Review: Merry Christmas to All!

On July 21, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

Merry Christmas to All! – Hallmark – 550 pieces

The top half of this puzzle was actually pretty entertaining to assemble, but the bottom half – yikes! I had to call in the puzzle posse to help me get it done, good thing she was available.

The quality, other than the fit, was quite good. The pieces were thick with a very smooth matte finish. They feel good in your hands, but almost a bit dry – I don’t know how to explain it – perhaps the feel is more dusty than dry, I can’t seem to find the right words. Whatever the finish on them is, it doesn’t feel unpleasant to me, just different than the finish on most other puzzles.

The fit was loose, which was the most noticeable when trying to assemble the edges, it was a challenge to keep them together at times. Bumping them accidentally with my arms could upset many pieces, which was pretty annoying. Once I started to fill in the rest of the puzzle the fit didn’t seem quite as loose as before.

This was a thrift store find, mom brought it over a few weeks ago, and I decided it would be perfect for Christmas in July. I’m not much a fan of Santa images to be honest, but it was only 550 pieces so I figured it wouldn’t be that difficult. Boy was I wrong! The top half wasn’t bad, my daughter even helped me a little bit when she was visiting. But once I got to the bottom I have to admit I was intimidated.

I called mom over for an impromptu puzzle party and we made pretty short work of all those Christmas trees at the bottom. We both were working together at almost the same spot and we kept getting in each other’s way and laughing. Perhaps it’s a good thing those trees intimidated me, otherwise I might not have called mom for help – I would have missed out on all the fun of puzzling with her. 😉

It’s a beautifully detailed image, too bad no credit was given to the artist anywhere on the box. It seems to happen a lot, at least that I’ve noticed anyway. It’s an entertaining but challenging puzzle – if you’re up for it and can find it I would definitely recommend it.

Details:

Title: Merry Christmas to All!
Artist: Not credited
Brand: Hallmark
Piece count: 550 pieces
Size: Approx. 18 x 24 in. (46 x 61 cm)
Purchased: Used, thrift store

Quality:

Board: Very good
Cutting: Very good
Image: Excellent
Box: Average
Fit: Loose
Puzzle Dust: Small amount
Piece cut: Grid cut
Piece shapes: Good variety
Finish: Matte finish, lays flat

Overall Rating: Very good, recommended

Ugh, more holiday puzzles!

On July 20, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw PuzzlingLeave a comment

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I have to confess that I’m absolutely OVER this Christmas in July thing I’m doing. Christmas puzzles have never been my favorite – in fact, I usually go out of my way to avoid them if I can!

Of course no one is forcing me to do this, and to be honest it’s not the actual assembling of the Christmas puzzles that I’m having an issue with. It sounds completely crazy (and most likely I am) but it’s the deciding what holiday puzzle to do next that’s causing me grief. I finish a puzzle and realize that I should do a Christmas puzzle next and it just makes me feel “blah”.

There are so many Christmas/winter puzzles out there, and a lot of people enjoy them. I’m just not a follow the crowd kinda gal; if everyone loves them it doesn’t mean I have to, and I don’t. The images all seem very similar to each other which I find to be boring, so it’s usually only the ones that are very different that appeal to me.

Oh well, there are only 11 more days in the month. There are 5 Christmas puzzles in the queue at the moment (4 micro puzzles and one larger size), that oughta be enough to finish out the month. 🎅

Perhaps it’s not really the Christmas in July thing that’s the problem, perhaps it’s my weird, fickle, little old lady brain. Who knows? Certainly not me!

Yellow

On July 19, 2018July 19, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles7 Comments

I thought this one was going to be difficult, there’s so much yellow! But once you start separating the pieces you can tell it isn’t going to be that bad. There are many shades and textures, and plenty of letters, numbers, and symbols to help out as well.

Ceaco puzzles sometimes have really good quality, especially with their special editions. There have been puzzles I’ve done with cork and velvet backing by Ceaco that were excellent quality. I’ve also done a few corked backed puzzles by them that haven’t been that great. I’m confused why everything seems so hit or miss with this company. This particular puzzle had a great fit, but the chipboard used was sub-par in my opinion; right out of the box there were pieces that had backing that was splitting and bent. The image wasn’t adhered to the chipboard well either and there were several places where it was lifting. How I wish they did a better job in the quality department, there are so many beautiful puzzle images in their catalog!

I love this image, and even have the red one yet to assemble. It will likely be just as entertaining to assemble, but hopefully not as disappointing as far as quality. Fingers crossed! 🤞

Yuletide Puppies

On July 18, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw PuzzlesLeave a comment

This micro puzzle has the most beautiful colors, absolutely gorgeous! It was fun to assemble and a little more complicated than it looks. It took me a little bit to find the right pieces, but it was completely worth it!

I love Dominic Davison images, they’re beautiful to look at and interesting to assemble. I’ve done several puzzles of his artwork and have enjoyed every one. There are plenty more of his puzzles I’d be happy to do.

The whimsies are so cute!

You’d think that starting with the whimsy pieces and working outward would make the puzzles very easy to assemble; and although that does help some it doesn’t make the entire puzzle easy. If it were too easy I think I wouldn’t be very interested in doing them.

There are still 4 more Christmas/winter micro puzzles to do this month. I’m hoping when I put them together it’ll bring a nice chill to the air to beat this nasty hot weather! ☀

Oceanside Retreat

On July 17, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles4 Comments

Oceanside Retreat is a very pretty puzzle that was a nice calming assembly. It was just what I needed at just the right time.

300 to 500 pieces seems to be my sweet spot these days, and I’m enjoying these puzzles very much. There’s something very calming about this image, and I would probably enjoy it in a 500 or even 1000 piece. There’s something about the colors and the blends, it’s just relaxing and soothing to look at.

I couldn’t figure out what was going on in the upper window of the house, I had to ask several family members what they thought. Now that they’ve all weighed in, I can absolutely see it and can’t believe I didn’t see it before! It’s a mother holding a baby and giving it a kiss. So sweet!