Route 66

On June 11, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

Here’s another one mom did the majority of, but she insisted that I take a picture of it for the blog anyway.

Mom and I had just finished a 1000 piece puzzle, and were looking for the next puzzle to start. We were both in the same kind of mood apparently because we looked at many different puzzles and we were both feeling the same way about all of them; it was sort of a blah thing where nothing looked like it would be fun that day. Mom had to take a phone call and so I continued the search and ended up on this one. I started sorting the edge pieces and putting everything on trays while she was on the phone and when she was done and came over to the puzzle table she was a bit wary and asked “What puzzle is that?” When I showed her the box she smiled and said “Nice choice!” We were definitely in the same weird mood. 😎

Buffalo puzzles are always good quality and it’s nice after working a loose fitting puzzle to work one that fits together well like Buffalo does. And it was also nice to work on a collage, I enjoy them very much! Somehow a collage puzzle, even if it’s a large piece count doesn’t feel overwhelming. You can work on just a small portion at a time and eventually connect them all together and then it seems like quite the accomplishment! When I’m in the “blah” mood where no puzzle seems to be the right one, the answer is usually a collage.

There’s something about Route 66 that lends itself well to a collage puzzle, this is actually the second one I’ve done – the previous one was a Ravensburger. The old postcards and maps give it a nostalgic feel and it’s interesting to see all the roadside attractions that used to make Route 66 a place to “get your kicks”. 🙂

One week to go!

On June 10, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzling, World's Largest Puzzle ProgressLeave a comment

One week from today we’re assembling Disney’s Memorable Moments! Friends and family have been invited, hall has been reserved, and I’m super excited! 🙂

I’m really excited to see every section put together and although in my head I know the measurements of the finished puzzle, it will be a different thing altogether to see it firsthand. Each section as it was completed seemed like an enormous puzzle on it’s own, and connecting them will be quite an awesome sight. 😮

I’m hoping to have an excellent picture that I’ll be able to put on the home page of the blog to replace the advertising image. Honestly though, how in the world do you get a good picture of a puzzle that’s 23 feet long and lying on the floor? I’m thinking we’re probably going to have to take a ladder. A camera rigged drone? (That made me laugh just thinking about it) Hopefully there’s a picture that turns out good enough to use here. I want a picture of myself lying or sitting on top of the puzzle, luckily the puzzle is so big the camera will have to be far enough away that it won’t be too close to my face. 😉

So if you’ve kept up with my blog and watched my progress on the “World’s Largest Jigsaw Puzzle”, it’s finally going to be completely assembled on Saturday June 17, 2017! Most likely I’ll post an update and pictures on Sunday, so stay tuned. 😎

Paying the Price!

On June 9, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw PuzzlesLeave a comment

Another fun Wasgij, haven’t found one yet that wasn’t fun to assemble. They’re different and challenging and funny, and I have enjoyed the assembly of every single Wasgij that I’ve done.

This was a Destiny puzzle, the box shows a scene from a certain time, and you have to puzzle what the scene would look like now. The box for this puzzle shows a gas (petrol) station back in the good old days when there were attendants that pumped the gas, checked your oil, cleaned the windows, etc. So what would that same place look like today with our newfangled cars and automated pumps? Is the mechanic’s garage different? And how about the small convenience store?

As usual, things are very different, and pretty funny. It’s always entertaining for me to start assembling and try to figure out what will be different and what remains the same. How does that young man on the box look now – will he be balding with a paunch? The results are usually even better than my imagination.

The usual excellent Jumbo quality, and an it always makes me want to do another Wasgij right away. The feel of the pieces and the way they fit together makes for a great tactile experience and I always find myself running my hands across the puzzle, especially when I’m concentrating.

It’s the 20th anniversary of the Wasgij puzzles this year, and I have barely put a dent in the catalog of available puzzles. I still have a stack about 5 feet tall in my closet of Wasgij puzzles yet to be assembled. I’m working on them one at a time and thoroughly enjoying every single one! 🙂

In Progress

On June 8, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw PuzzlingLeave a comment

Working on Drunk as a Skunk from All Jigsaw Puzzles. This little guy is watching the skunk, and I thought he was cute. My brain doesn’t seem to be functioning well this morning so instead of typing up a new post I decided to just show what I’m working on at the moment.

Started this puzzle yesterday, and I’m probably about 30-40% done. It’s going quickly, which is excellent because sitting and working is difficult for me this week. Luckily I have this awesome adjustable table hubby made for me and I can work while standing if I need to. Hope to be done with this by tomorrow sometime. 🙂

Think Spring

On June 7, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

It’s funny about random cut puzzles, I did this one immediately after the Springbok Monday’s Child puzzle. The Springbok puzzle was so difficult because it was all basically cream colored and random cut. It was so hard to figure out what piece I was looking for. But this puzzle was no problem at all even though it’s random cut too. This one had different colors and textures to help out and it didn’t seem difficult to me at all. I guess it’s all about the picture. 🙂

This was one of the better Bits and Pieces puzzles I’ve done in a while. The fit was very nice and the pieces clicked together instead of just sitting next to each other like in some puzzles. I hate that! There were one or two pieces that just sat next to each other until you found and adjacent piece that connected them, but for the most part they were all connected.

I think the simplicity of this image is part of what made it relaxing for me. Sometimes with an intricate or busy puzzle there’s too much to see and look for, but this one was just a simple image and I found it relaxing and fun to assemble. It’s not an image I would look at in a catalog or on a website and necessarily want to purchase, but it was an excellent assembly anyway. I think a lot of the time when you’re holding the box in your hand your perception is different than when you’re looking at a website or catalog. This is why mom and I need to take a trip to St. Louis to Puzzle Warehouse. 😎 Although I may need to save up more money before we go, it could end up being extremely pricey!

Thank goodness for thrift stores, mom finds the coolest stuff there and buys things I might not necessarily buy, but they end up being the most fun to assemble. Thrift store puzzles rock! (Mom rocks too!)