Month: March 2018

Hopetown Light

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment
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Hopetown Light by Shari Erickson – Mega Puzzles – 300 pieces

I love this image with it’s bright colors and warm feeling, but it’s deceptively difficult and gave us a bit of a challenge. It’s beautiful to look at, but much harder to put together; the brush strokes are what put us to the test.

Mega Puzzles quality is fair, I’ve had some that were poor quality and some that have really impressed me – it’s a gamble, so this isn’t a brand we purchase new. The pieces are on the thin side and don’t always lie flat as well as having very little variety in piece shape. On the positive side, the image reproduction is very good, and the pieces fit together very well.

Mom and I are almost exclusively doing smaller piece count puzzles on our visit day, mostly because I haven’t been able to puzzle much lately and she’s helping me make sure I have puzzles to post here every day.  We enjoy being able to do multiple puzzles in one day, there’s always something new and fun coming up next!

Backpack Kitty

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment
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Backpack Kitty by Amy Rosenberg – Bits and Pieces – 300 pieces

This was a fun puzzle that’s perfect for working with a friend, but sadly it didn’t hold up well to multiple assemblies. Still, isn’t that a cute kitty? 😻

This is a Bits and Pieces puzzle purchased at the thrift store. For me, their puzzles are hit or miss in the quality category and this seemed like more of a miss. I can’t say for sure how many times it’s been assembled, but this puzzle had some problems. There was image lift on several pieces, and many other were bent. The pieces seemed a bit thinner than usual for this brand, but on the plus side the fit was quite good and we loved the random piece shapes. All in all the quality was disappointing, but we still enjoyed putting it together.

I love when a puzzle seems made for working with more than one person – you take the green backpack and I’ll take the red and we’ll meet in the middle. I think that’s also part of the reason I love collages so much, they’re perfect for working with others as well as on your own. It’s easy to pull pieces for a section and work it by yourself, but you’re still working together. Mom is my favorite person to puzzle with and we have a great time no matter the image, but it’s even more fun when it’s so bright and charming and gives us our own little sections. Neither of us are “cat people”, but you can’t deny the adorable factor of the kitten in the backpack – so cute!

Even if the quality was less than premium we can still enjoy the puzzle itself as well as the time spent together. Thrift store puzzle that’s cute and fun to assemble – 99 cents. Time well spent with someone you love – PRICELESS.

 

Children’s Globe

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles3 Comments
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Children’s Globe – Ravensburger – 96 pieces

Mom found another puzzle ball for children, as usual she couldn’t help herself even though the last two puzzle balls we’ve gotten had pieces missing. Always the optimist! Luckily for us not only were all the pieces there, we liked the image much more than the last one and it was a lot of fun to assemble.

The quality of these 3D puzzles is very good and I find them quite entertaining. The pieces are made of thick plastic and fit together very snugly so that they stay together without glue. All the pieces are also numbered on the back with an arrow underneath the number pointing in the direction that the next number should go. You can assemble the puzzle using only the numbers, only the image, or a combination of the two.

I like to separate the pieces by the numbers in groups of ten, then flip them over and use the image to put them together. We’ve put them together only using the numbers before, and it’s just not as satisfying for us. But puzzles are supposed to be fun, and whichever way makes you happy is the way you should do it.

Ravensburger has puzzle balls from 54 to 540 pieces, and I think they’re a lot of fun. If you come across one in a thrift store give it a try, you just might have a great time!

 

Holland

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw PuzzlesLeave a comment
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Holland – ReMarks – 1000 pieces

I love collages, they’re my favorite type of puzzle. This one took me almost an entire week, not because it was too difficult but because I’m just having a hard time puzzling these days. I may have to start posting every other day, my backlog of puzzles ready to post is dwindling fast! 😦

I find that collages are the easiest puzzles to assemble; even if you don’t have a lot of time you can grab the pieces for a small section and put them together. When I’m only able to sit for only a few minutes I can still complete a small portion of the puzzle and still get a small sense of satisfaction for my little victory.

This puzzle was pretty good quality; it’s a random cut, so the assembly was interesting and kept me on my toes which is always a good thing in my book. The pieces are a good thickness and fit together well but were a little loose for my taste. The image reproduction was very good and the overall image is beautiful and interesting.

The picture doesn’t do this puzzle justice, it’s bright and colorful and was pretty fun to assemble. Re-marks has some excellent collages to choose from, I believe this one was a Barnes and Noble exclusive we got during the January bogo sale. It’s dangerous for me to go puzzle shopping in a brick and mortar store, there are too many fantabulous puzzles to choose from, and I end up not choosing between puzzles and just buying all the ones I want. 😮

Review: The Typewriter

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviewsLeave a comment
This post is sponsored by Puzzle Warehouse.
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The Typewriter by William Doree – Clementoni – 500 pieces

The Typewriter is a gorgeous puzzle that took my breath away when I saw it, and although it seems very dark and difficult to assemble, it was a joy!

I don’t have a ton of experience working Clementoni puzzles, but the ones I’ve done have been impressive; the pieces are a good thickness, have a nice variety of piece shapes, and have a linen finish that feels good in your hands. The fit of this puzzle was a bit loose but still workable, though I did have to take care when moving small sections around the board. The image reproduction is crisp and clear with no fuzziness, and although it’s not an overly colorful picture it’s a fun image that I really enjoyed assembling. Clementoni has an excellent catalog of landscapes, illustrations, photography and fine art to choose from, click here to see all their puzzles currently available at Puzzle Warehouse.

I enjoyed this assembly very much, and though it looks dark there were not many pieces that were all black (not nearly as many as in Ruby Red!) The pieces were relatively easy to sort and assemble and the more I worked the more fun I had. It’s a little more difficult when you first begin sorting to know what everything is, but the more you assemble the more familiar you become with the pieces. I love old typewriters, and I’m so glad I got to assemble this puzzle – it was great fun! 👍

Details:

  • Title:                  The Typewriter
  • Artist:                William Doree
  • Brand:               Clementoni
  • Piece count:     500 pieces
  • Size:                  Approx. 19 x 14 in. (49 x 36 cm)
  • Purchased:      N/A, sent for review

Quality:

  • Board:               Very good
  • Cutting:             Excellent
  • Image:               Excellent
  • Box:                   Average
  • Fit:                     Somewhat loose
  • Puzzle Dust:     Almost none
  • Piece cut:          Grid cut
  • Piece shapes:   Very good variety
  • Finish:               Slightly shiny finish, lays flat

Overall Rating:      Very good, recommended

 

I received this product at no cost in order to facilitate this review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are truthful and 100% my own.