A new puzzle company for me, and it was pretty good. It’s difficult to tell how the fit is, because there are so many whimsy pieces and not everything connects. The image is kind of bland for me, but it was interesting to work with all the different shapes.
The piece shapes are pretty obvious in the finished image, but I almost think that’s a good thing here because it’s cool to see all the different shapes of the whimsy pieces. There were the usual dog and cat, etc., but some were really different! There’s a grand piano, a peacock, several letters, and a faucet to name just a few. 🙂
The pieces are a good thickness and very sturdy. Again, I can’t say much about the fit other than to say that the pieces that did connect seemed to fit together well. The image reproduction seemed a bit fuzzy, but that may have been the artwork itself. It was a little difficult for me to tell for sure. I try to err on the side of positivity, so we’ll say that it was the artwork and not the reproduction that was fuzzy.
I enjoyed assembling this puzzle and would be happy to try more puzzles from this company. I think for me the whimsy pieces are a fun change of pace once in a while, but I wouldn’t want to do them all the time. I’m just not a fan of pieces that don’t connect, it seems as though you’re always having to adjust everything. Again, that’s just my personal preference – if you enjoy them, rock on!
Travel Stamps by Finchley Paper Arts – Ravensburger – 2000 pieces
I picked this puzzle out to work on with family while we were holed up at my house during Hurricane Irma. I’ve had it for some time and I’m not sure why I waited so long – it was really fun! I had help from both my daughter and my mother; 3 generations of awesome women working together.
Usually when I start a 2000 piece puzzle I’m slightly intimidated. It’s so big and there are so many pieces to sort through it almost feels like there’s no good place to start and that it’ll take forever to finish. I realize how odd that sounds coming from someone who has completed the World’s Largest Jigsaw Puzzle, but I never said that I was rational or that I always made sense. Anyway, for some reason this puzzle wasn’t intimidating for me and I knew exactly where I should start. 😎
The assembly was very methodical and soothing for me and I enjoyed each and every piece we put together. We started with the pale border area and then with all the wording. From there it was easy to pull out all the colored frames for each stamp and assemble them one color at a time. We didn’t get it completed before everyone left to go back to their homes, but we got quite a bit accomplished together; I finished it 2 days later.
This was a great puzzle with what seems like 15 small puzzles in the middle of it. That made it easy to find and assemble pieces, especially when several people were working on it. If you’ve got a big enough work space this puzzle would make a great family project!
Diary of a Wimpy Kid Book One by Jeff Kinney – Pressman Toys – 200 pieces
This was a challenging 200 piece puzzle; the line drawings along with the black and white palette made it pretty difficult. I enjoyed the challenge, but had to check the box lid more often than I normally do.
The quality of this puzzle was good, the pieces were thick and sturdy and fit together well. The only issue I had was that the finished puzzle didn’t lie flat. You can see in the picture above that the tabs seem to stick up. I’m not sure what the cause of that might be, but it was odd. We found two of these Wimpy Kid puzzles at the thrift store, so I’m curious to see if the second puzzle has this same issue. I’ve been impressed with the other puzzles by Pressman Toys that I’ve assembled, so I’m interested to see if I find this problem with other puzzles they’ve produced.
I thought this would be a quick assembly being only 200 pieces, but I had to work at it a bit more than I assumed I would have to. That’s not a bad thing, I enjoy being challenged and I’m always trying to exercise my brain to keep sharp. It doesn’t always work, but I keep on trying. 😉
Remember When by Charlie Girard – White Mountain – 1000 pieces
Remember When is another fun collage from White Mountain. How many of these things do you remember? I remember many of them, and most of the rest I have some knowledge of. I was a little old when Cabbage Patch dolls were all the rage, but I do remember signing the birth certificate for my friend’s younger sister. Is that a hideous green AMC Gremlin? Oh my!
White Mountain Puzzles really do have the best catalog of collages around, there’s something for just about everyone. Beer, wine, cereal, neon signs, stamps, etc.; there’s a bunch of entertaining collages to choose from. They don’t just have collages though, they have fine art, educational maps, historical works, and much more. White Mountain puzzles are good quality. The pieces are a good thickness with a nice variety of piece shapes, and they fit together well. Sometimes there can be an issue with image lift if a piece is placed wrong and has to be removed, but it isn’t too much of a problem in my opinion – a touch of super glue and the piece is fine. The image reproduction is very good, with excellent colors. Click the link above to see all the White Mountain puzzles available at Puzzle Warehouse.
There was a moderate amount of puzzle dust in the bag, with a few slightly bent pieces. The pieces were a good thickness and fit together very well. The image reproduction was bright and colorful with no fuzziness. The finished image is larger than the average 1000 piece puzzle at 24 x 30 inches (61 x 76 cm), be sure you have enough work space before you begin. The box is about the average size for a 1000 piece puzzle with the name of the title, artist, manufacturer, and piece count on all 4 sides. 2 sides have a smaller complete image of the puzzle, and 2 sides have a small partial image, making it suitable for shelving either vertically or horizontally.
Part of the reason collages are so much fun for me is that you can pick out the pieces for a small section and assemble it easily, usually without having to look at the box much. One section leads to another and another and it goes quickly and is very entertaining. This puzzle was even more fun because I remembered many of the people and things. There are plenty of words too, which I always enjoy – after the edges I usually begin with the words. For this puzzle, once you’ve assembled all the words you’re already at least 30% done and it’s easy to build off of them to start filling in.
Charlie Girard has become one of my favorite puzzle artists; his collages make me happy and there are so many to choose from. If you’re a fan of collages click here to check out all of Charlie’s puzzles available at Puzzle Warehouse. The first page alone has 4 or 5 puzzles I would love to do!
Remember When brings back memories for me, although I don’t recall seeing any signs instructing hippies to use the back door. 😉 The image is colorful and fun and makes for a great puzzle. It’s no surprise that I’m giving two thumbs up to this collage – definitely recommended! 👍👍
I received this product at no cost to facilitate this review, all thoughts and opinions expressed are truthful and 100% my own.
Vintage Travel Guides by Aimee Stewart – Ravensburger – 500 pieces
What’s not to love about this puzzle? It’s a collage with plenty of words to put together, it’s a Ravensburger, and the artist is Aimee Stewart – that’s like the trifecta of awesome!
Mom and I assembled this together on an afternoon visit and we absolutely loved it! The colors are beautiful and work together amazingly well, it’s just an all around excellent image for puzzling. I have yet to find an Aimee Stewart puzzle that I haven’t liked, and there are still many more I’d love to own and assemble. There’s a puzzle of hers that is very similar to this one called The Christmas Library; it shows shelves of vintage Christmas books, is 1000 pieces and is absolutely stunning! It’s in my pile of puzzles to be done and I’m planning on assembling it a little closer to the holidays, if I’m able to hold out that long. 😉
Ravensburger is my favorite puzzle manufacturer, and the quality was excellent as usual. The pieces feel wonderful and fit together satisfyingly, and the image reproduction is crisp and extremely detailed. Aimee Stewart and Ravensburger are a heavenly combination in my opinion, and I always look forward to and enjoy working her puzzles.💖
My Jigsaw Journal 