The Retrievers

On March 21, 2020March 21, 2020 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles8 Comments

My goodness was this puzzle adorably entertaining! The Retriever family’s wall of family photos made for such a fun and slightly challenging puzzle. If you find this one out there I would definitely recommend it; not only did I have a great time, but it was an excellent quality puzzle too.

I loved the size and fit of the 750 piece Buffalo, there have only been a couple other Buffalo puzzles of this piece count that I’ve assembled before. I enjoyed it very much and found the quality to be excellent. The chipboard was a good thickness, the fit and image reproduction were both exceptional. It makes me want to find some more 750 piece Buffalo puzzles with great images. 🙂

The Retrievers 1

How adorable is this face? No wonder Golden Retrievers are such a popular breed! All the different frames made sorting a bit easier, and once they were put together there weren’t as many pieces that were just the background wallpaper.

The Retrievers 2

The cuteness of this entire image made it really entertaining for me. This was a moderately easy assembly, but it did have enough difficulty to make it fun. Barking fun!

It gets four paws way up and is highly recommended. 🐾🐾

The Sweetest Man

On March 20, 2020March 20, 2020 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzling16 Comments

My husband is the sweetest man. Perhaps not everyone would agree, but to me he is kind, attentive and loving and after almost 32 years of marriage he continues to surprise me with the thoughtful things he does for me. 💖

He told me a few days ago that he was having a puzzle made for me and that it would be delivered soon. I was looking forward to seeing what he chose, wondering where he got it from, and what brought this on.

He wouldn’t tell me anything at all other than that he did a LOT of research on the “puzzle project”. He said he wanted a very special puzzle for me to complete, so after he did all his research he commissioned this puzzle to be made with the image he chose and the whimsicals he wanted incorporated into it. He said he’s been working on this since January! Wow.

Yesterday he gave me my new puzzle. He worked with Bob at Mr. Bob Puzzles in Australia to craft a special custom puzzle for me; I didn’t think Mr. Bob Puzzles did any custom work! The moment he gave me the box just seeing it made me cry….

Stacey & Ruth

How adorably sweet is my husband? So sweet! I knew it had to be a picture of me and mom, but I had no idea which one he chose. As soon as I looked at the pieces I saw one with some flowers – it was immediately recognizable to me as my wedding bouquet. Aww! It’s a picture of me and mom on my wedding day! 💞 I looked through the pieces and it’s going to be such a beautiful puzzle, with such sweet and wonderful whimsies; I am so excited to assemble it and it will be on my puzzle board first thing this morning.

He said he was planning to give this to me on Mother’s Day this year, he wanted to be sure that my first Mother’s Day without her wasn’t too sad. But he just couldn’t wait until May – once the puzzle arrived and he saw the box and looked through the pieces he was too excited for me to see it and assemble it. He’s so adorable.

There was a lot of leg work involved in this “project”. He had to take our over 30 year old wedding pictures to a professional photographer to get high resolution digital pictures made. We do have the negatives, but he had no idea where they were and of course he couldn’t ask me. So they had to take a picture of the picture and turn them into files that could be uploaded for Mr. Bob Puzzles to use. I’m surprised he was able to keep all of this a secret. Well done hubby!

I thought that was it, but there was more. 😱 He had another puzzle made at the same time that he was planning to give me for our anniversary, and again he couldn’t wait until May…

Stacey & David

Another picture from our wedding day, but of course this one is of hubby and me.💕We don’t normally exchange gifts for our anniversary, we’d rather just spend time with each other. I’ll let this one slide though, because I absolutely love it! The whimsies are GORGEOUS and I can’t wait to share both of these special puzzles with everyone.

It’s getting syrupy sweet around here, I know, but bear with me…

I can’t even express how much I love this kind, generous, selfless man. He is one of the sweetest men I know, and he continues to prove it to me time and again. What thoughtful and beautiful gifts he had made for me, I’m overwhelmed!

I am so looking forward to putting these puzzles together, and seeing the finished images; I could cheat and get out our wedding albums and try to figure out which pictures he chose, but I’d rather just enjoy the assembly and watch the images come together as I go along. (Get ready for some 80’s hair and fashions y’all!)

Stay tuned, these are going to be something special!

Common Quilt Blocks

On March 19, 2020March 19, 2020 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles10 Comments

I ADORED this puzzle – it was so much fun! Cobble Hill quality is excellent, and I enjoyed the random cut of the pieces and the beautiful colors. The fabrics were so interesting too, a lot of them would make ugly clothes but they do make lovely quilt blocks. 😉

Cobble Hill has such a great catalog of puzzle images, after assembling this one the PADS is flaring up and I want to get a whole bunch more of their puzzles. I love the feel of the pieces and the way they fit together – just a great quality puzzle all around. Someone needs to take my credit cards for a day or two, I’m feeling the need for some new puzzles!

Quilt Blocks 1

Great name to go with a great fabric pattern. I loved that all the quilt block patterns have names, and I found that it helped quite a bit with the assembly.

And of course I loved these two patterns because they had the word puzzle in their names! Old Maid’s Puzzle and Dutchman’s Puzzle, obviously they are my favorites. 😁

And now I have this burning desire to find and assemble every single quilt block puzzle there is – and I know there are quite a few. I enjoyed this one so much that it leaves me wanting more. Quilts and quilt blocks make for highly entertaining puzzles, at least they do for me. Perhaps it’s the neat, orderly rows and the fact that they’re put in some kind of order; it may be soothing for my OCD.

Whatever the reason, I’d love to get my hands on some more quilt block puzzles. I highly recommend you give this one a try, it was too much fun! 💝

Got More Time to Puzzle? 1000 Piece Puzzle Giveaway!

On March 18, 2020March 18, 2020 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzling24 Comments

With the Coronavirus taking hold across the globe, people around the world are finding that they have much more time on their hands. With “shelter in place” orders, people being encouraged to work from home if possible, needing to care for children who are no longer in school, and people being asked to quarantine themselves at home – we all seem to have more time than we normally do for more sedentary pursuits.

It will be no surprise that I’m encouraging everyone to try working on jigsaw puzzles with some of their extra time; you might find that not only is it an extremely enjoyable pastime, but that it also helps to relieve some of the stress and anxiety that most of us are feeling these days. My regular readers know that I’m constantly emphasizing that jigsaw puzzles are not only entertaining, but actually good for both your physical and mental well-being.

Did you know that assembling jigsaw puzzles can help lower your blood pressure, relieve anxiety and stress, improve your mood, help you to deal with chronic pain, and even increase your IQ? These are just a few of the health benefits one gets from puzzling – there are many, many more. Most important of all in these troubled times is that puzzles can take our minds off of the day-to-day burdens and worries that we are all carrying and allow us to relax. Couldn’t we all use a bit more relaxation, stress relief, and improved health these days?

To that end I’ve moved up the timing of my next puzzle giveaway. It was just last month that My Jigsaw Journal gave away a lovely 500 piece Milton Bradley puzzle, and the plan was to hold another giveaway for Mother’s Day at the beginning of May. We all could use some cheering up, so instead of a few months down the road I am holding a new giveaway right now. 🙂

Christmas at Hogwarts is a 1000 piece puzzle by the New York Puzzle Company with artwork by Mary GrandPre, unopened and still shrink-wrapped. It looks colorful and fun, but a little bit challenging too! Would you like a chance to win this puzzle? Wouldn’t it be nice to spend some of your free time at home assembling this beautiful image?

This giveaway is open to everyone, and all you have to do is leave a comment on today’s post to be entered. Every comment/entry will be given a number, a random number generator will choose the winner and the results will be posted one week from today, Wednesday, March 25, 2020.

Stay home, stay healthy, and stay safe my friends. 💖

Good luck, and Happy Puzzling!

Cocoa Puffs

On March 17, 2020March 17, 2020 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw PuzzlesLeave a comment

So much fun! There’s something about cereal that brings out the kid in you, and this 100 piece puzzle of a cereal box was no different. Like most small piece count puzzles it was over very quickly, but sometimes that’s perfect. I’m cuckoo for this Cocoa Puffs puzzle! 🤪

I put the box away and just worked it by colors and shapes; which is my way of thoroughly enjoying the image and only paying attention to the puzzle itself. It’s also a way to help a smaller piece count puzzle last just a little bit longer. This is my least favorite cereal out of the six in the pack, and I’ll be working them in reverse order – ending with my favorite of the six. Which one will that be? I guess you’ll have to stay tuned to find out!

My absolute favorite cereal is Peanut Butter Cap’n Crunch, but it isn’t a General Mills cereal so unfortunately it’s not in this multipack. The General Mills cereals in this pack are: Cocoa Puffs, Lucky Charms, Cheerios, Trix, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and Honey Nut Cheerios. Which one is your favorite?

I don’t believe I’ve ever worked a 100 piece White Mountain puzzle before, and the quality was about the same as their 1000 piecers. Thick pieces, very good fit, excellent image reproduction. These are a bit pricey for only a total of 600 pieces, but they’re great for working with young ones, or even by yourself if you’re a kid at heart like me. 👵=👧

These were very good quality mini puzzles, much better than my last 100 piece puzzle set! I had a great time putting this one together, and I’m looking forward to finishing them all. At the moment two of these cereal puzzles have been assembled, and the third one is on my board this morning. Yum.

☘ Happy St. Patrick’s Day! ☘