What Do I Do With These Puzzles Now?

On April 6, 2020April 5, 2020 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzling10 Comments

Marketplace 2 — So we’ve done all of these, what do I do with them?

So you and your family have purchased puzzles to assemble during the quarantine, well done! Jigsaw puzzles are a great choice to help keep hands busy, minds active, and thoughts occupied. But now that you’ve assembled them all, what do you do with them?

Please, I beg of you, DO NOT THROW THEM AWAY!

There are so many things you could do to spread the puzzle love around. I’ll give you some examples – but use your imagination, look at your community, and see where you might do some good by the simple act of donating your gently used puzzles. Staying home and assembling puzzles can help keep us all safe. And happier. And distracted. 🧩💖

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*If you have a senior living facility near you, consider donating to them. In most places in the U.S. there is no visiting allowed right now, and having puzzles to work on could be a such blessing to them. Large piece puzzles are usually best for aging eyes and hands.

*If there is a VA hospital, health facility, or veteran’s home near you, perhaps they would welcome a donation of puzzles to keep hands busy and minds active.

*Cancer treatment centers might also welcome puzzles to keep in their waiting rooms.

*If you have children’s puzzles that you no longer need, perhaps a local foster home might be glad of a donation of puzzles for the children.

*Do you have an elderly neighbor or relative nearby that might enjoy a puzzle? Why not put together a small care package with a puzzle or two, with a note to let them know you’re thinking about them. I know that I’d love to find such a thoughtful gift on my doorstep.

*Looking to make a quick buck or two to boost your income? Why not post them for sale on Facebook marketplace, Craigslist, or other online resale site? Ask a reasonable price and you may be surprised at how quickly they will sell. With Paypal you should be able to conduct a contact-free transaction. You’ve got some extra money in the bank and the puzzles are re-homed with someone else who will enjoy them.

*If you haven’t already, consider joining a Facebook group of jigsaw puzzlers, there are many to choose from. I think you’ll find lots of people willing to swap with you or buy your puzzles.

*Did your coworkers or friends miss out on stocking up before they were told to stay at home? Why not give them a call or send a text to check up on them, see how they’re doing, and ask if they’d like a few puzzles. You never know how much a kind gesture like that can brighten someone’s day.

Or if you have the room you can store them until the crisis winds down – when libraries, schools, thrift stores, and senior centers reopen they would most likely love to have some donated puzzles. According to the CDC, the coronavirus can only live on cardboard for 24 hours at the most, so airing puzzles out for a day is all that’s really needed to make them safe.

If you’re looking to donate your puzzles, a call to whatever recipient you choose should let you know if they’re accepting donations; if they’re not you can choose another. I think it’s worth spending a few moments on the phone to perhaps brighten someone’s day with a caring donation.

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These are just a few suggestions, but again, look at your community and see if there a need that you might be able to help fill. Please keep yourself safe, first and foremost. If you are under a stay-at-home or shelter-in-place order, please do not put yourself at risk by making extra trips out for any reason. But if you can donate the puzzles safely, then by all means, please do so.

For hardcore jigsaw puzzle addicts like me, the thought of millions of puzzles being assembled once and disposed of makes me extremely sad. Most puzzles can be assembled many times; think of all the joy it would bring if they were used and enjoyed by many.

Please be safe. And please don’t throw your puzzles away. Spread the puzzle love! 💖

Fishing, Sailing and Catching Frogs

On April 5, 2020 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles6 Comments

I really enjoy an Americana image now and then, and this was no different. I’ve done several puzzles with Bonnie White’s artwork, and I find them to be charming, detailed, and completely entertaining.

The pieces looked pretty much all green as I got started, and it looked as though it was going to be difficult. But as I went along and got more used to the image and what went where, the pieces made more sense. I could see that this green went with the apple tree, and that green went with the fields, etc.

I truly enjoyed this image, and it was quicker to go together than I thought it would be. Even with the hundreds, perhaps thousands of puzzles I’ve put together – I am still wrong a LOT of the time about whether or not I will enjoy a certain image and how difficult it will be. 🤷‍♀️

I thought I’d show you what the title means. Fishing in the stream….

The boys are sailing their boats in the creek…

And catching frogs. I love this little guy! I was quite a tomboy when I was younger and I don’t want to brag, but I caught quite a few frogs in my day. 🐸

Cinnamon Toast Crunch

On April 4, 2020April 4, 2020 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles2 Comments

These little cereal box puzzles are the best! They’re the perfect palate cleanser after a big puzzle and before you start another one. Great quality and fun images. Yum!

*I’m not feeling very cheerful or talkative today. Sorry about the shortness of the post. Hope all are doing well and staying safe.

The New Puzzle Craze

On April 3, 2020 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzling8 Comments

No Sneezing — Gesundheit! How am I going to disinfect this puzzle now?

These are interesting times we’re living in, that’s for sure. Many of us are in our homes most of the time now; and when we’re not disinfecting doorknobs and drawer handles we have plenty of extra time for puzzling. It’s the “newest” thing, have you heard?

Those of us who aren’t new to this fabulous indoor activity and have large stashes of puzzles to do are very lucky indeed; the demand has increased mightily as housebound families look for activities to keep themselves occupied. On my last trip out to stock up on puzzles, the bookstore where I normally feed my puzzle addiction had really been picked over; there were still puzzles on the shelves, but not nearly as many as there usually were.

Our beloved jigsaw puzzles are becoming hard to come by, as many online retailers have stopped taking orders, some have hiked up prices, and many retail stores that carry puzzles are not considered “essential businesses” and are now closed in places with stricter quarantine rules. There are still some online retailers with reasonable prices taking orders, and a few places you can sneak a puzzle into your cart if you are shopping for groceries, but those are becoming fewer by the day as everyone is getting in on the latest puzzle craze.

So I hope you’re well stocked and ready for plenty of puzzle time; perhaps your family might be interested in helping you with your next puzzle. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing for you or not, as many people prefer to puzzle in solitude. I’m good either way, puzzling with my loved ones makes me happy, as does quiet alone time with my puzzle pieces – and luckily I have a stockpile that should last me roughly 3 to 4 years. Or more.

I think it’s wonderful that more people are coming to appreciate the hobby that we PADS sufferers and puzzle addicts know and love. It’s a wonderful way to pass the time, and helps keep our minds occupied with shapes and colors rather than the latest bad news.

They’re good for our overall health too, which is some good news that we dyed-in-the-wool dissectologists and puzzle newbies all need to remember. Each little success that working on a jigsaw puzzle brings – completing a section, or just finding that piece we’ve been searching for – encourages the production of dopamine in our brains. Dopamine regulates your mood, and studies have shown that a positive mood can enhance your immune system; I think all of our immune systems could use a boost these days, don’t you? So turn off the tv, put down your phones, and puzzle on my friends – it’s good for you! 🧩

Happy puzzling!

*The picture above is from the back of the box of the current puzzle I’m working on, a 1500 piece Jan van Haasteren shaped puzzle called “Hotel”. It isn’t part of the image; it’s just a cute little drawing by JVH on the back of the box, and it seemed oddly appropriate for today’s post. 🙂

Cake Shed

On April 2, 2020April 2, 2020 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles9 Comments

Cake Shed was quite a challenge, but I got it done! It’s a beautiful, bright image and I truly enjoyed every part of the assembly. 2000 piece puzzles always seem a bit daunting when I’m sorting them; but once the assembling starts I wind up having a really good time. And when it’s finished I always end up quite proud of my accomplishment.

This was a great quality thrift store puzzle; although it does show the chances one takes when purchasing puzzles secondhand. It was missing one piece and had an extra piece from a completely different puzzle in the box. Even so, it didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the assembly and I still consider it money well spent. $1.99 for a 2000 piece puzzle that gave me hours and hours of quiet, meditative, and entertaining fun. Where else can you get that much bang for your buck?

Buffalo puzzles have excellent quality, and I’ve been doing more of them lately. Mom bought quite a few of their puzzles at the thrift stores, and I’m working through them as quickly as I can. The pieces are a good thickness with a nice variety of shapes, they fit together well and have beautiful image reproduction. I’ve assembled their puzzles in sizes from 300 to 2000 pieces, and in my opinion they have excellent quality throughout every size.

Cake Shed 1 — This cake looks delicious!

This was the first thing I assembled, a delicious looking fruit-covered cake. Yum! The bright red ribbon and the fruit were easy to find, and I almost collected every piece for this small section on the first try. That in itself is amazing!

Cake Shed 2

A birthday cake for a cat? We love our Buddy, and even though we give up room on our bed and lots of belly rubs and back scratches, we wouldn’t pay someone to make him a cake for his birthday. We just wouldn’t – although if you do something like that for your pets I am not denigrating that in any way. Buddy may get an extra treat on his special day (if I can remember what day that is), but that’s about it.

Cake Shed 3

I love this little big guy, he looks like he makes a mean cake! The artwork by Steve Read was both adorable and beautiful, and it makes me want to find more puzzles with his images. The colors were lovely, and the image as a whole made for a great puzzle.

If you can find this one out there, it is definitely recommended. I loved every moment of it – even assembling the floor and walls. It’s a great image for puzzling, and is excellent quality. I give it two servings way up! 🍴🍰🍴🍰