Advent Calendar Part Deux…

On November 4, 2023November 4, 2023 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzling14 Comments

Hubby was getting some groceries at Aldi a couple of days ago, and brought this advent calendar home to me – do I have a fantastic husband or what? What a sweetie pie!

This set is exclusive to Aldi, and retails in the US for $9.99 – not too shabby! The box tells me the puzzles were manufactured in China, but I’m hopeful that they’ll be good quality. If the box is any indication, they may be pretty good; the box is thick and feels quite premium. If you’ve got an Aldi nearby they may have this set available.

There are twelve puzzles, 80 pieces each. You can see that I’ve opened the first section to take a peek, but I haven’t taken the pieces out of their plastic bag or started assembling any of them yet. I will soon though, with the number of puzzles already in my queue it’s time for me to get to assembling puzzles with holiday images already!

Those of you that have been here for a while may remember the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad advent calendar of puzzles from 2019 – it holds bad memories for me. I’m still mad at Ceaco about it! But this was a gift from hubby so I’ll have to put those memories out of my head and assemble these puzzles with no preconceived ideas about their quality.

It’s Part Deux of my assembling an advent calendar of jigsaw puzzles and I’m hoping the sequel is better than the original. (You know, like Aliens or The Godfather Part II or Terminator 2: Judgement Day)

The Ceaco advent calendar of puzzles that I assembled in 2019 seemed like a comedy of errors; out of twelve puzzles four of them were missing pieces, one had extra pieces, and there was one puzzle missing entirely and substituted with another that had already been assembled. And for a set of puzzles with so many quality problems to find it’s way into the hands of a jigsaw puzzle blogger was just so bizarre. I was glad to be able to warn people away from purchasing it though. It was unbelievably frustrating to deal with so many problems in one set, and the customer service I received was even more upsetting. Ceaco hasn’t gotten one penny of my puzzle budget since, and they’re still on the naughty list.

Here’s hoping that this newest advent calendar does a better job in the quality department, you know how much I enjoy little “one coffee” puzzles.

I’m looking forward to happy puzzling! 🧩💚

Postcard From Paris

On November 3, 2023November 3, 2023 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles13 Comments

Postcard From Paris – MicroPuzzles – 150 pieces

It’s a lovely apartment with a wonderful view of the Eiffel Tower, but it did not make for easy puzzling at all. It’s VERY brown. This one was a bit of a letdown for me as I really didn’t care for the image at all. Still, it feels like an accomplishment that I finally completed it.

I’ve got to be more selective about the MicroPuzzles that I assemble in the powder room and which ones need to stay here in the puzzle room. This one never should have left the bright lights that sit above my puzzle board, there was just not enough color. Or perhaps I should say there was not enough bright color and too many browns and muted colors. From now on if it doesn’t look colorful enough it’s staying right here!

The theme of this month’s subscription box was travel/international destinations. There were two travel themed puzzles and an aluminum luggage tag. One of the puzzles is double-sided…and thank goodness it was this one!

On the back is the image of a blank postcard. Normally it wouldn’t help much with the assembly since most of it is blank, but this puzzle came already assembled so that you could write your own message on the back before you took it apart – that way whatever you write would be helpful when putting it back together. Wanna see what I wrote?

I thought I’d send you all a virtual postcard. Happy puzzling to the entire Puzzle Posse! 🧩💚

Candy Calaveras

On November 2, 2023November 1, 2023 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles12 Comments

Candy Calaveras by Randy Wollenmann – Wentworth – 40 pieces

This amazingly detailed and gorgeous image made for a bit of difficult puzzling, even at only 40 pieces. But it’s so beautiful and my love for the decorative skulls (calaveras) and my appreciation for the holiday Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) made it even more fun, even with the tougher assembly.

The skulls are very cool, and the cactus is ok – but a taco and a chili? I’m not so sure about those two.

I enjoyed putting this little puzzle together; the bright colors and busyness of the image made it a little challenging, but having whimsy pieces makes it a bit easier. The odd shapes and the pieces that fit around them are always a good place to start if you’re having trouble with the image itself. Once you get a few pieces put together it becomes easier and before you know it you’ve got a completed puzzle. 🧩💚

The Day of the Dead is a two day Mexican holiday for remembering and praying for friends and family members who have died. I’m not of Mexican heritage, but I’ve always loved the meaning of the holiday and especially the traditional decorative skulls. The candy form, called sugar skulls (calaveras de azúcar) represent loved ones who have passed on and are used as an offering – they’re typically placed on an altar or a gravestone – to the spirit of the dead.

To me the skulls are beautiful, and what they represent is even more so. A day to remember the loved ones you’ve lost, what a wonderful holiday. To me, saying “Happy Day of the Dead” just seems wrong, so I’ll just send you good wishes today, and hope that the memories of your loved ones bring you happiness.💕

Skull “Beauty of Flowers”

On November 1, 2023November 1, 2023 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles9 Comments

Skull “Beauty of Flowers” – Winston Puzzles – 300 pieces

My sweet, loving, darling husband got me this puzzle for my birthday this year – bless him. He knows how much I love the decorated skulls and what the Day of the Dead holiday is all about, what a thoughtful hubby I have. 💕

It’s just too bad this beautiful image was on this puzzle; unfortunately terrible quality wooden puzzles seem to be popping up everywhere. I wish that weren’t the case, but it is.

When I saw the box I suspected it wouldn’t be good, and unfortunately I was correct; beware wooden puzzles with no brand name shown! Although the puzzle was ordered from a website called “Winston Puzzles” there is no brand name on the box, there is no piece count, image name, or artist credit either. The website said this puzzle was 170-210 pieces; to get an accurate number I had to count them by hand, and they were off by quite a bit – there were 300 pieces. Sigh.

There are a bunch of whimsy pieces, but they have no relation to the image at all. They’re just shapes someone thought were cute or interesting; and because it’s a wooden puzzle they were able to cut them out. So disappointing.

As I was sorting the pieces I got a sliver of wood stuck in my finger, the puzzle wasn’t sanded or sealed properly. When I put the puzzle away after it was finished and photographed my board had little chips of wood everywhere all over the fabric, that has never happened with a wooden puzzle before. In addition, there were little bubbles underneath the image on the top of the pieces – it wasn’t attached to the wood correctly.

Many of the edge pieces didn’t connect at all, a BIG pet peeve of mine. It’s so frustrating to accidentally brush against pieces and have them come apart. I wish I had enjoyed the assembly more. It was a difficult image, and the quality of the puzzle itself made it even harder.

I do NOT recommend Winston Puzzles, please spend your puzzle budget elsewhere. There are many reputable wooden puzzle companies that make beautiful, quality wooden puzzles that you will enjoy much more.

I always appreciate the gift of a puzzle, whether wooden or cardboard, even if the quality isn’t up to my somewhat snobby standards. I love that he tried to find an image that I would enjoy, and truly do appreciate the gift, regardless of it’s quality.

Hubby has been informed, very gently, that there is a list of approved puzzle companies and should he have questions, he can always ask about a puzzle company in general. He knows how much I love jigsaw puzzles, and that even if they’re not always fabulous I absolutely appreciate the thought that goes into the gift of a puzzle.

I love my hubby to the moon and back – and he tried, that’s what counts. 💖

Meditating Skeleton

On October 31, 2023October 31, 2023 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles4 Comments

Meditating Skeleton by Ryoko – Artifact (Ecru) – 81 pieces

What a fantastic puzzle! It was easier than I thought it would be and went together very quickly. Although it was assembled in May of this year, I kept it on the back burner to post on my favorite holiday – Halloween. I absolutely loved this puzzle❣

LOVED IT!

Looking at a well cut wooden puzzle from the back always makes me smile, so I like to take a picture from the back when it’s possible so perhaps you’ll get a smile out of it too.