Happy Birthday Mom!

On April 15, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Jigsaw Puzzling, Thrift Store Puzzles18 Comments

It’s mom’s birthday this week, and I thought I’d re-post some of the puzzles that we did together, and some of the ones I’ve done that remind me of her. She’s pretty damned awesome for a little old lady and I love her to bits❣

She’s a black belt thrift store shopper who keeps us both extremely well stocked in puzzles, and there’s no one else I’d rather sit and puzzle with. She’s also quite an enabler; when I’m looking at puzzles to buy she’s right there telling me all the reasons why I SHOULD buy whatever it is I’m looking at. “What’s the sense in having money if you can’t spend it on things that you enjoy?” “Can you afford it? Yes? Then what’s the problem? Your husband doesn’t care, he wants you to be happy.” She’s excellent at enabling me!

Mom is truly my best friend and my puzzle posse all rolled into one, so today’s post is dedicated to her and just a few of the puzzles that make me think of her. (Click on any of the links to see my original posts for each puzzle) Enjoy the trip down puzzle memory lane – Happy Birthday Momma! 👵🎂🎉

Mom and I both assembled Birthday Party separately, and neither of us liked it much. This is before we became huge puzzle snobs and she became a little more choosy about the brands she bought at the thrift store. I thought it was a perfect puzzle for today’s post though. 🙂

TQON8736

Mom is the only member of my family who helped me with every single panel of Disney Memorable Moments. She always listened to me whenever I wanted to talk about it and never seemed bored or disinterested for the entire 6 months it took me to finish. My mom rocks!

Country Kitchen by Janet Kruskamp – White Mountain – 1000 pieces

This Country Kitchen reminds me of my mom, she used to have an almost identical stove that she got from her grandmother. She was always cooking and canning and this would have been close to her ideal kitchen.

Black Cat by Steinlen – Eurographics – 1000 pieces

Black Cat (Chat Noir)- ugh! Mom and I DESPISED this puzzle! It makes me laugh now to think of it, but it was so difficult and frustrating that we both would have gladly set it on fire if we weren’t so stubborn about finishing it. It’s the only puzzle I ever was glad that it had a piece missing – because it was extremely satisfying to put this bleeping thing in the garbage can. 😈

What TV Show Is That? – Buffalo – 252 pieces

We had the best time with this puzzle, What TV Show Is That?, it was so much fun! We also assembled What Word is That? which was more difficult, but still completely entertaining. She’s on the lookout for more puzzles in the same vein because they’re so great to work on together.

In Dreams by Geoffrey Gersten – Artifact Puzzles – 116 pieces

In Dreams was my birthday present from mom last year – a gorgeous wooden puzzle with such wonderfully interesting pieces. I think I’ve already assembled it 3 or 4 times, maybe more. 😉

I picked Canned Veggies to review because it reminds me of my youth and the time spent with mom in the kitchen helping her with the canning (mostly unwillingly). I look back on it fondly now, but at the time I was completely a bratty little kid about it. LOL

Mother and Daughter (1) – Falcon de luxe – 500 pieces

Mother and Daughter (1) was the first of two puzzles in one box that I bought specifically because the woman in the image reminds me of mom. The pictures of her from when I was young look amazingly similar to the lovely lady shown here. Beautiful puzzle!

Flower Still Life by Severin Roesen – Artifact Puzzles – 330 pieces

Flower Still Life was my Christmas present for mom last year, she picked it out herself. It’s a bit dark for my taste, but it’s a lovely image and the artistic cut of the pieces made for a challenging but extremely wonderful assembly.

Loose Change – White Mountain – 550 pieces

Since today is National Tax Day, I thought Loose Change would be an appropriate puzzle to share. Mom and I completed this on one of our puzzle/visit days and it was quite difficult! I was pretty proud of us for sticking with it and not letting all those pennies beat us.

Mother and Daughter (2) by F. Sands Bruner – Falcon de luxe – 500 pieces

Mother and Daughter (2) is my gift to mom for her birthday this year, along with a triple chocolate mess cake. It’s been glued and is waiting for us to find the perfect frame for display. She’s been knitting and crocheting my whole life, taught me how to as well, and this puzzle is perfect for her (looks just like her too!)

Enjoy your birthday this week mom, and I’m looking forward to another year of amazing thrift store finds, enabling, and many, many puzzle/visit days spending time together. Love you to puzzle pieces! ❤

Songbird Symphony

On April 14, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

This isn’t the typical image that I prefer, but mom assembled it first and even though it’s missing a couple of pieces she recommended that I put it together too. She thought I would really enjoy it, and she was right. (She usually is – it’s annoying sometimes!) There’s just something about collages that push all the right buttons for me, they’re the perfect type of puzzle for my weird little brain and I absolutely love them!

Photographic images are not my favorite, they’re pretty far down on the list of preferences. But as usual I enjoyed this one in spite of myself. Each section was like it’s own little mini puzzle and I got lost in it, only concentrating on the next piece or the next color and found myself relaxing and de-stressing. It was a wonderful distraction in a very trying and busy week.

Springbok puzzles can sometimes fit a little too tightly for my taste, but this one wasn’t too bad. The pieces were thick, and didn’t have the fuzzy edges that you sometimes find on the backs. It’s a beautiful puzzle with very good quality and I found it the perfect puzzle at the perfect time for me. Thrift store puzzles make me so happy! 💗

Fascinating Underwater World

On April 13, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

I love a good puzzle, even if it’s only 100 pieces and made for kids. All the better for me at the moment because I get that completion satisfaction without having to spend several days working for only a few minutes at a time and making very little progress. Kids puzzles are great for my fragile puzzling ego! 😎

Ravensburger puzzles are excellent quality and their kids puzzles are no exception. It’s almost more apparent in their puzzles for children; the wonderfully thick, large pieces and the soft click as they fit together is first-rate. I’ve said it many times before, puzzles for children need to be more sturdy and able to withstand multiple assemblies and rougher handling – Ravensburger definitely meets those standards.

My adopted grandson has a LOT of puzzles; he absolutely loves them and I always bring him one or two when I visit – I’m the puzzle grandma. His favorite brand is Ravensburger (a kid after my own heart!), and he even continues to re-assemble the ones with missing pieces over and over because he loves the way they feel and fit together. This puzzle is destined for him and I know he’s going to enjoy the picture and pieces and it will definitely be well loved at his house.

(What If #11) Elizabeth and Raleigh

On April 12, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles2 Comments

What If puzzles are great fun, I love figuring out how things ended up and seeing the picture taking shape. As usual, I never show the entire completed image because I don’t want to ruin the experience for anyone else. Half the fun is finding out what happens with everyone and how the picture is different from the box image – no spoilers here!

If you’ve never done a What If or Wasgij puzzle, the premise is simple; the image on the box is not the image you puzzle. Something happens to change the scene and you puzzle the result. What If #11 gives us this scenario….Good Queen Bess enjoys visiting favorite courtiers like Sir Walter Raleigh. He is handsome and dashing, and Elizabeth might just be fooled by his chat-up lines. But WHAT IF Sir Walter wasn’t a true gentleman? And WHAT IF Elizabeth really fell for his charms?

I didn’t enjoy this puzzle as much as I usually do, but it had nothing to do with the puzzle itself. The quality was great, the image is fun and funny – the problem was me. It took much longer than normal to complete because of physical issues making it difficult to sit and work on it for any real length of time. This got me a little down and I was avoiding it which kept the vicious cycle going. Taking too long, upset about it taking too long, avoid working on it which makes it take even longer – repeat. Eventually I got it done though, I promise I did the entire puzzle not just that one little section. 😉

Don’t be intimidated by these types of puzzles; they’re not as difficult as you might think. Ravensburger has the What If series, Jumbo does the Wasgij line, PuzzleTwist is a newer company whose puzzles all have a twist on the box image, and there are probably more I haven’t tried yet. I don’t think they’re too difficult; you can usually get clues from the image on the box which will help you with the assembly. The background is usually the same, many times the people are wearing the same clothing, etc. It’s good exercise for your brain and makes you really pay attention to the images, colors, and shapes. Besides all that – they’re great fun!

Old Town Market, San Diego, CA

On April 11, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles2 Comments

I really didn’t think this image would be fun or easy to assemble, but it was 300 pieces and only 69 cents at the thrift store so why not give it a go? As usual I was absolutely wrong on every level – not only was it fun, I didn’t find it difficult at all!

Milton Bradley puzzles are usually pretty good quality, though I’ve had some good and some bad. Their 300 piece EZ grip puzzles are very thick and well made, but the “regular” size pieces can be hit or miss. The pieces of this particular puzzle were thin, but fit together very well. The image is quite dark (which is why I didn’t think I would enjoy it) but wasn’t difficult and I ended up really liking it. It’s funny how your opinion of the picture changes with the assembly itself. Entertaining assembly = I like the picture. If I start out really liking the picture and the assembly is tedious or frustrating I end up not so enamored with it after all. I change my mind a LOT. 😎

I highly recommend checking out your local thrift stores if you have any nearby. Most puzzles mom finds for us are complete, and even if they’re not we still have fun putting them together. I’m not holding my breath, but I have this daydream where mom stumbles across a Stave or any other good quality wooden puzzle at one of the thrift stores. Wouldn’t that be a find?!