So I guess I’m officially nuts! On Wednesday I ordered the World’s Largest Jigsaw Puzzle (Guiness certified), and have since been anxiously awaiting its arrival. UPS promises me it will be here tomorrow and if they know what’s good for them it will be here by late afternoon. :o)

Now you’re probably wondering a couple of things – 1) Just how big IS the World’s Largest Puzzle; and 2) What the hell are you thinking?! The first part is easy to answer. This puzzle, appropriately titled “Life: The Great Challenge”, consists of a mere 24,000 pieces! And no, I did not make a typo and add too many zeros to that piece count. For those of you reading this who love numbers, here are a few more.  The actual size of the completed puzzle is 14 and 1/2 feet wide by 5 feet 2 inches tall! The box the puzzle comes in weighs about 28 pounds and is big enough to fit a 12-month-old baby (one puzzler posted a pic of his little girl sitting in the box.)  Too cute.  The puzzle is split into four bags of 6,000 pieces each. Each 6,000-piece bag is one quarter of the overall picture and measures approximately 42″ x 60″.  For me, dimensions alone necessitate working on the puzzle in sections rather than try to put it together as one big piece. Besides, while I do admit to being a little nuts for trying this, I’m not a complete glutton for punishment! :o)  Boy did that ever change — See Around the World build.

The second question is a much more difficult one to answer, but I’ll do my best. About a year ago I was doing some research on the internet for jigsaw puzzles. I have always loved doing them and wanted to get back into it again. I found several really large puzzles with counts well over 5,000 pieces, and I began to wonder – what’s the biggest one out there? So I googled world’s largest puzzle and found the Life puzzle and a really cool website dedicated to those amazing people who have completed it. I began looking at the website and THREE HOURS LATER I knew I had to get this beast. It is an incredibly beautiful picture. In doing the research, I found out it is a compilation of many different works by the artist, Royce B. McClure. The colors are so vibrant and the overall picture comes together so well that you can’t help but get lost in it whenever you look. It has a little bit of everything – hence the title “Life” I guess, but all I know is I simply fell in love with the picture. However, it was the Hall of Fame section of the website that truly inspired me to want to put this together. There are stories from people all over the world who have conquered this enormous project. It was so much fun reading all the different stories and techniques (of which I am stealing several) of those who have come before me. I know I won’t be setting any records for time or “first in whereever to complete”, but I know I will have a ton of fun working on this. And most likely my 5-month-old son Derek will be old enough to help me before I get this thing finished so it could end up being a fun mother-son bonding thing. LOL

I started this blog to keep track of my progress and share it with family and friends. I will take lots of pictures and talk about the process as I’m doing it. My goal for Day 1 (tomorrow) will be to open the box, swoon, and laminate the poster it comes with to help put it together. I know I will be using the poster endlessly so I want to make sure it’s stable enough to handle all the wear and tear it’s going to get.

I am so excited! I cannot wait to get started…come on UPS man, bring me my box! :o)