Month: August 2017

Disney Pixar Movies

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw PuzzlesLeave a comment
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Disney Pixar Movies – Ravensburger – 1000 pieces

This assembly was definitely a family affair – fitting for all the family movies in this puzzle. My sister-in-law, 2 nieces, a nephew (in-law) and myself all worked on this puzzle. Whew!

I sent this puzzle to my sister-in-law as a hostess gift of sorts. My husband and I, along with his two brothers were going to be staying with her for a few days. As a gift for being so brave in putting up with all of us I sent her two puzzles – for a few reasons. One, she enjoys puzzles; and two, it’s nice to have a puzzle sitting out in the house, especially when you have guests. Also, I may have wanted to make sure that I wouldn’t have to go 5 whole days without working on a puzzle. 😇

It’s hard not to stop and look at a puzzle in progress, and you end up adding a piece or two if you can. Before you know it people are sitting and working on it together and having a great time. That’s exactly what happened here. This puzzle sat out for a couple of days and several family members stopped to look and to help assemble it. It takes a bit of pressure off of the host feeling that the guests need to be entertained, we were entertaining ourselves with the puzzle! 🙂

The image here was perfect for a puzzle many people were assembling, it wasn’t too difficult to pick out the pieces for one section to work on. So while one person was assembling A Bug’s Life, someone else was working on Monsters Inc. We all had a great time working on it and were pretty proud of ourselves when we finished it. Excellent Ravensburger quality, with an image both kids and adults could enjoy. Great puzzle!

Review: The Old Country Store

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviewsLeave a comment
This post is sponsored by Puzzle Warehouse.
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The Old Country Store by Art Poulin – MasterPieces (Town & Country) – 300 EZ Grip pieces

There’s so much to see at The Old Country Store, you’ll keep finding new items as you assemble this puzzle. Look at everything you used to be able to get in one store! Fixtures, furniture, fish bait, groceries, toys, etc – it was also the post office and barber shop – everything you need in one place. Including lumber and marriage licenses! 😮 It makes an excellent image for puzzling, lots of fun.

This puzzle by MasterPieces was very good quality. They have excellent large piece puzzles to choose from, including several series like Town & Country, Memory Lane, and Playful Paws to name a few. The larger pieces are great for seniors or children; the large pieces are easier for aging hands and eyes, and do not compromise the image quality. I like them just because they’ve got great images and sometimes it’s enjoyable to work with the larger pieces. Click here to see all the puzzles available from MasterPieces at Puzzle Warehouse.

The finished puzzle is 18 x 24 inches (approx. 46 x 61 cm). The pieces were undamaged and fully separated, and there was no puzzle dust in the bag. The puzzle is a random cut, so there were a good variety of piece shapes. They were a good thickness, sturdy, and fit together well. The image reproduction was very good, with lots of detail, and a slightly shiny finish. The box is smaller and square, with the name of the puzzle, piece count, manufacturer and a small complete image of the puzzle on all four sides.

This was an easy assembly for me, starting with the edges of course, then the words, buildings, etc. One section leads to another and before you can get up to warm up your coffee the whole thing is done! It was interesting to see all the things you could get at the country store, I’d love to be able to visit one, but those days have passed us by. We had a “general store” where I grew up, with everything from candy to clothing, but I’m sure it wasn’t nearly as diverse as the old country stores used to be. The big super stores of today have almost everything we need in one place, but definitely not the same feel.

The artwork by Art Poulin is detailed and beautiful. He specializes in Americana and his artwork has been turned into many gorgeous puzzles. You can tell he has a love for the simple things in life and his landscapes are charming and inviting. Click here to see all the puzzles currently available from Art Poulin at Puzzle Warehouse.

The Old Country Store was a fun assembly, with large easy to hold pieces that would be great for seniors or younger puzzle fans. If you’re a fan of Americana or folk art, you should definitely enjoy this puzzle. Recommended! 👍

 

I received this product at no charge in return for an honest review, all thoughts and opinions expressed are truthful and 100% my own.

 

 

 

Alice in Wonderland

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles4 Comments
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Alice in Wonderland – Potter Style – 500 pieces

New company for me, Potter Style. I love the artwork but the pieces – yikes. 😐

This puzzle comes in a “book box”, very nice packaging with the full image on the inside of the lid (not easy to set up and use for reference). If  the chipboard were a bit thicker it would be a very nice puzzle. As it is, the pieces are about the thinnest I’ve seen and they did not fit together well.

I’m not sure where we got this one, I think it was most likely purchased new. Mom LOVES interesting packages! I’d be interested to find another one in the thrift store perhaps to compare the quality – maybe I got a bad one that made it through quality control? You never know.

The artwork is very interesting though, and the finished puzzle is quite striking. Might be nice to glue and frame for a Lewis Carroll or Alice in Wonderland fan.

 

Review: Great Minds Set of 5 Brainteasers

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Game Reviews1 Comment
This post is sponsored by Puzzle Warehouse.
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Great Minds Set of 5 Puzzle Compendium (Brainteasers) – Professor Puzzle

Entertainingly frustrating is what I would call these puzzles, but apparently the name is Great Minds Set of 5. The stubborn side of me refuses to give up and keeps on trying, the other side wants me to just type in the web address to get the solutions and get it over with! Which side will win? I don’t have an answer yet, I’m still arguing with myself.  😉

I think I prefer my plain ‘ole jigsaw puzzles, but these were/are a fun distraction. I’m not the best at logic puzzles sometimes, and at other times my mind is clicking and they don’t offer much of a challenge. I’m click-less at the moment, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to give up.

I’ve never seen brainteasers like these before, named after “great minds”. There is a short bio of each of the men on the back of the box, along with the challenge that each puzzle presents. All of the puzzles require that you separate the pieces and then reassemble them. Sounds easy, but it’s definitely not. They also have an edition with puzzles named after 5 women with great minds.

I enjoyed learning about each of the people the puzzles were named after; some I knew and some I didn’t. I have 3 of the puzzles figured out, but if I’m being honest I’m afraid to take apart Stephenson’s Railway Sleepers (far right). I’m doubting my ability to put all that back together! Also, I know my husband would just pick it up and put them back together in about a minute, and that might not be so great for our marriage! 😉

I think these would be great for a teacher to have in their classroom, or for anyone who enjoys logic and brainteaser puzzles really. They make you stop, look, and think before you go charging ahead – we all need a little practice at that if you ask me! Like I said in the beginning, entertainingly frustrating – but it’s the entertaining part that’s most important. Give these a try and give your brain cells a workout; or click the link above to see all the different brainteasers available at Puzzle Warehouse. I’m all for brain exercising, so thumbs up for these puzzles! 👍

 

I received this product at no charge in return for an honest review, all thoughts and opinions expressed are truthful and 100% my own. 

 

Star Wars

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles2 Comments
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Star Wars – Ravensburger (Silhouette) – 1098 pieces

This giant puzzle was a monster! 42 inches tall, so I had to work it sideways on my 3×4 foot board. My boys both love Star Wars, so this puzzle was for them. My oldest says he wants to hang it on his bedroom wall. I think rather than framing it, it would be more striking the way it is, so I’m going to have to learn how to attach it to foam board to make a wall hanging out of it. 🙂

Honestly I’m glad he wants to keep it, because it was a quite a challenge for me and I don’t know if I would want it taken apart – it gave me a run for my money! The darkness of the mask and around the edges is actually in shades of blue, purple, and black and it was sometimes very challenging to see which piece was the right color. I only have artificial lighting in my puzzle area so there was a glare issue. That being said, what a gorgeous puzzle! It’s beautiful and I’m proud of myself for sticking with it. The force was with me. 🙂

As usual, the Ravensburger quality was excellent – thick pieces, quality finish, nice variety of piece shapes. The fit for most of the puzzle was very good, but there were a lot of pieces just sitting next to each other (pet peeve! 😦 ), I am not a fan of that. Having whimsies makes it so that you’ve got to create a space around them, and that means not every piece connects. I know it’s part of the package when assembling with a puzzle with whimsies – so I deal with it. The edge pieces that just sit next to each other though, that is so frustrating!! I don’t know the difficulties of manufacturing and cutting a shaped puzzle, so perhaps there’s a reason for not all the edges connecting. But wouldn’t it be lovely if they could all click into one another? Just my opinion.

Aside from the connecting pieces issue, this puzzle was a challenge – but worth it. It’s a stunning puzzle that my sons love, and one of them gets to keep it in his room. And apparently I’m going to learn something new, how to mount it on foam board! 🙂