Is That A Bear There?

by guest blogger, Elmer Prather

This is the 56th Cobble Hill puzzle I have had the pleasure of putting together. It is a 500-piece puzzle titled, Den Dreams. For me to spend the time and energy putting puzzles together, I must have a connection with the puzzle. My connection with this puzzle is both the bear and the apples.

Den Dreams 500 piece puzzle by Greg Alexander

I live in Canton, Georgia USA the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.  Bears are known to come down out of the mountains searching for food. I live in a subdivision in the city limits of Canton. One spring day, several years ago, I was working in my back yard and suddenly, I noticed a movement over my right shoulder. When I turned around, I was face to face with a black bear. He stared at me for a second or two then sprinted out of my yard and back into the woods. I am into photography, so I ran back into my basement and grabbed my camera and headed after the bear. I was not able to locate him, but I will never forget my encounter with him. We probably frightened each other because I was not expecting him, and I do not think he was expecting me.

Den Dreams finished puzzle assembled by Elmer Prather

As far as the apples shown in the puzzle, the next county north of me is Gilmer County which is famous for all its apple orchards. Each year for almost 50 years the Gilmer County Chamber of Commerce has sponsored the North Georgia Apple Festival.  The Apple Festivals are held during two weekends in October. These festivals have over 300 vendors selling handmade items such as jewelry, pottery, toys, soap, candles, baskets and many other items. The festivals have over 35 food concession vendors serving food to the attendees and workers. Fifty thousand people attended this festival last year.

The title of this puzzle, Den Dreams, makes me think that the puzzle artist imagined that the bear featured in the apple orchard was having dreams about gorging itself on apples. Bears add additional fat to their bodies in the fall to see them through their winter hibernation. Apples ripen from August until December and this bear is probably planning on having a few in his preparation for winter.

Elmer Prather
Canton, GA USA

Preserving Your Puzzle: How to Frame It

We get quite a few inquiries from puzzlers asking if we sell frames. Unfortunately, we do not. Luckily, there are companies out there who specialize in framing! One of our customers, a family run business, ACMS (Advanced Craft Making Solutions), has sent us some amazing photos of their puzzle framing and we just had to share! 

Here is the final result of what one can expect from framing their puzzle with ACMS or purchasing a ready made framed puzzle. We think the "Backyard Butterflies" 500 piece puzzle turned out beautiful in this rich wooden frame. Let's look at some photos of the easy step by step process as recounted from their owner, Christian Magro.

"Backyard Butterflies" 500pc framed by ACM Solutions

Frames come with a 1/4” thick Mounting Board….if you purchase the frame package then you can actually use the mounting board to do your puzzle. Your puzzle simply sits on top of the board….no gluing required of course.

Now you have an 1/8” thick puzzle ring….the ring is hidden in the rabbet of the frame. This ring is made 1/16” bigger (1/32” on all sides)….this accounts for a little wiggle room.

Then you place the acrylic cover over everything….now everything is perfectly aligned and held nicely in place.

Now you just take the frame and place it over everything….again…perfect alignment and quick. Then you grab the entire frame…flip it over and rotate the turn buttons to secure it all.

Framing your puzzle takes about 1-2 minutes!

Here is the final product! Looks great!

We are not affiliates with ACMS, they're simply a neat customer of ours who has taken the love of puzzles and shared with us how they preserve these works of art. If you have any questions about the framing, please get in touch with their office. You can visit their website, here: https://acms-shops.com/

Christian did give us some notes in case you're interested in learning more:

• Some frames have mats and some don’t
• Frame finish is fully customizable to suit your décor (you might want a black frame instead of wood tone)
• Cobble Hill is the only puzzle available in our puzzle bundles
• We make puzzle frames of all shapes and sizes beyond our puzzle frames
• A lot of their clients are older and message how simple it was to frame their puzzle

They also have a very well done video of how they do the framing seen above. You can go to their website by clicking the image below or this link to watch the short video. And if you want to follow them on social media, you can find them on Facebook and/or Instagram.