Fruits and Veggies In Progress…

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw PuzzlingLeave a comment

Fruits and Veggies by Helen Dardik – Buffalo – 300 pieces

Such an interesting collage of fruits and vegetables couldn’t possibly be left on the shelf when I was the one doing the shopping, I mean look how colorful and fun it is! There’s just something about an image that is out of the norm that makes me happy, no matter what it is. As long as it’s not bunnies, landscapes, fine art, kitties, or a Coca-Cola Santa I will definitely check it out and most of the time I’m likely to buy it.

That is the the case with this puzzle, when I went shopping (specifically looking for smaller piece counts) this gorgeous thing was hiding out at the back of the shelf, and I’m so glad I was persistent and stubborn enough to look through every puzzle to find it.

Even though not much of it is complete I can already tell you that the quality is fabulous and it is most definitely going to be standing on it’s edge when finished; the fit is exceptional!

Beats for Bubba*

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Beats for Bubba* – Re-marks – 100 pieces

Come on! Look at that adorable face! How could you not want to put together this mini puzzle to see that sweet face looking up at you? I obviously couldn’t pass it by. Puppy pictures please the puzzle princess. 👑

I’m not really a princess, but the alliteration made me smile.

The quality was just good on this puzzle. The fit was a bit loose, the backing was that sharp, white stuff I don’t care for, and the finish was shiny and had me turning my head and holding the pieces at angles before I just gave in and turned off the lights altogether. Other than those things the puzzle was ok. The pieces were a good size, there were a good variety of shapes, and the image reproduction for very good. Three pros and three cons, you decide which ones are important to you.

It was one of the easier small puzzles I’ve done in a while. The colors around the edges made for easy assembly, then there were only a small number of pieces that were just fur and face to contend with. Overall it was a fun build though, and it’s such a cute puzzle I can’t say too much bad about it.

Sweet face, cute image, fun puzzle!

Haunted Mansion

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles2 Comments

Haunted Mansion by David Maclean – Vermont Christmas Co. – 550 pieces

Are you starting to feel the Halloween holiday spirit? Or spirits? I am! This puzzle was finished waaaay back in August, but it’s finally time to show it off. Isn’t it a good one? It was a great quality puzzle, and a nice image for puzzling, but was more difficult than it looks.

I’m not sure how I feel about the image honestly, with so much of it obviously digital manipulation it just doesn’t float my boat as much as I’d hoped. That’s ok though, we can’t fall in love with every single puzzle can we? And thank goodness we all have different ideas of what’s good, or at least what’s good for us – otherwise this world would be a very boring place indeed and it would be overrun by sameness and no surprises. B.O.R.I.N.G.

It’s been almost 5 years exactly since I’ve worked a VCC puzzle, and I forgot how much I admire their quality and their catalog. Great variety of piece shapes made of thick chipboard, a great fit, excellent image reproduction, and a slightly shiny finish that doesn’t bother me too much. I’m sure there will be more Vermont Christmas Co. puzzles on my board before you know it.

While appropriately spooky, the graves and ghosts were harder to put together than you might think. The purple ghosts weren’t much of a problem as their color stuck out, but the rest of them gave me a run for my money!

This is my favorite part of the whole puzzle, I just love how the witch looks against the moon, how the moon looks against the sky, how the sky looks behind the trees…….great image that was entertaining to puzzle – and about as difficult as you think it would be.

Couldn’t help myself. It’s a great puzzle, with a fit so good that it’s proud enough to stand up and tell you itself!

Colorsplash In Progress…

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Colorsplash by Katharina Santl – Ravensburger (Puzzle Moment) – 200 pieces

I got started on this puzzle yesterday, worked on it for a bit and then spent most of the day in bed. It may actually look different this morning though; I finished typing up this post in the late afternoon after a nap but I’m wondering if my youngest decided to work on it himself while I was in bed. It’ll be interesting to see how it looks this morning when I get up.

Katharina Santl’s artwork is very different, isn’t it? Abstract images have always attracted me; ones that are different, unusual, or just special in some way, and the image here is definitely one of those! This beauty is joining the ranks of the many interesting and atypical puzzles I’ve done that make me feel so grateful to live during a time when I can easily buy puzzles from almost anywhere in the world that have such a wide variety of images and artwork available to choose from.

At only 200 pieces it shouldn’t take too long this morning to finish it up. I’m a little sad it’ll be over so soon, but there’s an interesting Christmas collage already sorted and in the wings waiting for it’s chance on the board.

Yep! I said Christmas. 😮🎄😮

Pepsi

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles2 Comments

Pepsi – Rose Art – 300 pieces

My favorite drink combined with my favorite pastime, what could be better? I love the bright colors and the fun images shown with the Pepsi, it was just an all round entertaining and challenging puzzle that still makes me smile.

The quality was surprisingly quite good, much better than I expected really. The pieces were very thick, the fit was quite good, and the image reproduction was stellar. The finish on the puzzle was shiny, but not enough to bother me too much. I’m lucky enough to have a light over the puzzle board AND a room light, so when there’s a shiny puzzle I just have to turn off the one directly above the board and things are much easier.

My youngest one got into the game when I took a nap after posting my in progress update on this puzzle. I’d been up for hours so I stopped working on it, typed up the post, then immediately went for a nap even though it was a little before 8 am. While I was resting he came in the room and did a little bit of assembly, which always makes me happy. The only thing that would have been better is if he’d come and help when I’m in the room.💕

The fit was so nice on this puzzle that I knew immediately when I started assembling the border that it would stand up when it was complete; and I took the picture this way before the regular image with it laying flat. I was confident it wouldn’t fall because the fit was amazing!

If you like the look of this one I can recommend it, it was great fun but much more challenging than your usual 300 piece puzzle – but if you ask me the challenge is what makes it fun.