are two traditional subjects. However, any kind of picture can be used to make a jigsaw puzzle. Completed puzzles can also be attached to a backing with adhesive to be used as artwork.

The most common approach to building a puzzle is to start by separating the edges from the inside pieces. Once the edges are built it can become easier to move inward. For those new to puzzles, it is recommended to choose one consisting of multiple areas with contrasting designs and colors. This enables the narrowing down of potential portions of the puzzle where a particular piece will fit. Some people like to use the picture on the box to help solve the puzzle. Once you have completed the edge, if you can find the location of a particular piece on the picture, you can place it down inside of the overall puzzle at approximately the place it belongs. If you do this enough times, you find pieces eventually will start fitting together.

Another approach is to sort the pieces by color, and work on one color at a time. When you get to large areas with the same color (such as the ocean or beach in many landscape puzzles), you can go by shape, or you can place all the pieces in a grid and approach the problem by taking a piece that already has an anchor (such as an edge piece) and trying it against all the pieces laid out. Many large jigsaw puzzles have redundancy in their cut pattern. Many have 180° rotational symmetry around their centre point. Puzzles of 5000 pieces or more also usually involve a smaller cut pattern that is repeated 4 or 6 times over the whole jigsaw, and that smaller cut pattern usually also has 180° rotational symmetry, so a particular shape may appear 8 or 12 times in the puzzle (although with truncation for edge pieces). It is possible to identify the presence of these symmetries or repetitions relatively early in the process of completing the edge frame. When redundancy is identified, it is possible to use already solved parts of the puzzle to identify the exact shapes of pieces required to complete other sections, greatly simplifying the search.

The term 'stuffed animal' historically referred to stuffing of the evacuated skins of hunted animals. However, with modern technology it is now possible to produce them with synthetic materials. Among the most popular types of classic stuffed animals are teddy bears and giant stuffed giraffe. Stuffed animals are comforting and can be educational.

Educational Toys

Educational stuffed animals, are typically built for and used by children. One could make the argument that an educational toy is actually any toy. Most children are constantly interacting with and learning about the world. This definition is ultimately too broad because one could make the same argument about a rock or a stick as it is not uncommon to see a child play with almost anything nearby.

The difference lies in the child's perception or reality of the toy's value. An educational toy should educate. It should instruct, promote intellectuality, emotional or physical development. An educational toy can teach a child about a particular subject like colors or numbers or can help a child develop a particular skill like to button or zip. The key difference is the child's learning and development associated with interacting with the toy.

More toys are designed with the child's education and development in mind today than ever before. As parents and educators grow more sensitive to the real or perceived development needs of children, toy manufacturers seek to manufacture and market to these parents.
Educational stuffed teddy bears which tend to last for a long time serve to maintain interest and durability for the child especially if the toy becomes a favorite.

Stuffed Toys

A stuffed toy, stuffie, or plush toy is a toy sewn from cloth, plush, or other textiles, and stuffed with straw, beans, plastic pellets, cotton, synthetic fibers, or other similar materials. Stuffed toys are also known as plush toys, from plush, the outer material used, and soft toys or cuddly toys. They are made in many different forms, often resembling animals, legendary creatures, cartoon characters, jungle animals, tools or inanimate objects.
Some stuffed toys are very old – home made cloth dolls stuffed with straw go back to at least the 1830s, perhaps much older. The most well liked type of stuffed toy is likely the stuffed horse. They are often used as comfort objects.

Kids Jigsaw Puzzles

Kids jigsaw puzzles help them to develop a number of skills which develop their brains. Grasping and manipulating the puzzle pieces themselves helps them develop the fine motor skills needed for writing and other delicate tasks.

Children will often naturally sort pieces based on size, shape, and color. This means they are categorizing the pieces, which is a higher level thinking skill according to experts and is a talent they’ll need throughout their lives.



An even more valuable skill taught with childrens jigsaw puzzles is that of problem-solving. They have to figure out which pieces go together to create the image.

Working with your child to put together a jigsaw puzzle is a fantastic way to spend quality time together.

Give A Gift For The Brain

Jigsaw puzzles gifts are the perfect choice for someone who loves to be challenged. You can find jigsaw puzzles for every age and ability level.

Puzzles for children generally have larger pieces to make it easier for little hands to grasp. They come in a huge array of shapes as well to help them develop their fine motor skills. Toddler puzzles are washable so you don’t have to worry about them putting the pieces in their mouths.

For the more advance jigsaw enthusiast you might want to consider a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle. Why not personalize it? There are quite a few places where you can submit a photo which is then turned into a jigsaw piece. You could create a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle of a favorite family photo or a treasured vacation image.

Jungle Stuffed Animals

Jungle stuffed animals have to be one of the most popular gifts to give to children (and sometimes even adults). The best part about this particular gift is that it can be given any time of the year for any reason.

But jungle stuffed animals don’t have to be given only to children. Teenagers and adults also enjoy receiving them as gifts- just look at the happy faces on teenage girls’ faces when their current boyfriend wins the big plush gorrilla for her at the local fair.

Many young teenage girls take comfort in crying on their large stuffed bear’s shoulder when they’re feeling low.

The fact that there are a number of large stuffed animal collectors who are adults proves that these “toys” aren’t just for kids.

Whatever the reason, people of all ages enjoy receiving and find comfort in large stuffed animals.

Stuffed Animals

Children love large stuffed animals and other animals because they’re soft, plush, and often seem to envelop the child, creating a feeling of getting a hug. Kids just adore lugging these companions along wherever they go. It’s rarely a comforting time when police are called to someone’s home or to the scene of an accident. The child may be scared and afraid to go with the officer. Having a soft stuffed dog or cat can help the child and give them something safe to hug and hold onto so they can get through this traumatic event. Psychiatrists and psychologists often have stuffed animals like large stuffed bears in their offices for similar reasons. Many times these doctors are trying to determine whether or not a child has been abused or neglected. Having something handy which provides comfort to the child can enable the child to relax enough to open up and receive the care and treatment they need.

Large Stuffed Animals

Children generally associate happy memories with large stuffed animals and being around these cuddly characters brings those thoughts to the surface when they’re needed. Because of this these animals are often used by police officers and fire departments.Fire departments often make sure to bring along a stuffed animal such as large stuffed bears when reporting to a fire at a residence. At many of these disasters the adult may be injured in some fashion or unable to care for the child at that precise moment. The child will be very frightened and surrounded by big, scary, unfamiliar men in uniforms.The stuffed animal will be given to the child to help calm them down and allay some of their fears which allows the firemen to do their jobs.