Doing the NEW 5000 Piece Gradient Jigsaw Puzzle

Hi everyone welcome back to karen puzzles, so we’ve made it it’s finally, the day that i take on the 5 000 piece gradient puzzle for the second time. If you don’t know what i’m talking about uh, this is the 5 000 piece gradient puzzle from play. Group design they had originally released it years ago and then completely like redid it, and this new one is made at a different manufacturer. So it should be totally different. So you might have already seen my video, where i’m doing the older version, and i asked the company if they could send me the new one.

They said yes, so that’s what we’re doing today well today and tomorrow and the day after that, probably the day after that, but first before i get into it, i have a very exciting announcement. I now have t-shirts. Oh, it’s so pretty check it out before you ask yes, i know that the obvious merch item for me to do it would be a karen puzzles puzzle but um that’s going to be a really big project. That’S going to be a next year project. So in the meantime, i thought i would put my graphic design skills to use and come out with some puzzling t-shirts.

We have this one which says i’d rather be puzzling because, yes, literally always, and then there is the puzzle, club t-shirt and the puzzle club is not a real thing, but maybe if enough of you buy the shirt, it’ll be real in our hearts. So the t-shirts are available for pre-order right now and i don’t have the actual final t-shirts to show you. I made this sample using my cricut, but this is the actual t-shirt, blank that they’ll be printed on and for size reference, i’m wearing an extra small. So i hope you’ll check them out. I have so many ideas for more shirts and other puzzle, merch that i could do in the future, but i’ll be totally honest.

Uh. This first batch of shirts is really just an experiment to see if this is something that you all would be interested in. So if you want to see me come out with more stuff in the future, i hope you’ll check out these first ones so that i know that this is something that i should be pursuing. I hope that makes sense um you can get them at dftba.com karenpuzzles and the link will be right down below all right.

So now, let’s talk about the puzzle. So here are my initial thoughts. Now that i’ve already done it once, i feel like i have an idea of the scale. So hopefully i won’t get quite as overwhelmed this time, as i did with the first one, i’m just at the point where i feel like there’s no end. Looking at the two gradients um, you can see that the original was much longer and shorter and this one is much closer to like a square shape.

So that means the gradient is a different shape. It’S going to be much taller and narrower on this new version, and i honestly don’t know which version is going to be harder. That’S what we’re going to find out in today’s video, as i mentioned before, the pieces in the new version, are made in a different factory. I have heard that it’s the same factory that makes ravensburger puzzles so, hopefully the quality will be better and i won’t have the issue of pieces seeming to fit where they don’t actually go, which was the biggest problem that i had with the original. But anyway, let’s go ahead and open it up, i’m so excited!

I cannot wait all right, i’m opening it for the very first time. Oh, look at all those pieces check that out. So all the pieces just come in a huge plastic bag. There’S nothing else in here and i’ll show this in the close-up, but i can already see they have the blue background. This is a ravensburger puzzle.

All right, let me swap the cameras around so that you can see the close-up of what i’m looking at and i’m going to tell you all about the pieces. [ Music ]. So the first thing i noticed was how much puzzle dust was in the box before i even opened up the bag, and this will be a theme throughout the sorting i dumped out all of the pieces into the box and just look at how beautiful they are With so many pieces, i can’t resist burying my hand under them. It’S so satisfying just for comparison’s sake. I pulled out a ravensburger puzzle to compare the pieces, and these are definitely made in the same place.

You can see that the finish is the same. The thickness is the same. The signature blue cardboard is exactly the same, and that’s really interesting to me, because i didn’t know that ravensburger puzzle factories were used for anything besides ravensburger puzzles, so all of the normal peace shapes are there and if you’ve ever done a ravensburger puzzle, it’s the exact Same quality as their other puzzles, so i dumped out all the pieces onto the table and now it’s time for the sorting. So if you’re really sensitive to puzzle dust, this might not be the puzzle for you, because there is a lot of it. That came out during the sorting.

Also yes, i know before you comment. I know that it might be objectively faster to sort the pieces into trays so that they’re easier to move around as i work on each color. But i just wanted that beautiful time lapse and that beautiful photo of all of the pieces in a rainbow on the table, i’m making a video. I want it to be pretty okay. So here’s what i was thinking while doing the sorting.

So i’m maybe like a fourth of the way through sorting, and i just want to bring your attention once again to how much puzzle dust there is. This is crazy. I’Ve never seen this much puzzle dust from one puzzle. I mean there are a lot of pieces to be leaving, you know for dust to be falling off of, but look at that. That’S like just from this little bit that i’ve sorted already and i still have all of this to go.

So i just worked on the sorting for about an hour i feel like it might be going a little faster than the first time, because it’s only been an hour and i feel like i’m about halfway through. So let me show you here: we are, you can see everything i’ve already sorted, and this time i decided to pull out the edges instead of leaving them all mixed in. I mean it’s kind of hard to tell because these pieces are stacked so much higher than the ones that i’ve already sorted, but i think i’m probably about halfway through so yeah. So far it’s been about the same as the first one. I wouldn’t say the sorting is any easier or more difficult, but i’m just making my way through.

Oh boy. My back is definitely starting to hurt. That’S gon na be a theme again. Oh man, i did it. I finished the sorting.

I’Ll be honest. That was a little brutal. I basically did it straight through no real breaks. Uh my back hurts. I definitely need to go eat dinner and you know lie on the couch for a little while, but look how pretty oh, it looks so good.

It’S about 6 p.m. It took about three hours so about the same amount of time is the first time, so i’m gon na call it a day and i’ll be back bright and early tomorrow to get started on it. So, as i said, i powered through all of the sorting in one go, which was a lot after looking at the footage. It actually only took about two and a half hours, but i did it straight through so my body and my brain were exhausted afterwards, but now that we have our beautiful gradient of puzzle pieces, let’s move on to actually putting this thing together.

Welcome to day one of the 5 000 piece puzzle for the second time. Why do i do this to myself anyway? Here’S the plan, so the main thing that i learned doing it for the first time was that i just can’t have all of the pieces on the table all at once, because i end up like pushing them off and they get on the floor so before i Do anything else, i’m going to use the top and bottom of the box to pull out all of these dark pieces at the bottom, because i’m a little intimidated by them? I can already tell that again that that’s going to be the hardest part of the puzzle. Just like it was the first time so i’m just going to get those out of there for now, then i think i’m going to actually move all of these green pieces off of the table as well.

That way, i can sort of spread out towards this side and then i think i’m going to start with the yellow and orange region because i always start with pink. So, let’s change it up today i mean that’s the plan, we’ll see where we are in a few hours, let’s get into it: [ Music, ]. Oh my gosh! I cannot even begin to tell you how much of a good decision it was to move those pieces off of the table. It gave me so much more room to spread out without constantly knocking pieces onto the floor.

So if you decide to do this puzzle, please don’t get discouraged. If it takes you a little while to get started, i actually think getting started is the hardest part of the whole puzzle, because there are way fewer places where each piece could fit. When you just have a small section put together, rather than a huge section, where you’re working out from all of the edges, so it was slow going at first, but let’s take a look at the puzzle, vlogs. So it’s about noon on day. One here is the morning’s progress i’m pretty impressed.

I think i’m doing really well and here’s. Why note to self insert a sound effect of angels singing because they solved the problem of pieces seeming to fit where they don’t actually go. Finally, these pieces. I haven’t really had maybe like one or two issues where a piece was in the wrong place, but once i looked at it more closely, i pulled it out for the most part i haven’t had any problems with pieces. You know seeming to fit but actually being wrong, so i think i can like actually make progress and not be constantly second-guessing myself up here.

I just reached the top of the puzzle, so i think after lunch, i’m gon na keep working on these lighter colors and then hopefully try to get a lot of the the top edge finished. A lot of you might be wondering why i didn’t just start with the edges and that’s because the edges in this puzzle are the hardest parts, because it’s all like white and black, and so the edges are like, basically a very, very similar color. All the way over, so it’s actually easier to start from the middle in this case and work your way out and then have all of this in place before you start trying to put the edges on all right. It’S about 2pm, and here is the problem with doing a puzzle. This big um i’ve been trying to work on this corner up here and i’ve been like.

Where are the pieces like? I just don’t have any more light green pieces that would fit here, and i entirely forgot that i had moved all of the green pieces to a separate box. So right here are like every single one of the pieces that i’ve been looking for so anyway. I think i’m making really good progress. I’Ll, definitely finish this green side today and yeah i’m having a great time with this.

I mean now that i found all the pieces that i was looking for. Also, i want to share a new innovation in keeping myself comfortable and helping out my back. I decided to put on my running shoes because my the bottoms of my feet would always hurt by the end of the day, from just standing on the hardwood floor in bare feet. I mean it’s a little dorky and i kind of look like i’m ready to go mall walking when i’m literally just sitting in my apartment, doing a puzzle, but no one’s gon na see it. So you know it’s fine, so yeah, i’m feeling good.

I’M loving this puzzle, i’m having so much fun with it. I’M gon na put in another few hours today and then i’ve still got all weekend to finish it up all right. It is the end of day one. It is 6 p.m, which means that if i started at like 8 30 minus the time for lunch, it’s like nine hours of puzzling today, so i definitely think i’m going faster than last time.

You can see that i finished the light areas all the way across and on this second section which uh connects over there, i mean i’m a little sore, i’m pretty sure when i sit on the couch, i’m just gon na like realize how sore i am, but Really it’s not bad, it’s so much better than it has been in the past, so yeah. Why didn’t, i think, to wear sneakers earlier anyway, i’ll see you all tomorrow. So, as i mentioned, the piece shapes are much more unique in this version, which meant that i could be more confident that each piece was correct as i moved forward, even if it only connected on one side, there were maybe 10 times throughout the entire puzzle. Where i had a piece in the wrong place, whereas last time it was like every third piece. Also, since the piece shapes are more unique, it was easier to spot the piece shape that i needed so that made the whole thing easier too, and i know i say this in every gradient puzzle video.

But if this is your first, one gradient puzzles are actually the easiest types of puzzles out there and that’s because once you sort all of the pieces they’re all in order, instead of jumping around all over the board, you pick a spot and you work your way Out and once you finish a color – that’s all there is of that color. Something else that i noticed is that i think the top and bottom are easier in this version, since the gradient is shorter, so each piece is more different in color than they were in the longer gradient. Do you know what i mean also, i want to note that this puzzle is a complete gradient, which means that the greens on each side are almost exactly the same. So that’s why i was working on them simultaneously because for the first few columns until they turn more yellow or more teal, the green pieces could go on either side. Also, once i got going, the puzzle dust wasn’t really an issue anymore, so i guess most of it got knocked loose in the sorting i really felt like.

I could work on this forever. It’S just so satisfying to put together, and it’s so hard to pull myself away from puzzles like this. I just have this compulsion to keep placing the colors one after the other, but it was getting dark and my body was hungry and hurting, so i called it a day with the puzzle. Looking like this [ Music ], i’m so excited to work on my puzzle. Hello, everybody.

It is about 8 30 a.m. On day two, i’m feeling so good. I was a little sore when i woke up this morning, but i’m ready for another full day of puzzling, i’m so excited. I couldn’t even sleep last night because i just wanted to get back to the puzzle, so here’s the plan today.

First, i want to try to finish this bottom section so that i have a flat full layer that the rest of these sections can layer. On top of so i have a piece of paper here which i’m going to be moving the pieces onto so that i can fill in this space on the table. Imagine if i finished it today. No, i can’t do that again. I can’t go down that rabbit hole again, i’m just gon na work as fast as i can and we’ll see what happens so on day.

Two, i started by moving the pieces off of the table onto paper so that i could get to the table underneath. I know that there are special puzzle trays you can get, but paper is cheap and it works just fine. So just like, with most puzzles as you get closer to the end, it just gets easier and easier because you have all of the pieces that you need sorted out a little bit better like there are fewer pieces left to go into each spot. So at this point it’s just a matter of putting them in one after the next, but the layering got a little bit intense on this day, because clearly my table isn’t big enough to do the entire puzzle at once. I would recommend slipping paper underneath the layers so that you’re working on a white surface, or rather than having the color of the other pieces underneath – and i did that more with the darker colors.

But sometimes it’s fun to give yourself more of a challenge by not putting paper underneath and also all of these colors next to each other. They just look so pretty on camera, so it’s 11 am, and i just took a break to like, have a snack and rest. My back and i was planning to spend like 15 minutes off of from the puzzle and then five minutes later i was like well now, i’m bored guess it’s time to get back to the puzzle, so i know that i’m a little all over the place on This puzzle, but i have finished this lower, like yellow and red section, and i wish i could finish these greens, but the greens are so tricky because these greens are so similar to the greens on the other side. So i have to keep looking back and forth. So anyway, that’s where i’m at um time to keep going.

Oh, my gosh! This is getting crazy, so uh, it’s 1 p.
M, i just got back from lunch and i think i need to finish up this corner so that this section can move over to the side, and then i have space for this bottom section, because right now everything is overlapping. It’S getting very confusing all right! Everyone!

It’S a little after 5 p.m. I think i’m gon na call it for the day i’ve gotten to the dark section, which is the hardest, and i just think i need to look at it with fresh eyes tomorrow. So you can see. I got a lot of this bottom edge done and i spent so long trying to find this piece because i really just wanted to connect it before i ended for the day, but i’ll find it tomorrow.

It’S fine, something that i learned in doing this puzzle is that my upper limit seems to be about 2 000 pieces as the most puzzling that i can do in one day. I did the 2000 piece cloudberries gradient puzzle in one day, and this puzzle took me about two and a half days, so that number tracks – and you know i’m fine with that. I think that is a solid puzzling pace to have. You know, at least for these easy gradient puzzles, so here is the time lapse from day two and let’s move on to day three. Oh my god.

It’S day, three of the puzzle, it’s about 9 15 on sunday morning and i’m pretty sure i’m gon na finish. It today i know i say that literally every day, both this time and last time, but this time i think it’s true, so here’s the plan. First, i’m gon na finish up these 14 green pieces. I just need to get that done after that. I think i’ll tackle some of this darker section here under the reds and the yellows and then once i have all of that, like as a solid piece, i can move it up and i can get back to these layers, which is the green on this side, And the purple and then the dark, green and dark purple, so i think i’m probably like three quarters of the way done.

I definitely think this is doable in one day. Let’S get into it. Oh my gosh, i’m literally like three seconds in and i have a theory, so this piece seems to fit right there, but it’s not fitting on the edge, but then on the other side i had this piece fit, but it didn’t quite fit on the edge. I wonder if i have to swap some of these edge pieces all right. Let’S see if that um, no okay, that theory was not correct.

Was it i don’t know, what’s happening, wait so that hang on? Maybe it was correct that goes there. That goes there. These come back over to this side. Maybe she comes out and goes on the other side and these fit.

Oh, my god, it’s a perfect fit. Okay! I was right so that that means that this one comes back over here. Okay, maybe that’s why i was having so much trouble with these. That’S so crazy, [, Music ].

So one thing that i want to note about this puzzle is that the pieces hold together really well enough, so that i was literally able to pick up this entire section and move it on top of the other sections. Can you imagine if the whole thing had just crumbled? I i would have cried so this day was all about the dark colors, and luckily they were easier this time than in the first version of this puzzle, where i basically had a nervous breakdown trying to finish them again. I think it’s because the gradient is shorter. So each piece is a more different color than the piece next to it, but you still do need really good light and good color vision, because these darker colors are not always the easiest to differentiate, but putting white paper underneath definitely helped, and i just powered through It here’s a trick when you’re looking at all of the pieces, the lightest pieces stand out, so you can pull all of those out to put into the puzzle.

Then, when you’re back to look for your next batch of pieces, the new lightest pieces still stand out. So you can grab those and just keep going like that until you’re done so i tried really hard to not have to sort the pieces by shape, but in the end, in this dark purple section, the colors were so close to each other. That i just did have to sort them by shape and that worked really well, so i was able to finish it up without any major issues. I wish there had been issues that would have been a better video, but you know it’s a great puzzle. What else can i say all right, so it’s about 11 30 on day three, and i’m sorry that this video is not nearly as dramatic as the last one, but i’m having a great time.

Let me show you how close i am to being done. So you can see that i completely finished this bottom layer, which is all of these light colors down to like the medium colors. That goes all the way across the table. Yeah literally all the pieces i have left are just these three sheets of paper and then this box, so i’m gon na take a break to go, have lunch and then, when i get back, i’m gon na finish it up. Oh, i’m kind of sad for it to be over.

I’Ve been having so much fun with it. So one thing i’m really happy for right now is uh, my lights that i have set up, because you need a really good light to be able to differentiate the very slight color differences in all of these dark colors. So that’s what i’m gon na do this afternoon and then i’ll be done. Oh my god. It’S the very last piece this time it did not end up on the floor.

I did it. Oh my gosh and the puzzle is finished. I mean it’s still in sections, but all of the pieces are together. Look how beautiful i have so much to say. I have so many thoughts but right now, um, since i’ve spent the last three days non-stop working on this.

I think i’ve earned a few hours on the couch not doing anything and like resting, my back because i’m very sore all right. Let me get all my thoughts together and then i’ll. Let you know what my final thoughts are: [, Music ]. Well, i did it. I really loved this puzzle and i think i loved it even more the second time since i kind of knew what to expect – and i knew what the scale of the puzzle was gon na be in this new version of the puzzle.

They fixed pretty much. All of the issues that i had with the first one like that line that you got where the colors didn’t quite line up and the fact that the pieces used to fit where they didn’t actually go. So, looking at the amount of time that i spent on it, the original took me 28 hours over five days. If you include the sorting, whereas this one took me 26 hours over 4 days, so i guess i didn’t actually shave off that much time. It just felt like it, since i did it in one fewer day, but to prove my point about how much easier gradient puzzles are from normal puzzles.

The 9000 piece puzzle that i did in college took me over 500 hours of puzzling time and yes, it is double the size, but that is 18 times as much time. So i did have one quality issue that i wanted to mention. Some of the pieces did start peeling up, which was kind of annoying it kind of ruins that perfectly flat look of the final puzzle, but to be fair, it could have been partially my fault since i could be a bit rough with the pieces. If i like tried one in the wrong spot and then yanked it back out, so all i had to do was apply a little school glue with a little paint brush and push it down, and it’s good as new super easy. But it made me realize that i treat my puzzling like i’m on american ninja warrior.

You know most people are just trying to finish the course just get through it, and then you have those crazy people who are like. I know i can do it. I want to do it in the fastest time possible and when it comes to jigsaw puzzles, i am that crazy person, so this puzzle looks so beautiful once it’s on the floor, all in one piece, i’m actually planning to hang both of these puzzles in my hallway. So look out for a video about that soon, assuming what i have in mind works and looks good. Please correct me if i’m wrong, but i think i might be the first person besides the people who work at this company who has done both versions and had them next to each other, it’s just so beautiful.

I can’t even handle it. So i hope that, if you’re deciding, if you want to try this puzzle, that this video was a little more helpful than the first one, since this is the version that you’ll get, if you buy it today, if you want to get one for yourself i’ll, have The link right down below so please remember to order your puzzle shirts, if you want to help support my channel if these go well, i have so many other merch ideas that i can have ready just in time for the holidays, but for now the first two Shirts are available at dftba.com karen puzzles, so your code word for the comments. If you watched all the way to the end of this very long, video will be shirt because i am not above a little shameless self-promotion in the comments. Happy puzzling and i’ll see you all in the next one.

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