The Green Turtle Wooden Puzzle
A turtle in one colour family, lime through moss to forest green – 100 pieces, the quieter of our two turtles
Specifications
| Material | Wood |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 25 × 26 cm |
| Thickness | 4 mm |
| Pieces | 100 |
| Difficulty | Medium, Hard |
| Recommended age | 14+ |
| Made in | Ukraine |
Shipping
Every order ships from our fulfilment centre in France – never dropshipping. Orders are dispatched within 24 hours on working days; order before 10:30 and it leaves the same day. You’ll receive your tracking number by email at dispatch.
France: 2–4 working days – free home delivery from €40.
Rest of Europe: 2–10 working days, depending on destination.
Returns
You have 14 days from delivery to change your mind – no reason needed. Write to us first at info@creatifwood.com, then send the product back unused, in its original packaging.
Return shipping is at your charge; we refund the full order amount within 14 days, to your original payment method.
Received a damaged or wrong item? Contact us within 14 days with photos – we’ll make it right.
About this product
A green turtle rendered in one colour family
Also seen from above, but this one holds to a single register: green from lime through moss to deep forest, warmed by amber down the spine and cooled by pale blue at the flipper tips. Nothing on the board breaks out of that range. Beside our Tropical Turtle, which sets teal and burnt orange against black, this one reads as a study rather than a display.
The head is raised and clearly separated from the shell, and the rear flippers are drawn as distinct paddles rather than merged into the outline. It looks like an animal in motion, not a shape laid flat.
Feathers, not tiles
The front flippers are the tell. Where the shell carries geometric ornament, the flippers are worked in long feathered strokes, blue and cream, fanning outward like plumage. That contrast between plumed limbs and patterned carapace is what separates this design from the other turtle, where the same vocabulary runs across the whole animal.
At the centre of the shell sits an amber cartouche with a small figure inside it, ringed by spokes and scallops that spread to the shell edge.
The pieces are the shallows
Fish, a dolphin, a seahorse, a starfish, a frog, a smaller turtle, a snake or an eel depending who you ask, and leaf shapes. Set into the shell, the neck and the flippers, and once removed they leave large open areas rather than small punctures. On this design the gaps are big enough that the half-emptied board has a lace quality.
There is a stage midway, figural pieces out and the shell half closed, when the board is briefly more lace than turtle. Worth pausing on before you close it – it only exists once.
Where it slows down
The narrow palette is the difficulty. With everything in the same green range, colour tells you almost nothing, and the ornament repeats in concentric bands around the shell so that two pieces from different rings can carry similar motifs. What distinguishes them is scale: the pattern grows larger towards the shell edge and finer towards the centre.
Work outward from the amber centre and let the pattern size guide you, rather than sorting by colour.
Afterwards
This is one of the smallest designs in the collection and nearly square, so it hangs where a wide silhouette would not. The green range also makes it the easiest to place: it sits against wood and against white without competing.
Our craftsmanship
Made by our family, piece by piece
Every creatifwood puzzle starts as a sheet of birch plywood in our family workshop. We laser-cut every piece into its own shape – no two are alike – check each set by hand, and pack it in a gift-ready box. No production lines, no shortcuts – just a small family that loves working with wood, and takes it personally that your puzzle brings people together around the table.
Meet the family behind your puzzleFrequently asked questions
Why does this puzzle have no straight edges?
The outline follows the shape of the design itself, so the usual approach of building the border first does not apply. Most people start from the area with the strongest contrast – in animal designs, usually the eye – and work outward from there.
What are the animal-shaped pieces for?
They are called whimsy pieces, a tradition that goes back to Victorian puzzle cutters who added recognisable shapes on a whim while working. Parker Brothers made it a standard in 1908. They do not interlock the way ordinary pieces do, so the pieces around them hold them in place.
Is this harder than a cardboard puzzle of the same size?
Yes, for three reasons. There is no straight border to anchor from, the ornamental patterning repeats so colour sorting barely helps, and the piece shapes are irregular rather than a uniform knob-and-socket grid.
How long will it take?
Honestly: longer than you expect. With no border to anchor from, repeating ornament and irregular pieces, a wooden puzzle takes noticeably longer than a cardboard one with the same count. We think that is part of the pleasure – it is made to be savoured, not raced.
Can I glue it and hang it on the wall?
Yes. Use a glue made for puzzles rather than a general craft adhesive: it runs into the joints and dries as a thin clear film that protects the face. We stock the Cléo'Puzzle glue-varnish, rated for cardboard, wood and MDF, with a precision nozzle for boards that have no straight edges. Work in thin coats and let each one dry. Gluing is permanent – if you would rather rebuild the puzzle one day, or keep the front matt, dry adhesive film on the back is the alternative. Once sealed, the board can be framed or hung as it is.
Why does it smell of wood when I open the box?
Laser cutting leaves a light trace of scorching on the edges. We clean the pieces before packing, but a faint smell of cut wood in the first days is normal and fades.
Which age is it suitable for?
It is shown on each product page under Specifications. Most designs in this range are marked 14+, and a few simpler ones are suitable from 3.
What if a piece is missing or broken?
Write to us with a photo and we will send a replacement. Details are on our Missing Pieces page.