Do you enjoy doing puzzles? I do. Well… I should say I used to. I did puzzles A LOT as a child. Sadly, the older I get, the less time I have to do puzzles between work and “life.” I do try and complete one here and there whenever I have the chance. I keep a few boxes of puzzles ranging in sizes (pieces) from 300 – 1,000+ pieces.
I find puzzles to be a very relaxing activity to do alone, as well as a fun family activity.
I currently have a glow in the dark Halloween themed puzzle that I want to put together before Halloween (of course). I’m still on the fence on whether or not I want to glue the puzzle together and display it each Halloween season, or take it apart when I have put it together, so I can put the puzzle back together each Halloween. I do have a couple of Christmas themed puzzles that I try to put together year after year.
Puzzles are fun, but they are not always that challenging, especially for today’s children. Today’s children are used to high tech toys and video games. Sometimes a simple puzzle is not enough for them (sad to say).
A brand called Allessimo has taken puzzles to a whole new level. They offer 3-D puzzles! Not only are they puzzles that you (or your child) built piece by piece, but they can also be assembled into a toy using special clay that is included with the kits.
You will NOT find flat, boring, ordinary puzzles at Allessimo. Instead you’ll find 3-D puzzles that you can assemble to create a toy, puzzles you can assemble and paint, amazingly detailed art-quality puzzles (also 3-D), and even puzzles with a solar element!
To give you an idea of the types of puzzles you can find on the Allessimo website, here are just a few photo examples.
As you can see, these are no ordinary puzzles.
I was sent two Allessimo puzzles to try out for myself. I was sent to review their WunderClay Elephant and WunderClay Unicorn.
Each kit comes with wooden puzzle pieces, clay and embellishments.
You need to pop the puzzle pieces out of the wood “sheet.” It wasn’t hard to do.
Once you pop out the pieces, you need to put them together. Essentially you are creating a “skeleton” out of the pieces.
Each wooden piece is numbered. You need to connect the pieces based on the numbers. There are no instructions explaining that, but I was able to figure it out.
Once you have the “skeleton” (frame?) of your puzzle completed, it’s time to add the clay to give it a body (this applies to the WunderClay puzzles – not other Allessimo puzzles).
I wish there were more directions on how to properly apply the clay. You have to work quickly. It’s not that the clay dries out, but it does get less “moldable” as time goes on. I was quickly slapping on the clay, figuring I could go back and make things smooth and the proper thickness. In hindsight, I should have worked in smaller sections to ensure it looked right (thickness, smoothness) before moving on to other parts of the puzzle. Because I applied the clay incorrectly, my unicorn has a “lumpiness” to it and it’s not as smooth as I would have liked it to be. The legs and horn are also not looking how I wanted them to look.
My unicorn does not look exactly like the one on the Allessimo website, but, I made it myself, so I am proud of that accomplishment. Children will be equally as proud of their complete Allessimo puzzle, whether it’s a WunderClay puzzle or one of the other super cool Allessimo puzzle options.
I think kids will also enjoy the fact that it’s not just a puzzle, but also a fun toy too!
When I work on the elephant I will know better. Or if my kids opt to do the WunderfClay Elephant, I will let them know what I learned doing the Unicorn puzzle.
These are 3D wooden puzzles that you and our child can build and decorate is a great bonding experience. Not only is it a puzzle, and a toy, but also a nice decoration for your child’s room.
These puzzles are a GREAT way to get your child away from their high tech toys and video games. Let’s bring back the fun of doing puzzles, the way we enjoyed doing puzzles as a child (except these puzzles are A LOT better).
Get your very own Allessimo puzzles today by visiting Allessimo.com. The brand can also be found on Facebook and Instagram. Their links are found on the bottom of their website.
Kimberly
*I received free product samples to review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own and not influenced in any way.
