Author: Stacey at myjigsawjournal

Shining Brightly

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles7 Comments

Shining Brightly by Alan Giana – E&L – 100 pieces

This is exactly the type of puzzle image that puts me off, but it was a gift from a friend so of course I assembled it. Because it’s only 100 pieces I put it away to assemble with all my other little puzzles during December – and here it is. Sickeningly sweet snowfall, outside tree and all. 😐

It’s a thrift store puzzle, and you can tell it’s been assembled many times. It wasn’t the greatest quality to begin with, and the thing is falling apart. The fit is horrendous, and the image is lifting in several places. Not a great puzzle. But it isn’t surprising, E&L isn’t a brand I would ever recommend; even their new puzzles are lacking in the quality department.

This was one of those times where I don’t really enjoy the puzzle at all, but I very much want to finish. My brain almost goes into this mode where it isn’t about having fun with the puzzle, it’s only about finding the right piece. What is next? Where does this go? Do these colors match? Do I need a rounded knob or one that’s upturned slightly? It’s about completion, period. There aren’t many times when this happens to me, but this was one of them.

Normally I know (relatively) what puzzles and images will be enjoyable; I know the good brands, the artists whose work is enjoyable, and how many pieces make a fun assembly for me. Sometimes though, I run into a puzzle that puts me in the “must finish it” mode – usually they are gifts.

That being said, whether or not the assembly is enjoyable – every single puzzle that is gifted to me is appreciated – no matter the brand, condition, or image. If someone cares enough to think of me when they see a puzzle and they get it for me, I love that and am truly grateful. This puzzle wasn’t great, but I’m still thankful for the friend who gave it to me, and that she cared enough to give it to me in the first place. 💖

Gingerbread

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles4 Comments

Gingerbread – Paladone – 108 pieces

Isn’t this one cute? My puzzle pal Penny sent me this one a few years ago, and it’s finally been assembled! I always love trying out new brands, and Paladone is a company I hadn’t heard of before. There’s a sticker on it from Kohl’s (department store), perhaps it was made exclusively for them.

The quality was excellent, it was a very nice surprise. The pieces were thick and sturdy, there were a very good variety of piece shapes, it had a nice matte finish, and both the fit and image reproduction were excellent. My only problem was with the border – so many of the pieces didn’t connect with each other around the edges. That’s a pet peeve of mine, and I find it extremely irritating. But other than the crappy border it was a great quality puzzle!

By the time I’d found all of the pieces that connected the edges together so that they wouldn’t move apart with an accidental touch the puzzle was about halfway completed! I made sure to stop and take a picture of it once the final connecting piece was found. Pretty darned annoying.

*Maybe I haven’t had enough coffee yet this morning. It was actually a lovely puzzle with great quality.*

Ruby the Red Beaked Emu

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles4 Comments

Ruby the Red Beaked Emu by Susan Janson – Mr. Bob Puzzles – 40 pieces

Isn’t this an adorable and very different holiday image? I love it! Ruby the emu is looking so proud of her red beak and the fact that she’s out in front of the “sleigh”, so adorable!

This puzzle has been laying around the house here for at least a year, maybe more. However long it’s been, I’m so glad it’s finally gotten assembled, cause it’s so damn cute. Santa has on a t-shirt and some holiday trimmed shorts with sandals. So sweet. 😊

We all know how Stacey feels about Christmas puzzles and their sometimes sickly sweet cookie cutter images (🤢); this one certainly isn’t one of those, and that’s part of why it makes me so happy! It went together pretty quickly, and was entertaining and just difficult enough to be interesting. Perfect!

The whimsies aren’t overly Christmas-y, but I’ll take ’em. Love the teddy bear. 🧸

Are you feeling in the holiday spirit yet? I’m not. But maybe all these little puzzles coming up will get me there. 🧩💚

Happy Hanukkah this evening to all those who celebrate! 🕎

Nordic Tree

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles4 Comments

Nordic Tree – MicroPuzzles – 150 pieces

How cute and colorful is this image? I love it! All the different patterns at the side, the circle around the tree, and the interesting shapes on the tree itself made for slightly difficult but very entertaining puzzling.

In a larger piece count I would be all over this image, all the colors and shapes are absolutely my pile of pieces! With only 150 pieces and it being a micro puzzle, it was more challenging than expected. Your brain tells you you’re looking for a certain color or shape, but it changes so quickly into the next shape or color that your eye goes right past the correct piece and lands on what you think you should be looking for. Normally I puzzle without looking at the image on the box (or tube), and that made for a longer assembly than would usually be normal for a puzzle of this size.

I do enjoy the challenge of a more difficult puzzle, if everything is too simple it can easily become a boring assembly. There was no chance of that happening with this image though, it kept me on my toes!

Happy Holidays!

Holiday Books

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles6 Comments

Holiday Books – Re-marks – 1000 pieces

Collages are my happy place, and this collage of holiday books was really quite fun – even though it was Christmas themed. The bright, fun colors and the interesting book covers made it much more entertaining than I thought, and I enjoyed myself very much.

This was the loosest fitting Re-marks puzzle I’ve done in a while, and it made it quite annoying to work with until you could get more sections joined to the border to anchor everything together. Still, it wasn’t horrid, and the rest of the quality points were quite good. The image reproduction, the piece shapes, and the cut were all good. I know going in that sometimes the fit is a bother, but I love Re-marks book cover puzzles and am willing to put up with it to enjoy assembling the image.

1875! This is from November of 1875! I found it interesting that it doesn’t say edited by, it says “conducted by”. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that wording before – very cool. Also, it was conducted by a woman, in 1875 that’s something!

Ah, memories. This cover reminds me of the Little Golden Books I used to have as a child, and the image reminds me of the TV specials we used to watch every year. This one really brings out the nostalgia for me. 💖

Did anyone out there know L. Frank Baum wrote a Santa Claus story? I certainly didn’t! With his amazing imagination I bet this book would be quite an entertaining read. Have any of you read this?

I enjoyed this puzzle very much, but still I find myself tired of the Christmas puzzles already. As I write this post it’s only November 17th, but having assembled two 1000 piece holiday puzzles already I am OVER it!

Still, I’m very much looking forward to all the little holiday puzzles in my advent calendar, and the other assorted mini puzzles I’ll be putting together in December. Small puzzles make me very happy!