Star Spangled

On February 19, 2017December 28, 2019 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw PuzzlesLeave a comment

New thrift store puzzle! Ravensburger – my favorite – and this was a large piece puzzle. Still the awesome Ravensburger quality and the finished puzzle was 20 by 27 inches, the same size as an average 1000 piece puzzle – it makes it seem like an even bigger accomplishment!

I had a good time with this puzzle, I did the entire puzzle in bed while I wasn’t feeling well. There’s something about the larger pieces that makes it seem to go so much more quickly. This was not an image I would have chosen if I were buying a puzzle new, but it was quite fun to assemble. It was dark, most of the pieces seemed very dark and when I look at the finished picture I’m surprised at how light sections of the puzzle seem. But it’s a beautiful puzzle and I enjoyed the large pieces more than I expected. Maybe I’ve been working only 1000 piece or larger puzzles for too long, the big pieces are fun too!

Completely worth the $1.99 spent on the puzzle 🙂 Excellent quality, all the pieces were there, nice image and a fun evening assembling it.

September Gold

On February 18, 2017December 28, 2019 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

This was another puzzle from a 10 in 1 box. Love quilts and Americana puzzles, so this was one I really wanted to do even though the quality was less than stellar.

Admittedly I don’t know all the ins and out of puzzle manufacturing, but can it be THAT much more difficult to make a die with more than one piece shape? And if it is, wouldn’t it be better to spend a little more time making a puzzle with interesting pieces than to have one with only one boring shape?

Anyway, I very much enjoyed the artwork by Diane Phalen, which is the main reason I completed this puzzle. The quilts and storefront, the flowers and apples, the woods and sky all made for a great image. If only the puzzle itself were as well made as the art. 😐

Fuchsia Faerie

On February 17, 2017December 28, 2019 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw PuzzlesLeave a comment

I was looking for something on Amazon, and saw this puzzle in the “you might like” section of the page. Something about it drew me in and I ordered it that day! I’m glad I did. 🙂

I had never even heard of this puzzle company before, so that was interesting to me and I saw that the puzzles were manufactured in the Netherlands which usually means good quality. I was right! The pieces are wonderfully thick and have a linen wrap which feels good in your hands. The fit is excellent which is one of the most important factors for me and the image quality is exceptional. And this is the first puzzle I’ve ever seen where the standard 2 prong 2 hole shape is the shape with the LEAST number of pieces. There were many more pieces of the more interesting shapes and I loved that! It is a grid cut puzzle, not a random cut, but there were more of the other shapes than the standard 2/2 piece.

I enjoyed this assembly very much and finished it quickly for a 1000 piece. It sucked me in and I just had to keep going. The faerie was beautiful, and it was easy to get started by pulling the pieces for her hair, and all the dots along the border, then the sequined bodice, rest of the border, etc. The pieces fit together so well that it was easy to assemble a small section and pick it up to move it into place. This puzzle was awesome from start to finish!

I want more Purrfect puzzles! This could be bad. 😐

Thursday 02-15-17 80% Done!

On February 16, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, World's Largest Puzzle Progress3 Comments

I did my best to get a good picture, and this was the best I was able to take. I thought about standing the board up against the wall, but that’s how the whole Jungle Book fiasco happened. So here’s the best I could do for now, Hakuna Matata!

This section was fun, and just gorgeous! I loved every minute of the assembly, and I’m kinda sad that it’s over with to be honest. This section took 15 days, which isn’t bad considering there were some medical issues going on and some days I wasn’t able to do much puzzling at all. Some days I took trays of pieces to bed with me and worked on it laying down in another room! 🙂

I’m loving this whole puzzle so much, but I’m dreading being completely finished. I still have no idea what to do with the completed puzzle, none whatsoever. 😦 Any suggestions? Please help!! I know when all 10 sections are complete I’m going to want to assemble them all so I can take lots of pictures of my accomplishment. But if I don’t figure out what’s going to happen with the finished puzzle I may end up having to disassemble the puzzle back into 10 sections. The very thought of that makes me cringe!

Next up……. Beauty and The Beast, isn’t it lovely?

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It will probably be a day or two before I’m able to start working on Beauty and The Beast. The Lion King is still on the board so we have to carefully get Simba and friends taken off and stored, and there is still sorting to do. I am really looking forward to this one, I’ve been looking forward to it since September! I’ve saved the ones I thought would be the most fun for last and here we are – I’m so excited!

Couples

On February 15, 2017December 28, 2019 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

Another collage – of course. (And another cockeyed picture where you get to see my bedspread 🙂 ) I really enjoy collages, and White Mountain always does them so well. Couples and Valentine’s Day, how sweet! Almost as sweet as the day after when all the candy is 50% off!!!

This was really fun artwork, there weren’t only human couples there were plenty of fun things that make a great pair – chips and dip, cookies and milk, ebony and ivory piano keys, apple pie and ice cream, etc. Also there were a lot of non-human couples like Bert and Ernie, Buzz and Woody, Raggedy Ann and Andy, Yogi and Boo Boo and so many more.

This is another one that is fun to do with others with lots of laughing and talking about the couples and figuring out who or what things are. And as always, if you’re not sure who or what things are you can check it on the White Mountain website where they have an answer key.

So many great finds at thrift stores! 2 or 3 days worth of puzzle for 99 cents, you just can’t beat that! For mom and I it also leads to buying puzzles online. She finds a cool puzzle at the thrift store, we assemble it and love the quality or artwork and then we end up looking up other puzzles by that manufacturer or artist and buying a bunch online. Yes, we have gone slightly insane, but on the other hand we are adorable and puzzles isn’t too terrible an obsession/addiction, right?