Review: Dream

On November 10, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews4 Comments

Dream by Sascalia – Remarks – 250 pieces

I was shocked by the quality of this puzzle; it’s the first 250 piece Re-marks puzzle that I’ve done, and the quality was very very good. Such a pleasant surprise! This was a quick assembly, but fun and relaxing – perfect for a lazy afternoon.

I haven’t done a puzzle from this artist before, I like the image very much. Looking around online I see that there’s a whole series of 250 piece Re-marks puzzles by Sascalia. I like the looks of them. 🙂 Here’s hoping we find more of them in the thrift stores!

The pieces were about the same thickness as a Ravensburger puzzle, and had the waxy sort of feel of a Jumbo or Gibsons puzzle. I was definitely not expecting such lovely pieces! I’ve done several Re-marks puzzles, and their pieces are a good thickness, but I’ve never had any of this thickness, or with the same finish. Excellent image reproduction and fit, and just all around wonderful quality. The image is lovely and perfect for puzzling, I enjoyed it very much!

Details:

Title: Dream
Artist: Sascalia
Brand: Re-marks
Piece count: 250 pieces
Size: Approx. 11 x 14 in. (28 x 36 cm)
Purchased: New, thrift store unopened

Quality:

Board: Excellent
Cutting: Excellent
Image: Very good
Box: Average, small and square
Fit: Very good, can lift entire puzzle in one piece
Puzzle Dust: Small amount
Piece cut: Grid cut
Piece shapes: Good variety
Finish: Matte finish, lays flat

Overall Rating: Very good, highly recommended

Perpetual Puzzles Pesky Parrots

On November 9, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles3 Comments

Awesome puzzle in a puzzle by The Lagoon Group! There are 36 parrots, 18 facing one direction and 18 facing the opposite. There are several ways to assemble it according to the box. The first way that we tried was the picture above. Make a 6 x 6 “square” where no parrot is touching another parrot of the same color. Not really difficult to do, but the pieces were so fun to work with!

The pieces are extremely thick and the colors are bright and fun. Mom and I didn’t take long to assemble this first puzzle, but we enjoyed it all the same. 🙂

Onward to the next solution….

In this picture is the same “square” 6 x 6 puzzle with no parrot touching another of the same color AND any beaks and feet that touch cannot be the same color. This solution took a little bit more time, and I almost let it beat me; but actually my dad stepped in and moved a few pieces for us! 😮 Puzzles aren’t his thing at all, and he never works puzzles with us – but for some reason he wanted to help with this one. Yay dad!!!

The last way to assemble it is called “Desktop Diversion”, place the pieces however you want, in any order or any shape. You could make a long line of the pieces or an interesting mosaic – it’s all up to you! A lovely way to clear your head and relieve stress if you ask me.

There were at least five different puzzles in this series by Makoto Nakamura, I’d love to find them all! There are Canine Capers, Brilliant Beetles, Lively Lizards, Feline Frenzy, and Pesky Parrots. It doesn’t look like they’re still being produced, but hopefully we find more of them, I loved it!

Dear God, Friends are Forever

On November 8, 2017March 10, 2020 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles2 Comments

This is an extremely adorable kid’s puzzle found at the thrift store. There were 3 there from the same series, we still have 2 of them to assemble. I love the artwork, but it makes for a much more challenging puzzle than it seems!

The quality was fair/average; the pieces were a little thin and there was some image lift. The fit was very nice, however, and the image reproduction was crisp and clear.

I’m looking forward to assembling the remaining 2 of these puzzles next time I’m hanging out at mom’s house. Although after putting this one together, we didn’t really want to do the next 2 right away; I think we got our egos a little bruised because it was more challenging than we thought! Some days we assemble all the kid’s puzzles she’s found so we can get them out of the house and donate them. We’ve done more than 5 puzzles in one day, sometimes including a 300 or 500 piece!

Flower Pot Friends

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

I enjoyed this puzzle very much! I found it to be excellent quality for a Mega Puzzle, and was delighted at the way they included the whimsies. All the other pieces actually had connectors; so even though the whimsies just fit into place, the surrounding pieces were all connected. Awesome!

I love puzzles with whimsy pieces, but I don’t love how they’re usually included with many other pieces that just sit next to each other. I know there has to be some of that when you include specially shaped pieces, but so often it seems that there is much more of it than is necessary. I admit to not really having any knowledge of how puzzles are made, but the pieces sitting together instead of fitting together makes me crazy!

This puzzle had none of that, the whimsies themselves didn’t connect, but all the rest of them did. Hooray! Someone finally did it my way! In addition to that, the pieces were very thick for a Mega Puzzle and fit together extremely well. All in all, not anything like other Mega Puzzles I have worked, much better quality.

I’m not really a cat person, I prefer dogs; and I don’t normally go for cat puzzles either. (I know, you think little old lady with her puzzles and cats, but that’s just not me – I’m a little old lady with her puzzles and her Boston Terrier!) Even though it’s a cat puzzle something about this image drew me in, and I really had a good time assembling it.

All the regular rules went out the window with this puzzle. I don’t normally do Mega Puzzles because I find they’re just too thin, not so with this puzzle. I don’t normally do cat puzzles, but I loved this image with the cats and had a great time with it. I usually have a tough time with dealing with the pieces of a puzzle with whimsies, but this one was done very well and I was impressed!

Review: Purses! Purses! Purses!

On November 6, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews, Thrift Store Puzzles1 Comment

Purses! Purses! Purses! – Springbok – 2000 pieces

This puzzle image is excellent and it made me want to get to assembling it immediately – the bright colors, fun backgrounds, a collage – yes please!

This was a thrift store purchase, and although the box was slightly banged up and dented, all pieces were present and accounted for. This giant of a puzzle almost filled my entire 4 ft x 3 ft puzzle board. You never can tell in pictures, unless there’s something to give perspective; this is a HUGE puzzle!

This puzzle was loads of fun and even though it took me a few days I loved every bit of it. It was easy to separate out pieces of background colors and patterns and work on a section at a time. I love when I can just grab a bunch of pieces and assemble them without any assistance from the image on the box or a poster. It’s just me and my brain figuring out what goes where; it’s very satisfying for me. The pieces fit together tightly, but not the super tight fit that some Springbok’s have – I didn’t have to smash them together with my thumb (which is a bonus in my book).

If you’re a fan of purses or collages, this puzzle is for you! The bright colors and the interesting purses will keep you entertained – but be forewarned – this beauty requires a very large work space. 🙂

Details: