The Puzzle that Wrapped up Christmas

On November 20, 2017November 20, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews5 Comments

So now we’ve come to the end of my wooden puzzle “experiment”. This puzzle was the last of 5 companies that I’ve tried. I enjoyed this puzzle very much, even though I chose a puzzle from the extra difficult jigsaw page. I didn’t find it all that difficult to be honest, but it sure was fun! I’ll have a post soon regarding all the wooden puzzles, and what I’ve learned.

Wentworth Wooden Puzzles is a British company that has an excellent reputation for quality puzzles. They’re the last of the reasonably priced companies I could find, and their catalog is quite large. They have puzzles starting at what they call a micro-puzzle (30-40 pieces), all the way up to 1500 pieces. The price is on par with the other companies I’ve tried, and I’ve heard good things about their puzzles so I gave it a go (even though with shipping from the UK it was a bit more).

Most of their puzzles include whimsy pieces, but the majority of the cuts seem a bit “regular” to me; I had already gotten a puzzle with regular pieces so I definitely wanted something different. This led me to their extra difficult page where I found this interesting wrapping paper puzzle. I loved it! And, it has repetitive reindeer shaped pieces in addition to the repetitive image for more of a challenge – Merry Christmas to me! 🎄 Here’s the back of the puzzle so you can see the pieces…

The pieces are about half as thick as the pieces from the other companies I’ve tried, but somehow almost feel more dense. There seems to be a coating or backing applied to the back of the wood as well. Although the pieces are thinner, they are still quite sturdy and they still have that wonderful, satisfying plunk when they fall into place. It’s bliss. 🙂

I poured the pieces out of the bag and thought “What have I gotten myself into?” It was overwhelming to see so many similarly shaped pieces. But once I settled down and really looked at them, I could see small differences in the shapes which allowed me to sort the pieces with purpose. Once the sorting was done, I picked 2 pieces that went together and started building – it really wasn’t very difficult for me at all. I loved it!

I enjoyed this puzzle very much and thought their quality was excellent! I’m still looking forward to trying one of their regular puzzles to see if I like the cut. Perhaps soon I can review one of those regularly cut puzzles, maybe a micro-puzzle?

*I may or may not have gone completely off the rails and ordered more than 30 of their micro-puzzles. I cannot recall at this time your honor.* 😁

Details:

Title: The Puzzle that Wrapped up Christmas
Artist: iStock Photo
Brand: Wentworth Wooden Puzzles
Piece count: 300 pieces
Size: Approx. 14 x 11 in. (36 x 25 cm)
Purchased: New

Quality:

Board: 1/8″ wood
Cutting: Excellent
Image: Excellent
Box: Excellent – very sturdy box, pieces come in a fabric bag
Fit: Excellent
Puzzle Dust: None
Piece cut: Repetitive – extra challenging
Piece shapes: Repetitive – reindeer
Finish: Matte finish, lays flat

Overall Rating: Excellent, highly recommended

Song of the Unicorn

On November 19, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles4 Comments

I had this one in my puzzle room for at least a month before I finally decided to do it. When it was time to decide on the next puzzle to be assembled I would sometimes pass it over immediately, and sometimes I would open the box, stare at the pieces, and promptly put it away. Many times I have to be in the right mood to attempt a certain puzzle, and that was definitely true with this one – I think the border kept scaring me off. 😉

Unfortunately this was one of those Springbok puzzles that is EXTREMELY tight fitting. You can see in the picture above that the fit is so tight that the edges of the puzzle are curling upwards. Ugh. I really dislike puzzles that fit this way, it makes me question if I’m placing a piece correctly if I have to shove it into place. We’ve had plenty of Springbok puzzles that don’t fit this way, I wonder what the reason is for the fluctuations in the way they fit together.

I really like the artwork, but unfortunately the name of the artist was nowhere to be found on the box. I tried looking it up online, without success. I usually like to credit the artist, but my sleuthing skills seem to be lacking at the moment. If you know the artist, feel free to let me know in the comments. Thanks!

This is a “vintage” puzzle from approximately 1982. That makes me feel pretty old! I was just starting high school in the early 80’s – am I vintage? Classic? Antique?

Yoshi

On November 18, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

Look at this adorable guy – what a bummer that he seems to have had a nose job, and they took a bit too much off the top! I was really looking forward to assembling this puzzle, it’s so cute and it reminds me of when my kids were little.

Their pieces are a bit thin, but relatively sturdy, and their catalog has some excellent and unique puzzles! They’ve got tv show puzzles from Game of Thrones, Supernatural, Rick and Morty, and the Golden Girls to video games like Super Mario Bros, Fallout, Pokemon, Space Invaders, and The Legend of Zelda. They’ve also got some comic book art from The Walking Dead and Court of the Dead, they’ve got puzzles you won’t see anywhere else.

I enjoyed this assembly and wish Yoshi were all there, he would have looked great on my son’s bedroom door.

Review: Einstein’s Rainbow

On November 17, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews5 Comments

Einstein’s Rainbow by Edward Kinnally – Peaceful Wooden Puzzles – 260 pieces

O M G! I had the best time with this puzzle – look at those gorgeous colors! This is the fourth wooden puzzle brand I’ve tried, and oh dear – I loved this one too! Perhaps I should start playing the lotto in the hopes of being able to afford all of these puzzles I want.

Peaceful Wooden Puzzles has a beautiful catalog of images, and I adore the selections they have from this artist – Edward Kinnally. They’re a bit challenging, but colorful and interesting and a little “trippy”. Click the link to check out their website and the artists and images available. Also, when you order from their website you can choose the type of whimsies you would like – religious, universal, or none. I chose universal, you can see them best in the picture below. There are several flowers, an owl on a tree branch, a hummingbird, dragonfly, ladybug, maybe a swan, and a beautiful lady with a parasol…..

In addition, Puzzle Warehouse also carries this brand and you can order from their website too. This would be great for making sure your order is large enough to qualify for free shipping! 🙂

It will be no surprise that I thoroughly enjoyed this puzzle, the Victorian cut of the pieces and the stellar image made for a great afternoon of puzzling. This is definitely one I’ll be doing again and again. The image is so well-adhered to the wood that it almost looks like it’s been painted on. It’s such a great puzzle, I’m pretty pleased with myself for choosing this image. Way to go me!

If you’re looking for a special gift for a puzzler in your life, I would definitely recommend checking out Peaceful Wooden Puzzles by clicking either of the links above. Beautiful puzzles!

Details:

Title: Einstein’s Rainbow
Artist: Edward Kinnally
Brand: Peaceful Wooden Puzzles
Piece count: 260 pieces
Size: Approx. 10 x 12 in. (25 x 30 cm)
Purchased: New

Quality:

Board: 1/4″ wood
Cutting: Excellent
Image: Excellent – outstanding even!
Box: Excellent
Fit: Excellent
Puzzle Dust: None
Piece cut: Victorian/whimsies/very intricate
Piece shapes: Excellent variety
Finish: Matte finish, lays flat

Overall Rating: Excellent, highly recommended

Dolphin Cove

On November 16, 2017November 16, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

I’m not normally one for ocean or jungle animals puzzles, although I’m not sure I could articulate why; they just aren’t my favorite. Still, it was a relaxing and wonderful quality puzzle – which I suppose is the point. Relaxing entertainment, right? I think I chose this one to assemble because I wasn’t feeling like my brain was working well enough to work a 1000 piece puzzle. Some days I just don’t feel like all the gray cells are firing properly. 😐

This image is bright and full of movement and color, an excellent image for puzzling. It took longer than I expected, but it wasn’t because of the image, it was my fault. Either I didn’t feel much like puzzling at the time, or I just wasn’t feeling well. Whichever was the culprit, it took me a couple of days to get this one done.

The fit was looser than normal for a Ravensburger, but it wasn’t too terrible. Although I usually take things like that with a grain of salt if it’s a thrift store purchase and I’m familiar with the brand. Good find though, and all pieces present and accounted for!