Assorted News

On October 26, 2018October 26, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzling5 Comments

Just a few little tidbits that I thought I’d pass along…

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One of My Jigsaw Journal’s readers and fellow puzzle blogger, Puzzle Momma, has recently gotten back to her GIANT of a puzzle, Life – The Great Challenge. This big boy is 24,000 pieces and she’s down to about her last 1000 pieces or so. She’s back working on it after about a year’s hiatus, and I for one am cheering her on. Go Penny! I can’t wait to see pictures of the entire puzzle, although I bet it’s 10 times more beautiful in person than in any pictures. Check out her blog Puzzle Momma to watch for updates. (When I was working on my big puzzle, knowing people were “watching” on the blog helped me to work on it every day – even if only a few pieces. So we’ll be watching! 😇)

Outset Media, which, among many other things designs and manufactures Cobble Hill puzzles, has mentioned My Jigsaw Journal in their latest news update on their website! In a post about puzzle bloggers they enjoy, my humble little blog was one of three mentioned! 😱 Check out their post for their thoughts on some awesome jigsaw puzzle blogs. (Yeah, I said my blog was awesome – because I couldn’t think of a good way to compliment the other two amazing bloggers without complimenting myself!)

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Lastly, and the one I’m most excited about, I pulled up my wishlist at Liberty Puzzles on my husband’s computer last night so he could choose a birthday present for me. If you knew me, you’d know that it’s completely out of character – I don’t really care for presents. I know that’s a ridiculously odd thing to say, but I am a ridiculously odd person! I’m not a fan of being the center of attention, and presents make me uncomfortable. Yup, I said that. Welcome to the weird world of me.

That said, I have a big birthday coming up, and for once I’ve decided to help him out. Since he was going to get me a present this year even though I always ask him not to, I thought it best to make sure it was something that I’d really like. He asked for suggestions, so I figured now was the time to go big or go home – wooden puzzles! You only turn half a century old once, right? 😎

So I’m excited to see what fantastic new Liberty Puzzle I’m getting (knowing hubby, it’ll be whichever puzzle on my wishlist was the most expensive). I’ll try not to think about that, and just be overjoyed that I have an awesome husband who always tries to make me happy and loves me madly even after 30 years of marriage. 💖

Sophia’s Doll House

On October 25, 2018October 25, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles2 Comments

Sophia’s Doll House was the puzzle that jumped out at me while mom was showing off her latest thrift store haul. The beautiful colors and interesting scene looked like so much fun, and luckily it was!

It’s been a while since I’ve assembled a MasterPieces puzzle, and I had forgotten how enjoyable the extremely random cut of the pieces is. It always takes me a few minutes for my brain to get into “random gear”, especially if I’ve just finished working a grid cut puzzle. It can be frustrating for some, and it is sometimes for me too; but once I figure it out and everything starts coming together it makes for such an entertaining assembly.

Although it’s not really a collage, the many rooms of the dollhouse made the assembly seem as though it was. It was the best of both worlds for me; a collage of dollhouse rooms, and just a regular domestic scene from a playroom around the edges. I loved it!

These were my favorite 3 rooms to assemble. They’re so adorable, and the interesting wallpaper in the many rooms made for an easy sort. There are framed pictures of dolls in almost every room, and the pretty frames around them were fun to put together.

If you don’t mind a random cut, I highly recommend this puzzle. I had the best time with it, and it didn’t scare me (that much) that it was 1000 pieces. The fit was lovely and the entire scene makes for a wonderful assembly. 👍

The 12:09 – On Time Again!

On October 24, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles6 Comments

I haven’t assembled a good corkboard puzzle in years; I’ve assembled a few, but they weren’t very good and just didn’t live up to the first one I did. Fortunately this puzzle was great quality and a lot of fun to assemble. If you’re wondering, yes the sky is supposed to look like that according to the image on the box. It’s weird though, right? Anyway, as an added bonus it’s a fall puzzle with lots of pumpkins everywhere, and even some jack-o-lanterns! 🎃

This was a very good quality puzzle, with thick pieces and a wonderful fit. The cut was devious, with a wonky edge and color line cutting that had me checking the box often – I’ve never seen that from a Ceaco before. Although it was a pity they didn’t put a picture of the entire image on the box (other than a tiny 2 inch picture) – I hate that!

I don’t believe these corkboard puzzles are in production anymore, both of the good ones we have were found at thrift stores, and the boxes say that they’re from the early 90’s. All the cork backed puzzles we’ve found were from Ceaco, but I can’t explain why some are poorer quality than others. A few that I’ve assembled were not as thick, and the cork didn’t seem as well adhered. Different places of manufacture perhaps?

These are only some of the whimsy pieces in this puzzle, but they’re so fun, and there are so many birds in the sky! I love that you can tell the different breeds of the dogs just by their silhouettes – there’s a dachshund, a cocker spaniel, and beagle (at least that’s what I think they are 🙂 )

Sweet apple junction, how adorable is that? What a great image by Jane Wooster Scott. All the cork puzzles we’ve assembled have been with her artwork – I’d love to find some more!

This picture not only shows some of the color line cutting (you can see the straight edge at the bottom of the train); it also shows that unfortunately the name of the artwork and artist has been cut off – whoops!

The added challenge of this puzzle was to find and join the 10 railroad cars hidden in the puzzle – I did it! There was a similar challenge on the first cork puzzle I put together; you had to find and assemble all the parts of a clown. I didn’t even attempt it, but this time I was a bit more brave. 💪

I found this puzzle hiding on one of my shelves full of puzzles just in time for Halloween, and I’m so glad. Mom came and helped me with it too, which is always a joy. It was great fun and made me very happy!

Review: Rainbow Marbles

On October 23, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

Rainbow Marbles by Julie Seabrook – Galison – 500 pieces

I am a fan of color blend puzzles like this image; unfortunately, this one was a bit disappointing for me. When mom brought her recent thrift store purchases for me to look at and I saw this one I was so excited to start assembling it. I love the image! Galison puzzles, sadly, have just the one piece shape – what I call ballerinas (2 prongs, 2 holes). The lack of variety made this puzzle more difficult and less entertaining for me. And I wanted so much to like it! 😕

Many people are only concerned with the image itself, and the puzzle doesn’t need to have premium quality to entertain. I am sometimes the same way; if the image is fun for me I can overlook quality issues that might drive me crazy with an image that, for me, is less entertaining. Rainbow Marbles is perhaps the exception that proves the rule – although I love the artwork on this puzzle, it was still a disappointing assembly for me because of the piece shape. That said, I am still recommending it for others who might only be looking for a great image.

Galison puzzles have good quality board that is thick, and the pieces fit together well. The image reproduction is excellent, with sharp focus and no blurring or fuzziness and a slightly shiny finish. I don’t normally comment on boxes unless they are exceptional in my opinion, but the box with this puzzle was extremely sturdy and well made. The lack of variety in piece shape may be problem for some, but if the image is one that you like it may not be a concern for you.

All reviews are just opinions. I try to at least be as objective as I can, and even though a puzzle image or quality may not be my taste, I try to give a detailed accounting of those things that I feel other puzzlers may want to know. We can’t all love the same puzzles for the same reasons. If variety in piece shape isn’t as big a deal for you and you love this image, I’m confident in recommending this puzzle. It’s got good quality, and it really is a beautiful picture!

Details:

Title: Rainbow Marbles
Artist: Julie Seabrook
Brand: Galison
Piece count: 500 pieces
Size: Approx. 20 x 20 in. (51 x 51 cm)
Purchased: Used, thrift store

Quality:

Board: Very good
Cutting: Good
Image: Excellent
Box: Sturdy
Fit: Very good
Puzzle Dust: Moderate amount
Piece cut: Grid cut
Piece shapes: Poor, no variety
Finish: Slightly shiny finish, lays flat

Overall Rating: Good, recommended

Rainbow Marbles was assembled in August, but got lost temporarily due to my old lady brain or medication fog. Usually once I finish a puzzle and take pictures I do three things; 1) the image is put onto the completed puzzles page for that month, 2) I start a new blog post page and put all pictures there also with a few notes about the assembly (and puzzle info if I’m writing a review), and 3) I add the pieces and puzzle to the running total for the year.

I’ve usually got 2 weeks worth of puzzles already completed and waiting to be written up and posted, so I didn’t really notice that I messed up one of those steps. When I thought I was starting a new blog post page, I clicked the wrong button and started a whole new page for the site (like one of the monthly completed puzzles pages). Since puzzles normally don’t get published right away it was saved as a draft, but not with all the other post drafts of other puzzles.

It wasn’t until last week when I was starting to write up new site pages for brand reviews that I noticed this little guy hanging out in the site pages drafts where he wasn’t supposed to be! How could I have missed this for 2 months? And if I hadn’t decided to start writing reviews of puzzle brands how long would it have been before I found this little guy? Heaven only knows!

Kittens in the Kitchen

On October 22, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles7 Comments

To be honest, I didn’t even notice there were cats in this puzzle until I started assembling it! I only saw the kitchen as a whole when I looked at the box, the kittens didn’t even register – of course I didn’t see the name of the puzzle either – Kittens in the Kitchen. I guess I don’t get the Captain Observation award for the day, huh?

I love the sign, I only wish I had a dining room to put it in. The view out the window is very pretty and was lots of fun to put together. 🙂 Unfortunately there were 2 missing pieces, but that didn’t make it any less fun to put together – at least not for me.

This was a thrift store puzzle, and seems to have been well loved before it was donated. Some of the pieces were bent and the finished puzzle didn’t lay completely flat. It’s difficult to say whether this is because it was pre-owned, or whether it’s a manufacturing defect; nevertheless it was an entertaining puzzle that made for a lovely afternoon.