Show how much you care by gifting a unique heart-shaped jigsaw puzzle. The perfect gift idea for any occasion including Christmas, Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day.
Candlelight Dancing Jigsaw Puzzle
These cute puzzles are small (7.5 inches) but have 75 pieces which will take some time to put together given the complexity of the abstract design. Each puzzle is a statement of affection, a piece of art and a game. Plus, when it is finished the receiver can frame the puzzle for the wall.
Hand printed to order, taking 1-3 days on average, each puzzle is made from sturdy cardboard and comes in a pretty storage pouch of your choice. You can select a pouch with a ‘gorgeous’ theme, ‘Valentine’s Day’ or ‘Mother’s Day’.
Summer Paradise Jigsaw Puzzle
Shipping Details
Based in the UK, the store delivers worldwide. There are a variety of options for delivery in the UK using Royal Mail standard, recorded or special delivery. For international orders items are shipped via DHL or Fedex (taking on average 2-5 days).
Where To Purchase Heart-Shaped Jigsaw Puzzles
There is a choice of six heart-shaped jigsaw puzzles featuring the gorgeous abstract designs of artist Dorothy Berry-Lound.
Living in Central Italy, as a photographer I am constantly seduced by the wonderful towns and villages around me. My own village, Paciano, is a medieval walled village and so is the next larger town, Panicale, which is a bit higher up the mountain from me. A mere twenty minutes away is Citta Dell Pieve, another large walled town.
All of these towns are tourist magnets in season and one of the reasons is they are just so picturesque. What do these places all have in common? Well they have some inspirational Italian architecture including traditional doorways and arches!
Italian Ornate Doorways
I find myself besotted with Italian wooden doors for example. These old wooden doors sit in ornate doorways, often with marble and/or carved architrave. Often marble steps lead up to the entrance. The door furniture is always pleasing too. One of the things I particularly like is the traditional semi-circular window above the door. These are made of metalwork and some are glazed, some not. But they all serve a useful function of providing light into the room or hallway behind the front door. In many of these old Italian towns, people live in an apartment within an old building so that hallway may lead to an internal staircase or courtyard.
Italian Ornate Wooden Doors Jigsaw Puzzle by Dorothy Berry-Lound
The other thing I like about the doorways is that often they are the only way people can express their green finger (or thumb depending on where you live!). These town houses often don’t have space for a garden so you will often find all manner of plants growing in pots outside the front door. Or even hanging on the wall outside.
I have many photos of these glorious wooden doors from all over Umbria and Tuscany and I put them together into a couple of collages. This one is entitled ‘Italian Ornate Wooden Doors Collage’ and it is available as a jigsaw puzzle from my RedBubble store (see link below).
Italian Arches And Archways
Another great traditional Italian architecture feature in these towns is the use of arches or archways. These are mainly practical in nature, perhaps to allow entry through a town wall or providing access to another road. In some cases, the arch over a road links two sides and there is a small room on top of it! But I love these archways as though immensely practical, they often reveal a surprise view when you peak down them. I am also a sucker for the light and shade effects that come from the deep shade of the cool area under an archway and the bright sunlight in the area beyond.
Italian Archways Collage Jigsaw Puzzle by Dorothy Berry-Lound
The archways are traditional build too, some have wooden beams that support the curve of the arch. Some are built of red brick, which is a popular building tool in the area, particularly around Citta Della Pieve.
I have a large number of arches and archways to select from for this particular collage entitled Italian Archways Collage. I went for a representative selection that represents my description above. This is also available as a jigsaw puzzle from my RedBubble store (see link below).
Italian Culture And Challenge In One
I think both of these jigsaw puzzles are interesting, reflecting Italian culture, pleasing to the eye but also a real challenge for the jigsaw puzzler! Choose from five sizes: 30 pieces, 110 pieces, 252 pieces, 500 pieces, or 1000 pieces. They come presented in a tin with the image of the puzzle printed on the lid.
There is a huge divide across the world between those that prefer either Lambretta or Vespa scooters. It is somehow frowned upon to like the two! Living in Italy, these are vintage classics and we see them all over the place. But there is a long time rivalry between the two camps of supporters and it goes back a long way!
Competition From The Early Days
Both of these elegant scooters were developed as a means of cheap, two wheel, transport after the Second World War.
The two models of scooter developed in parallel and became more similar in many ways which is really what kicked off the rivalry. Here in Italy, even today it is not unusual to see a Vespa and a Lambretta next to one other at traffic lights having a race when the lights go green! With much tooting of horns and waving of hands of course!
Vespa
Red Vespa Motor Scooter as a Jigsaw Puzzle
The name Vespa means wasp in Italian and the motor scooter was produced in 1946 by Piaggio in Tuscany. Gradually, as it’s popularity grew, the Vespa was developed into a whole range of scooters. According to Wikipedia, in 1947 Piaggio sold 2,500 Vespas but by 1950 that had increased to 50,000.
The use of the Vespa scooter in the film Roman Holiday gave an incredible boost to the company, a real PR coup, leading to 100,000 sales in 1952. Fans of the film will remember that the characters played by Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn travel around Rome on a Vespa. The scene with the Vespa was plastered all over the movie posters, even though it was only a small part of the film. By the way, the Vespa used in the film sold at auction for a quarter of a million dollars in 2017.
Here is another interesting fact about the Vespa by the way, John Wayne was said to ride one between film sets.
Lambretta
Jigsaw Puzzle featuring a Blue Lambretta Scooter
The name Lambretta comes from the river Lambrate which flows through the district in Milan in Northern Italy where the Innocenti factory was located. Lambrettas were introduced to the market slightly later than the Vespa.
Always recognisable, though sometimes under different names (eg the Siambretta in South America), Lambrettas were manufactured under licence in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, India and Spain.
Times Changed
Over time, popular culture and demand shifted. As cars became more affordable, there was less demand for scooters into the 1960s. This meant that both manufacturers, Piaggio and Innocenti, began to struggle financially.
But, Piaggio survived, adapted and finally thrived in large part thanks to the nostalgia of their brand. The British Leyland Motor Corporation took over Innocenti in 1972. Also in 1972, the Indian government bought the production machinery of the Lambretta Milanese factory in order to produce the Lambro three-wheeler under the name Vikram for the domestic market.
Mods And Rockers
There they go – on scooters – on a Jigsaw Puzzle
So you would think that living in Italy my first introduction to these beautiful scooters would be there? Not so! It was in Brighton, UK where I grew up.
In the UK during the 1960s and 1970s a sub-culture arose among young people called ‘Mods’. With the movement went smart suits, parka jackets and haircuts, Ska music (as well as jazz, soul and R&B). And the scooter of choice was a Vespa or a Lambretta. I recall, they would lavishly decorate the scooters, including putting streamers on the handle bars and in some cases adding loads of wing mirrors stacked above each other. Looking back, I don’t know how how they balanced the scooters to ride them at times.
We talk about screen idols now, but the Italian film star Marcello Mastroianni, was a mod icon, thanks to his impeccable appearance in the film La Dolce Vita, directed by Fellini.
The rival group to the Mods were called Rockers. The rockers had motorcycles and any rivalry between the Vespa and Lambretta enthusiasts was put aside as they had a common ‘enemy’.
Scooter and Motorcycle Enthusiasts depicted on a Jigsaw Puzzle
This was all featured in the film Quadraphenia. But for me, seeing the groups gather down on Brighton seafront was a colourful, noisy and exhilarating experience! My younger brother was very into Ska music (for example ‘The Specials’ and ‘Selecter’) and dressed like a Mod for a while. Every time I see a scooter here, particularly a Vespa, I am reminded of those days.
So, which would you choose? A Lambretta or a Vespa?
Shhhhh! Don’t tell anyone but I have a special garden. A little piece of Italian countryside that is all mine. And I just love sitting surrounded by nature listening to birds singing. It is a constant source of inspiration for my art. Let me tell you about it.
The Seat Among The Iris
This little area of my land is the place to sit to watch the sunset. I used to sit on the stone wall and watch as the sun went down behind the olive trees. But then my husband treated me to a very posh wooden seat which is now my go-to place. And there is room for me and at least two cats.
My special garden is a square patch of grass bordered by an access path on one side with an olive grove opposite edged with irises. A stone wall holds back a sprawling fig tree. And opposite the fig tree, on the other side of the grass, beautiful trees and olive groves stretching as far as the eye can see.
The view from my seat is spectacular. I can see down to Lake Trasimeno way off down the valley and the mountains beyond. It is only a small piece of my land, the rest of which is covered in olive trees, fruit and nut trees and woodland. But it such a magical place to spend time. Partly because you can see for miles. But also because I get to enjoy so many birds, animals and wild flowers.
Italian Snow Scene
Even in winter I can sit in my special garden, all snuggled up in warm clothes, probably with a cat on my lap. I can sit looking at the view and enjoy the fresh air. That is until I can’t feel my nose and I retreat back inside to warm up by the log stove.
Trees lose their leaves late in the year in my part of Italy, with golden leaves still hanging on to trees well into winter snow fall. The leaves form a carpet on the ground that crunch when you walk when dry– or you slide around on them if it has been raining!
Where Wild Violets Grow
Early spring and, oh my, the joy of seeing the first wild violets carpeting the land. Such simple beauty springing out of the leaf litter.
As spring develops the migrating birds start to arrive. I can sit on my seat and watch them swooping around, checking old nests and fighting with each other. We get a lot of bee-eaters which are so pretty. They make the most wonderful ‘trilling’ sound as they fly overhead and swoop around me.
But I always feel that spring has really arrived when the hoopoes get here. Such a cute bird with a crest and a habit of bobbing up and down and saying ‘oop-oop, oop-oop’. So comical, they are one of my favourites.
There are more wild animals at this time of year too, coming lower down the mountain. I have a wildlife camera that captures them at night and they all visit my special garden. Wild boar, porcupines, deer, badgers, foxes and pine martens.
It is funny to sit in my seat know what was going on around it the night before!
Flower Spikes In Early Summer
Going into early summer the wild flowers are in full bloom, with my seat surrounded by a riot of colour. From simple daisies to beautiful red poppies and more. By now the sunsets are really spectacular, though sitting in my special garden runs the risk of mosquito bites! There is a gorgeous little wild orchid that appeared a few years ago in my garden, really tiny. Now it grows right in the middle of my little garden area and I have to be careful not to tread on it. Somehow the animals seem to manage to avoid it.
The irises that I planted start to show their flower heads at this time of year. Other plans bloom and some beautiful flower spikes appear. These gorgeous white blooms appear just opposite where I sit and are just stunning!
My Secret Iris Garden
My pride and joy are my irises. I started with just a few and each year I split them and replant and we have several areas that burst into colour. There are hundreds of them now. But none so spectacular as on the edge of my special garden. I share them with the porcupines as they love them! If I am lucky, they will wait until the irises have finished blooming before digging them up and eating the stem tubers. They leave the leaves and flower spikes scattered on the ground in their wake! They are little hooligans.
As the year goes on the plum tree on the edge of my garden comes into fruit and underneath the tree, next to my seat becomes a hive of activity! Thank goodness for my wildlife camera, it lets me see what happens in my special garden when I am not there. All the wild animals come to feed from the fruit that has fallen.
They do the same thing when the fig tree behind me is full of fruit. The foxes climb the tree to knock the figs onto the ground so they can eat them. Deer reach up their long necks and eat the figs directly off the trees. The wild boar and badgers just bulldoze their way around behind my seat grabbing what they can find. And the porcupines have a continuous party, as now they can search among the remains of the iris for the fallen figs.
So, what do you think? Am I right to describe it as my special garden? I think so. Thank you for sharing it with me.
All of the images in this article are available to purchase as beautiful jigsaw puzzles (and as fine art prints).
About the Puzzles
The puzzles are available from Pictorem with free shipping in the USA and Canada.
Unlike traditional printing, this artwork is precisely produced by sublimation print. Pictorem utilize heat and pressure to transfer images directly into the surface of the puzzle, bonding the image to the substrate at the molecular level. All protected by a high-gloss varnish.
The puzzles are available in four sizes, 120, 315, 500 and 1,000 pieces. 30 days satisfaction guaranteed.
