Review: Tulip Field

On November 15, 2017November 15, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews7 Comments

Tulip Field – Sibbett Studio – 363 pieces

This was the third wooden puzzle I purchased, Sibbett Studio is the manufacturer. The company is run by the Sibbett family – Peter and Jeannie, and their 4 children in Washington state. They don’t maintain a website from what I found, but you can find their puzzles on Amazon; or if you’re in the area you may find them at a local market or fair.

As you can see by the picture, Sibbett puzzles are grid cut. I have to say, it was a little bit of a bummer for me. Part of the fun of wooden puzzles has been working with the wonderfully intricate and detailed whimsies, or even just crazy piece shapes. The Sibbett puzzle I worked with had the standard 6 different piece shapes of a grid cut. Many people prefer the standard shapes rather than a random cut; I even prefer it sometimes, on a cardboard puzzle. If you’re looking to purchase a wooden puzzle and you prefer the grid cut pieces, Sibbett Studio may have the right puzzle for you.

Piece cut aside, these puzzles are very well made. They use salvaged and re-purposed cedar, white fir, and maple logs, and they also construct the boxes the puzzles are stored in! The box design is patented and contains no hardware or glue.

The heft of the pieces is lovely, and even though they’re the same 1/4″ thickness as other wooden puzzles, they feel thicker. The images are all “handmade” as well, all are photographs taken by Peter Sibbett. There are plenty of wildlife, landscapes, and nature puzzles to choose from – or they can craft a puzzle for you from your own pictures.

These are well crafted, handmade wooden puzzles. I enjoyed the assembly, although there were a few times where pieces seemed to fit where they did not go, and there was the smallest bit of image lift on one of the pieces. Still, it is a lovely image and a well made puzzle!

Details:

Title: Tulip Field
Artist: Sibbett Studio
Brand: Sibbett Studio
Piece count: 363 pieces
Size: Approx. 7.5 x 22.5 in. (19 x 57 cm)
Purchased: New

Quality:

Board: 1/4″ wood
Cutting: Excellent
Image: Very good
Box: Excellent – handmade cedar box
Fit: Good, pieces sometimes fit in wrong place
Puzzle Dust: None
Piece cut: Grid cut – no whimsies
Piece shapes: Good variety
Finish: Matte finish, lays flat

Overall Rating: Good, recommended

The Bug Collection

On November 14, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

Very nice pieces on this 100 piece kid’s puzzle, and the fit was exceptional! Nice snug fit without being too tight. This is a perfect puzzle for a little one who loves bugs and creepy crawlies. My daughter was the one of my three children who loved bugs, worms, and everything that crawled, slithered, and flew. She would have enjoyed this puzzle when she was younger. 🙂

I enjoyed the puzzle itself, but the glow was a bit of a disappointment. With all the bugs it should make an excellent glow in the dark puzzle, but even after letting it sit in the sun for a few minutes to “charge it up” there was barely any glow. Perhaps it dims with age? I’ve done so many children’s puzzles that glow in the dark, but never one that didn’t really seem to have any glow left. Bummer!

Still, a nice puzzle with enough challenge that it won’t be boring for the younger puzzlers out there. And here’s hoping if you find this puzzle that it’s still got it’s glow mojo! 😉

Review: Incidental Music for a New Year’s Eve Party

On November 13, 2017November 13, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews5 Comments

Incidental Music for a New Year’s Eve Party by Dr. Suess – Liberty Puzzles – 527 pieces

This was the most entertaining puzzle I’ve ever assembled – it was so much fun! The image, the piece shapes and that it was a wood puzzle made it wonderful. Liberty Puzzles have so many interesting images to choose from, many I’ve never seen before, like the gorgeous one above. I love Dr. Suess!

When I was choosing which puzzle to purchase, I didn’t go for a smaller puzzle to try out the brand, I gravitated toward the larger piece counts from Liberty Puzzles. On their website they have several photos of each puzzle; including one of the whimsy pieces separately, and also a view of the assembled puzzle from the back so that you can see the intricate shapes of all the pieces. The shapes are amazingly detailed and interesting and I just had to splurge on myself and get a bigger one! Click the link above to check out their beautiful puzzles and stunning piece shapes.

Liberty has a dozen images from “The Secret Art of Dr. Suess”. They work with Dr. Suess Enterprises and choose 3 images each year to turn into amazing puzzles. I couldn’t resist Incidental Music for a New Year’s Eve Party – although that name is a mouthful. I love the colors, the characters and especially the piece shapes, they’re Suess-esque!

Before I started the assembly I pulled all the whimsy pieces I could find; look at these gorgeous pieces….

I enjoyed this puzzle immensely; and I took my time because I didn’t want it to end. The feel of the pieces, the beautiful detailed shapes, the gorgeous artwork, the excellent craftsmanship – they all contributed to this being my favorite puzzle ever! Liberty Puzzles have the best whimsies in my opinion, and there are many more than I’ve seen with other companies; about 15-20% of the pieces are whimsies.

I’ve noticed that I work more slowly and carefully when assembling a wooden puzzle. It’s almost like meditation – I’m completely in the moment and focused on the piece shapes, the colors, and on enjoying the puzzle. The pieces are the sturdiest you can find, but I find that I handle them with care, almost reverently. Perhaps it’s appreciation for the detail and excellent quality, or perhaps I’m just trying to stretch out the experience and make the fun last longer – I suspect that it’s most likely both of those things.

I’m in love with Liberty Puzzles and that’s quite dangerous, because I obviously have an addictive personality. My wishlist on their site is into the thousands of dollars! 😮 I won’t be able to get them all, but I’ve worked it out that I might be able to get a few every year. There’s my birthday, and Christmas, and Mother’s Day, and…um…Happy I Love You Day – that’s a holiday, right??

Details:

Title: Incidental Music for a New Year’s Eve Party
Artist: Dr. Suess
Brand: Liberty Puzzles
Piece count: 527 pieces
Size: Approx. 12 x 19 in. (31 x 48 cm)
Purchased: New

Quality:

Board: 1/4″ wood
Cutting: Excellent
Image: Excellent
Box: Excellent
Fit: Excellent
Puzzle Dust: None
Piece cut: Random/whimsies/very intricate
Piece shapes: Designed for this puzzle – amazing!
Finish: Matte finish, lays flat

Overall Rating: Excellent, most highly recommended

(What If #10) The Birthday

On November 12, 2017July 26, 2023 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw PuzzlesLeave a comment

Another puzzle where I don’t show the whole image, it’s more fun when you get to figure it out for yourself! I loved this puzzle, it was relaxing and so good at helping me relieve stress. More and more these days I seem to need my puzzles to help me stay calm and get rid of some anxiety, there’s only so much pharmaceuticals can do. 😉

I adore the Ravensburger What If and the Jumbo Wasgij series. The image on the box is only a clue to what the puzzle image is, you have to figure it out as you puzzle along. I find that I pay more attention when I assemble these types of puzzles, you can’t figure out where things fit into the image by just checking the box top!

All the What If puzzles are illustrated by Geoff Tristram, who seems to have exactly my sense of humor. The images are precise and detailed and always full of fun, artists like Mr. Tristram are the reason I fell in love with cartoon puzzles. In this edition, the box shows our hero Derek’s dream birthday dinner – the puzzle is what happens if the champagne is a little too lively. As usual, chaos is the result! 🙂

If you haven’t tried a Wasgij or What If puzzle, I highly recommend giving it a go. You use your brain differently I think, and it’s a very nice challenge. What If…..you ended up loving it??

Tudor Portraits

On November 11, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles2 Comments

Portrait of an Unknown Lady (French School) – Past Times – 500 pieces

Isn’t this a lovely puzzle image? I think so, and there’s another image on the back; although he’s not as pretty as she is. Mom and I don’t usually do fine art puzzles, but this beauty spoke to me and I just had to assemble it on our puzzle/visit day. It seems as if there have been more double-sided puzzles in my orbit lately, and I’m really enjoying them. Plus, there’s the added bonus of being able to flip it over and use the opposite image for help with assembly. (When we got down to only black background on the Unknown Lady, we were able to flip it and use the wording along the edge of The Earl to help us finish! 😉 )

Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester by Nicholas Hilliard

I loved assembling this puzzle with mom, we had a great time. The images are so different from what we normally puzzle, it made it a little more interesting for us. I still love my cartoon and collage puzzles, but there’s nothing wrong with switching things up every now and then to keep it fresh. I’ve learned from reviewing puzzles that I can’t always tell whether or not a puzzle will be an entertaining assembly. Many times I’m surprised by how much I enjoy puzzling an image that I would not normally choose for myself.

It was a bit of a challenge with all the darkness on both sides, but we got there in the end. The pieces were of a good thickness and fit together well. (It wasn’t difficult to lift and flip over) I’ve found it’s nice to have a friend to help when you’re working on a more challenging image, I’m less likely to give up or become frustrated if there’s someone sitting next to me working on it too. Plus, every piece they put in is one less you have to look through, right? And there’s no one better for me to assemble puzzles with than my mom – she’s the best!

My puzzle “dealer” always find the most interesting and different puzzles to feed our addiction. We’re very lucky to have so many thrift stores in our area, and even when there are slim pickings they usually have at least a puzzle or two that looks like fun. I try not to take it for granted, I know many places don’t have thrift stores/charity shops; we’re certainly fortunate to have so many close by!