Month: May 2022

Quilt Country

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles2 Comments

Quilt Country by Lena – MasterPieces – 300 pieces

Beautiful, bright, colorful, and interesting – it made for a fantastic puzzle, and a fantastic puzzling experience! Hubby helped out with the border, even though I was trying to get away from him for a few minutes and puzzle alone with my music and my thoughts. Sigh.

This was a MasterPieces linen puzzle, and it was very good quality. Thick and sturdy pieces, very good fit, nice variety of shapes and beautiful reproduction. Only issue was that the pieces didn’t sit flat – in many places parts were slightly raised compared to surrounding ones.

There was a small blurb about the artist on the back of the box, and I was surprised to learn that Lena is a young Ukrainian illustrator and concept artist who produces a wide spectrum of art in differing styles including illustrations for films, games and advertising (in addition to her beautiful artwork shown here).

Of course you know I couldn’t resist this adorable little puppy. ❤

I didn’t notice it at all when I looked at the box cover, or when I was sorting – even the inside of the barn has quilts everywhere – including the ceiling!

I don’t know what kind of bird this is, but it’s beautiful. The colors are amazing!

1000 Piece Puzzles – How Long Should It Take?

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzling, Miscellaneous12 Comments

The answer is simply this – however long it takes.

There is no right way, wrong way, or time frame anyone should stick to; puzzling works best for you when you don’t compare yourself or how you puzzle with anyone else.

I’ve seen many an article/blog post/answer to this question – how long does it take to complete a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle. There are averages I suppose, but if it takes you much longer than it takes me that doesn’t mean a thing.

Perhaps you have young children, a full time job, or less inclination to sit at the puzzle table as much as I do……so what? Are you having fun? If the answer is yes then however long it takes you is the PERFECT amount of time.

There are many factors that go into how long puzzles take to complete; the image, the cut, the quality, your preferred method of puzzling, etc. An easy collage image doesn’t take nearly as long as a landscape with plenty of sky and grass to deal with; so there’s no way to tell you how long it “should” take. It takes as long as is necessary for you.

It all depends on how you puzzle, and as long as you’re enjoying the assembly it doesn’t matter if it takes one day or six months!

Typefaces

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles6 Comments

Typefaces by Hugo Maciel – Ravensburger – 500 pieces

This interesting image was much more difficult than I thought it would be, but still loads of fun! The artwork looks like it was done in crayon or something other than digital or paint. It took me a bit to get used to it, but I found the challenge intriguing and completely captivating.

It was great quality, of course, it’s a Ravensburger. The feel of the pieces, the fit, the variety in piece shapes, the image reproduction – all wonderful. I expect nothing less, and they absolutely delivered.

Typefaces is the title, because if you look at each face you’ll see that each represents a letter of the English alphabet. Sometimes it isn’t the whole face, parts of it are shaded so that only part of the face forms the letter – it’s really quite ingenious if you ask me. It took me a minute when I first looked at it to actually see the letters, and when I did of course I had to have it. Plus, it’s a collage, and you know how much I adore them.

There was something about the color-blocked background in this section, I really enjoyed putting it together.

You can see how the background looks very different than the usual brush strokes or digital color. It made it more difficult at times, but sometimes difficult is fun. 😎

Love

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles4 Comments

Love – MicroPuzzles – 150 pieces

Happy Mother’s Day to all moms and dads out there! I knew when I received this in my monthly MicroPuzzles subscription box that it was definitely the best puzzle I had on hand here at the house for Mother’s Day this year; and so I got right down to it in order to be ready for the “holiday”.

I knew the border would have to go last on this one. The letters were not easy, but they were much easier than all the white hearts, dots, and swoops – and definitely easier than that border! Still, it’s a beautiful puzzle, isn’t it?

My only request every Mother’s Day is always that I don’t have to take care of anyone or make any decisions. I don’t need gifts or breakfast in bed, those things just aren’t me.

My kids have all been adults now for well over a decade, and both my injury and my anxiety make it so that having them take me out to a restaurant for a meal isn’t pleasant for me. I’d much prefer to stay home, have my kids tell me they love me, and make sure that I don’t have to cook dinner. (I’m a cheap date!)

I hope your day is wonderful, and that all of my PADS Posse friends out there get to spend today doing something you love, or spending time with those you love. I appreciate all of you that hang out with me here every day – it’s truly a blessing to have so many puzzle pals. ❤

Happy puzzling my friends!

What Are You Working On?

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzling, Miscellaneous4 Comments

What fabulous puzzle are you working on this Mother’s Day weekend? Have you treated yourself to a beautiful puzzle that you can spend some time on tomorrow? I certainly hope so.

I’m laying out a new wooden puzzle I bought for myself so the actual assembly hasn’t started yet. It was just delivered yesterday and by the time it got here I was done for the day. I bought myself a few small wooden puzzles from Artifact that were on sale and looked interesting to me. It’s been a little while since I’ve assembled a wooden puzzle that wasn’t a mini (40 pieces), so a week ago I decided it was time to change that and get myself a few new puzzles.

The one I’m assembling first isn’t really an image that I think I would go for usually, it’s the cut of the pieces that makes it interesting. It’s the same cut as In Dreams, the second wooden puzzle I ever owned – it was a gift from mom 5 years ago. Anyway, the cut is one I’ve only ever seen from Artifact (they call it mini-hex), and to me it makes for such an entertaining and challenging assembly that I’m not certain the image matters much at all really.

It’s only a 105 piece puzzle, so sorting isn’t really necessary; I’ll just lay out the pieces and get to it. But the cut and the image will make it so that concentration and focus will be necessary – I’ll be completely absorbed by the assembly. Love that!