Air Mail

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

As per my usual with all collages, I adored this one. Thank goodness I stocked myself up on my beloved collages before lockdown went into effect, they make my little puzzling heart very happy. 💗

I was having a great time with the assembly from the beginning, but it started to go together a little too quickly for my taste. It wasn’t that it was too easy, it was just too much fun! So I put the box away and worked it with no reference; it made the fun last a bit longer and made me pretty proud when I finished it too.

Re-marks and White Mountain have the best catalogs of collage puzzles around in my opinion. For my money, the image reproduction is much better on Re-marks puzzles, but White Mountain has a much bigger catalog of images to choose from. They both have the occasional difficulties with quality problems with the cut and/or fit of their puzzles, but in general they are both good companies that put out good quality jigsaws. (Honestly though, unless they were complete trash I would still buy their collages, I’m hooked and they make me unbelievably happy!)

This stamp looks almost exactly like a puzzle I did about 3 years ago! All it’s missing is the wording; Woodstock was an awesome looking image, but an extremely difficult puzzle. Although, without the wording it would have been even more of a challenge.

Air Mail 2

This stamp makes me extremely happy. Not only is it very pretty, it’s my home state. I miss it sometimes, especially in the fall and at Christmastime. At the moment Michigan is being overrun with the coronavirus, so I’m praying that my family and friends still there, and really all the Michiganders remain safe and healthy.

In addition to having a great time assembling this puzzle, it led me to a tip to share with you all. Running low on puzzles? Wishing they could last longer? I stretched this puzzle out an extra day by putting away the box image and just using the pieces and colors. Don’t be afraid to make it a little more challenging, if you feel like you’re in the weeds or you’re just not enjoying it as much you can always pull out the image again. But you just might enjoy the added obstacle, you never know until you try!

Journal Newbies?

On April 15, 2020April 14, 2020 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzling12 Comments

Fuzzy Friends 2 — Are you new around here?

My Jigsaw Journal has been getting much more traffic than normal in the past few weeks, with more views and more visitors than ever before. People all over the world are spending a bit of their “extra” time assembling puzzles, and it seems as though a few have found their way to this puzzle blog. Welcome! I’m so pleased to have you here. 🙂

Some of you may be looking for more information on puzzles and puzzling in general, and perhaps some have become more passionate about jigsaw puzzles and are looking for more of a community; you’ve all come to the right place!

I wanted to take this opportunity to let everyone know that comments, questions, observations, and general chit chat are all welcome here. If there’s any question you have about puzzles, even if you think it may be too basic or general, ask away! We were all newbies once, and we all know how it feels.

If you’d rather stay in the background and just be a “lurker”, that’s ok too, you are welcome to visit only and I’m glad you’re here. If you have questions, need help with a puzzle problem, or just want to talk puzzles – we’ve got that covered too. Most of my followers and readers are afflicted with PADS ; we all love to talk about, look at, read about, shop for, and assemble puzzles as much as possible. We’re always ready to welcome more of you into the fold. 😵 “One of us….one of us….” 😵

As long as you are respectful and kind, I will do my best to answer any question you have. I respond to every comment here on the blog, and love being able to talk to my puzzle posse about anything and *everything, but most especially about jigsaw puzzles. Welcome to My Jigsaw Journal!

*No politics allowed here, it’s too divisive – we puzzle people like to put things together not tear them apart!

Cheerios

On April 14, 2020April 14, 2020 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles6 Comments

These mini puzzles are so much fun, I’m sad that they’re coming to an end. After this one there are only two left. I don’t normally buy multipack puzzles, but this one was too much fun to resist. 🥣

The quality is much better than my last multipack of 100 piece puzzles; so far all the pieces have been there and each box contains the correct image! See? It’s possible to take care with your manufacturing and quality control and do things properly. Well done White Mountain!

Cheerios isn’t a favorite, but it’s a staple when there are small children around. They’re the perfect size for little fingers to grab and eat, it’s easy to take with you, and it is relatively healthy. When I was growing up and having cereal for breakfasts, I only liked eating Cheerios if you put sugar on it. Lots of sugar.

I know not everyone has the same palate and many people don’t care for the amount of sweetness we Americans do; but I’m here to tell you that when I put sugar on my cereal, I put SUGAR on my cereal! And when you were finished and got to the end of the bowl, there was a heap of sugar on the bottom. This was only when my mom wasn’t hanging around the breakfast table of course, if she was there she didn’t allow the pouring on of great amounts of sugar. You could put a couple of spoonfuls on, and that’s it.

This was pre-Honey Nut Cheerios of course, I’m old enough to remember a time when Cheerios only came in the original flavor. Back in the olden days there was no multi-grain, blueberry, oat crunch, or honey nut flavors – just plain old Cheerios. I must really be old!

It’s a wonder my ancient fingers are still able to pick up puzzle pieces, isn’t it?

Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas

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

This Vegas puzzle was purchased on one of the last puzzle shopping trips before everything shut down; there were a few 300 piece puzzles with images by Charles Fazzino, and this one jumped right out at me. It’s quite busy and full of detail, and I’m happy to report the quality was excellent.

It was very good quality for a TCG puzzle; nice thick pieces, with excellent fit and image reproduction. There was only one piece shape, which is a bit disappointing, but the image is so detailed that it didn’t make putting it together any less engrossing. The assembly was entertaining, and as someone who’s been to Las Vegas I found it great fun to see the representations of some of the Vegas landmarks and hot spots.

Fabulous Las Vegas 1

Motel with waterbeds, porno movies, 24 hour drive up weddings, slot machines – where else could you be but Vegas? 😉

Fabulous Las Vegas 2 And if you want to get out of town you can go see the Hoover Dam, or visit the Chicken Ranch – two VERY different sights to see. If you haven’t heard about The Chicken Ranch, um…. it’s a place where some “ladies of the evening” work.

Fabulous Las Vegas 3

I have a special place in my heart for Circus Circus. Mom and Dad went to Vegas when I was younger, and she talked about it a lot and told us how much fun it was. She thought it was the best place in Vegas (at least for her), and my memories of her stories still make me smile. 🙂 When I went there about 10 years ago, we stayed across the street at the Riviera, and I couldn’t wait to go to Circus Circus and see what she was talking about. It was a pretty fun place, and they had great buffets too!

Fabulous Las Vegas 4

My only problem with this puzzle was this bit at the top, where the image was ripped. It’s just an anomaly, one of those things that happens. I’m not mad or wanting my money back; it didn’t make the assembly any less fun, I still had a great time!

Thank You Easter Bunny!

On April 12, 2020April 12, 2020 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzling10 Comments

Temperature IP — What’s the Temperature? by Lois B. Sutton – White Mountain – 1000 pieces

I didn’t get a basket full of Easter eggs and candy, but look what the Easter Bunny DID bring me – an empty puzzle board so I can get back to the thing that lifts my spirits and keeps me a little more sane. Thank you Easter Bunny! 🐰

Now that’s more like it! This is what my puzzle board is supposed to look like; it’s usually a bit more chaotic with trays and pieces everywhere, but when there’s a puzzle on the board then I am definitely much happier! (Just ask my family, I’ve been a bit grouchy without my puzzles)

Now that I’m back to it, I will hopefully be a little easier to be quarantined with. I have PADS, and my mental health and level of happiness is directly tied to my puzzles; it’s a very good thing that I have my puzzle room back, with an empty (of sewing materials) puzzle board full of possibilities.

Whatever you celebrate – I hope you’re observing your respective holidays at home, to keep yourselves and others safe. Happy Easter, Passover, Ramadan, or whatever holiday you observe. If you don’t observe any holidays this month, Happy Sunday!

Stay home, stay safe, happy puzzling! 🧩