After sitting on my board unsorted for two days, I finally got going on Art City, a 1001 piece wooden puzzle from Mr. Bob Puzzles in Australia.
The colors are beautiful, and most of the pieces have a straight or almost straight edge, so the assembly isn’t as easy as it looks. This is a large puzzle, approximately 19 x 31 inches, so the start I have here isn’t very much of the image at all, there’s a lot more to go!
This puzzle has a lot of great whimsies, and they are all roaring 20’s, jazz, and art deco inspired. I love them all, and there are several words mixed in with the whimsies that are lots of fun; my favorite of course is my name…
If only I had thought to ask for “My Jigsaw Journal” spelled out in pieces, that would be amazing! Maybe on the next puzzle…. 😁
To be honest, the first day I poured the pieces onto the board the sheer number of pieces and the large pile it made completely overwhelmed me. I put the whimsies on trays, but stopped there and did nothing on it the rest of the day, and didn’t even go in the puzzle room the day after that. I wish I could say my anxiety was under control, but it isn’t, and even though puzzling helps me deal with anxiety and reduce stress, it’s only once I’m actually working on the puzzle that this holds true. Before I start the actual assembly there are many, many pieces to turn over and lay out, and that’s where the anxiety comes in. I’m doing my best, and I have medication, but I still get stressed when I see a huge box or pile of pieces. Anxiety sucks.
This puzzle was great fun! I had such a good time that I could barely walk away from it, every piece put in lead me to another and so on; it went together much more quickly than most 1000 piece puzzles do for me because I was having such a good time. Collages are the best!
Sometimes I’m torn between keeping at it because I’m having so much fun, and slowing down to make it last longer. Usually I choose to keep at it; because – why put a damper on my puzzle fun? But sometimes I choose to walk away for a bit or just slow down putting in the pieces to really savor the assembly. This was one of those that I chose to keep on puzzling, it was extremely enjoyable.
The quality was a bit disappointing though; the fit was loose and spongy, and the piece shapes are very obvious in the finished image. Most likely my particular copy of this puzzle was produced at the end of the run when the die was duller. It happens with every puzzle brand, and it doesn’t mean the brand has poor quality. The assembly was delightful, but the overall the fit made it slightly less satisfying.
My first thought when I saw the puzzle was that I had no idea C. S. Lewis was so prolific, but a closer look showed that there are many books shown multiple times with different covers. Both The Screwtape Letters, and The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe are shown with five different covers!
This was my favorite of The Screwtape Letters covers. I’m not sure why; usually I go for lots of color, but there’s something about this one, maybe it’s the pointillism – it’s quite striking. And believe it or not this was one of the easier covers to assemble. It just looks so cool. 😎
I had a great time assembling this puzzle even though I was somewhat frustrated with the quality. I’m recommending it as it was so entertaining, but am cautioning about the quality – specifically the fit. For me, the fact that putting it together was so absorbing outweighs the annoyance of the loose fit; but ultimately it’s something you’ll have to decide for yourself.
*I’m fully aware that my thoughts about this puzzle are all over the place; and I have no excuse other than to say that they are factual. Collages make me truly happy when I assemble them, and unless the quality is completely horrid I will enjoy myself. But I also feel a responsibility to let my readers know if there are quality problems, even small ones. If there is a problem with the fit, the cut, the chipboard, or anything else I need to let you know. So even though I thoroughly enjoyed myself, I still have to let you about any issues I found. (This paragraph made sense in my head, I hope it translated well enough to be somewhat understandable. 😉 )
Please forgive the angle of this picture, I tried to go back and fix it but the stupid photo program wouldn’t let me change anything after I’d renamed it. Stupid technology. 🤐
This was much more challenging than the previous four letter puzzle that I assembled. The shading at the back made for odd shapes, and my brain took quite a long time to wrap itself around the concept. But I loved that about it; when you know the solution is right in front of you and all you have to do is SEE it. You just have to let your brain catch up and figure it out. And then, when you finally do get it, the exhilaration is fantastic! (My PADS posse understands, don’t you?)
A friend says I should have left the other puzzle assembled and then taken a picture of “S**t Yeah!”. Why didn’t I think of that? I was moving the letters around to spell other words, and was thinking that I’m only one letter short of being able to spell my name; if I had gotten the other naughty word or even the word Crap I’d have the C so I could spell out my name in pretty letters. Ah well, I missed my chance.
This puzzle was very good quality, just like the first one. I’m quite impressed with them, especially because the company doesn’t only do puzzles. In fact, these four letter words are the only puzzles they carry. To get such good quality is a surprise, a very pleasant one. Check them out at Knock Knock.
I’ve enjoyed assembling these words/letters, and I think any of the others would be very entertaining. If you’re looking for a silly, challenging, enjoyable puzzle, I would absolutely recommend these four letter words.
It’s the annual review of my puzzling exploits, and 2019 was quite a year. A total of 203 puzzles were assembled that add up to 91,051 pieces! I set myself goals last year, but I couldn’t have known what the year would bring, and that for more than two and a half months I wouldn’t be doing any puzzles at all.
So, no more puzzling goals for me, other than to do the puzzles that excite me and make me happy, and to spend my puzzle time enjoying myself.
Municipal Bldg. NY – Pastime Puzzles? – 1600 pieces
5 pounds of vintage wooden puzzle pieces!
My greatest puzzling accomplishment of 2019 was the Mystery Puzzle Box that I assembled with mom; a box of loose vintage puzzle pieces that I bought on eBay. We had no idea what the image was, or even whether or not it was just one puzzle or many smaller ones. It turned out to be a 1600 piece one of a kind hand-cut Pastime Puzzle of the Municipal Building in New York, and we then found out it that was potentially over 100 years old! Mom and I spent many weeks putting it together; marveling over the fantastic shapes and the unbelievable fit, and in general loving the puzzle and loving spending lots of time together. I am unbelievably grateful that we had that extra time together working on this puzzle, and I cherish every moment we spent assembling it. 💝
Pretending to be Normal by Suzy Toronto – White Mountain – 1000 pieces
2019 will always be the year I lost mom, and as I write this recap of my thoughts are mostly of her and all the puzzles we worked on together. Pretending to be Normal is the last puzzle she ever did, and the last puzzle we assembled together. It will always be special to me, and once it is reassembled it will be glued and framed to hang on the wall in my puzzle room. I loved it even before I knew it would be our last, and I love it even more now. ❤
Save The Whales by Robert Williams – Mr. Bob Puzzles – 515 pieces
Best Friends by Dean Russo – Starz Puzzles – 158 pieces
The Messenger by Kevin Sloan – Artifact – 313 pieces
Air Vent Kitty – Avanti – 150 pieces
Farmer’s Market by Tracy Flickinger – Ceaco – 300 pieces
Harry Potter Book 1 by Mary GrandPre – NY Puzzle Co. – 100 pieces
These are some of the amazing, wonderful, fun, and silly puzzles completed this year. Save The Whales is a gorgeous 500+ piece puzzle from Australia that I was so happy to be able to review, the image is stunning! Best Friends is the most expensive puzzle of the year for it’s small piece count – another review that I was privileged to do – and I loved the fantastic quality and unique star shaped pieces. Show Cat is a silly little 300 piece Ceaco puzzle that made mom and I laugh hysterically when we saw it at the thrift store, I just had to get it. Petrified Wood Mosaicis another thrift store find of moms, I loved the uniqueness of the image and the challenge of the assembly. When I see it I think of mom, and I’ve glued and hung it as artwork; it’s just beautiful! The Messenger is a gorgeous wooden puzzle sent by my fellow puzzle blogger Penny. Mom and I loved the assembly, and it was our last wooden puzzle together. Air Vent Kitty is a very small 150 piece puzzle that mom and I assembled sitting on my bed, and it makes me think of her and how much she loved those tiny little pieces. Farmer’s Market is part of a series of three puzzle images that I adore, and I had the best time assembling the two that we found – great fun! Harry Potter Book 1 (and the other 6 too) were a gift from my beautiful daughter; 100 piece puzzles of the Harry Potter book covers, and I assembled and loved every single one!
I’m so grateful to have this blog as an outlet for my obsession for and love of jigsaw puzzles, and even more so as a reminder of all the puzzles I’ve assembled both by myself and with mom. Everyone who stops by is welcome and appreciated, and all the puzzle friends I’ve met are a bright spot in my life. Thank you to all my readers and members of the PADS Posse for another great year! I’m sending out wishes for a wonderful new year full of puzzles and happiness.
My Jigsaw Journal’s Stats for 2019
115 countries viewed My Jigsaw Journal
11,786 visitors to the blog
54,732 total views
304 posts
203 puzzles completed
91,051 pieces assembled
50 brands worked
1 PADS diagnosis 😉
There are plenty of other stats I could give, but to be honest I just don’t feel like spending my time compiling them. I have puzzles to assemble!
Got up early in the morning because I couldn’t sleep, and finished this puzzle before hubby left for work. Pretty good!
I’m loving these wonderful little 300 piece round puzzles with such interesting images. They’re a lovely, quick puzzle when I’m not feeling well enough to start a larger one, and the colors and patterns make for such an engrossing assembly.
Perhaps it’s a good thing that so many people don’t assemble anything smaller than 1000 piece puzzles, that leaves more wonderful little gems like these for me to find and put together! 🙂
My Jigsaw Journal 