Butterfly Garden

On March 16, 2020March 16, 2020 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles6 Comments

Butterfly Garden is my free puzzle from Ceaco that I received as a “we’re sorry for our terrible quality 1200 piece puzzle you bought”. I’d like to say I was completely impartial while I assembled this and judged it’s quality, but that would be a lie. I had an attitude when I was putting this puzzle together; about the brand, the image, the quality – everything. Sorry, I’m human.

I was going to review this puzzle, but as I previously stated I found that I wasn’t going into the assembly with anything resembling a fair-minded attitude. I may not be happy with Ceaco presently, but it wouldn’t be proper for me to review this knowing I wasn’t pleased with the puzzle before I had even started the assembly.

This was way easier than I thought it would be, and I didn’t have a particularly good time with it. I’m not a fan of the artwork, it’s very dark and not as pretty as one would hope a butterfly garden would be. It’s nothing against the artist really, it just isn’t my taste. I wasn’t given a choice as to which puzzle I would be getting, and I was unhappy with both the piece count and the image, obviously.

Butterfly Garden 1

This was the hardest part of the puzzle for me, and it was only around 10-12 pieces. Didn’t take me long.

This whole fiasco with the 12 days of Christmas puzzles was an eye-opener for me, and to be honest I’m still a bit perturbed about it. There is still a Ceaco ban in place for me, I will not be buying any of their puzzles. My daughter and I were puzzle shopping after the holidays to spend a gift card, and she found a really cute Charlie Brown family puzzle that I actually loved the look of. Unfortunately it was a Ceaco and I made her put it back on the shelf. They will not be getting any of my money any time soon.

I realize one person’s boycott is a drop in the bucket, and they obviously couldn’t care less about whether or not I’m buying their puzzles; but it makes me feel better to spend my puzzle budget on companies that care about the quality of their product and the satisfaction of their customers. Unfortunately in my experience Ceaco is definitely NOT one of those companies.

Cake Shed In Progress

On March 15, 2020 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw PuzzlingLeave a comment

Cake Shed IP — Cake Shed by Steve Read – Buffalo – 2000 pieces

There hasn’t been as much progress on the Cake Shed as I’d have liked, but a family member was visiting this week and I didn’t spend as much time at home as I normally do. I’m back at home now; a bit worn out, but ready to get back to my big puzzle. 🧩

My apologies for the wonky picture, it looks to me as though it’s leaning at the top – it makes me tilt my head to the left every time I look at it!

The green dresser and shelf are next up, and hopefully that will fill things out a bit – but there are many, many green pieces so it may also take a bit of time. It’s been a pretty entertaining puzzle so far, and I’m enjoying it very much.

*I do admit to wishing it were only 1000 pieces at times; it’s taking up most of my puzzle board, and it’s sometimes anxiety-inducing when I walk into the puzzle room. #anxietysucks 😐

I hope you’re working on a fun puzzle today. Happy puzzling!

Vintage Tin Toys

On March 14, 2020March 13, 2020 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles8 Comments

My beautiful daughter bought me this puzzle for no reason other than she saw it at the store and thought I would love it. She was right – and sweeter than sugar!

It was a pretty challenging assembly, but I absolutely adored it. Such bright colors and interesting toys, not to mention an excellent quality puzzle. The fit was a bit loose, but otherwise the pieces were thick with varied shapes, and the image reproduction was beautiful! I haven’t done many 1000 piece Milton Bradley puzzles, but I was happily surprised at the quality of this one. If we find more amazing images like this one, I hope to be doing more of them very soon!

Wow, they certainly didn’t mind unconventional toys back in the day, huh? A bartender toy for a child? This actually made me laugh out loud! I wonder what the mechanism made the little tin bartender do? A toy that pours and serves little drinks? Wow. Just, wow.

Vintage Tin Toys 2

This is silly, a tin chicken – but I suppose who am I to judge right? I didn’t even realize this was in the puzzle because the stupid people who designed the puzzle box decided to put a banner over this portion of it. When I realized what the pieces were and set them aside, I couldn’t wait to see what it looked like all put together. A silly chicken!

Vintage Tin Toys 3

Ventriloquist dummies must have been all the rage, I love how fun and silly these toys are! Perhaps a young boy or girl wouldn’t care what it said on the side of it, they would most likely be happy with any toy car. Still, this one gave me a chuckle.

Sometimes it amazes me that a box full of hundreds of pieces of cut up cardboard or wood pictures could bring me so much joy – but they absolutely do. But it isn’t only joy – serenity, smiles, laughs, concentration, fixation, obsession, happiness, sadness, exhilaration, peace, victory, pride, and too many more to name. Puzzles are a gift to ourselves and our minds, and I, for one, intend to keep on giving. 🧩💖

Mansfield Air Spectacular

On March 13, 2020March 13, 2020 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles2 Comments

I had a fantastic time with this puzzle; it was great fun to assemble, the image by Charles Wysocki was excellent, and it had the usual outstanding Buffalo quality – it was one of those all around wonderful puzzles. Though it was a bit more challenging that I’d assumed; that sky took much more time than I thought. Yikes!

There have been many, many Buffalo puzzles that I’ve assembled, and I can’t recall ever having a major quality issue with any of them. The pieces are thick, fit together well, and there are a very good variety of piece shapes. The image reproduction is stellar, and in general they are an excellent quality puzzle that I never have any hesitation in purchasing.

Mansfield 2

The stands where the people sat were great fun to do, so many arms, legs, etc. I found it to be quite enjoyable, and a bit more difficult if you don’t look at the box.

Mansfield 1

Love that all the pilots were women! Once I started sorting pieces and saw that the faces were all female I said out loud (to no one) “Props to the ladies!”. 👩‍✈️💪 Yes indeed, I talk to myself and my puzzles while I’m assembling them; I am not ashamed to admit it.

I’m enjoying Buffalo puzzles in the larger piece counts much more than I used to, and even find them soothing for some reason that I can’t quite put into words. They’re wonderful quality and have a large and varied catalog of images to choose from. If you haven’t tried a Buffalo puzzle before, give them a go – they even have these fun zig-zag shaped pieces that no one else does – sometimes it makes it easier, and sometimes it does not.

Mansfield Air Spectacular was a great time in a small box. Puzzles Rock! 😎

Almost In Progress

On March 12, 2020 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzling4 Comments

api32zqpf__85190.1534533449 — Cake Shed by Steve Read – Buffalo – 2000 pieces

While I have chosen the next puzzle, I haven’t gotten any work done on it yet – it’s still mostly in the box – it’s almost in progress. 😉

I have sorted a bit of it, but it’s 2000 pieces so it takes a little longer to get through them all. I think it’s going to be really fun once I get going though, I just have to get through my least favorite part, the sorting. Hopefully I’ll have time today to at least finish sorting and get ready for some actual assembly.