Author: Stacey at myjigsawjournal

The World Landmark Buildings

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw PuzzlesLeave a comment
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The World Landmark Buildings by Gregory L. Blackstock – Pomegranate – 500 pieces

This artist makes me smile, and I love his puzzles so much – they’re always a pleasure to assemble. The artist has autism and in his eyes the world needs to be arranged in orderly groups (bugs, birds, eggs, or landmark buildings) and his artwork reflects that. I understand the need to try to make the world a little more orderly and predictable, it helps deal with the stresses of everyday life. His artwork reminds me of my boys (both have autism as well), and it makes me think of them and how difficult the world is for those with autism and how having an outlet for the stresses in their lives is so important. It is for all of us, really – but especially for those who have exceptional brains that work a little differently then ours do and have difficulty processing all of the daily stresses of dealing with their surroundings and others.

Pomegranate puzzles are wonderful quality and I would never hesitate to purchase one of their puzzles. The pieces are thick and feel smooth with an excellent finish, they fit together very well, and the image reproduction is stellar! Even their boxes feel amazing, you know before you even see the pieces that you’ve got an excellent quality puzzle in your hands.

This assembly didn’t take very long once I got past the edges on the sides. It took some concentration and trial and error before I got all the pieces placed correctly, but once I did it was smooth sailing from there. It was easy to pick out all the pieces for one building and assemble it, and then move on to an adjacent building. Once the buildings started going up it took almost no time at all and before you know it the entire puzzle was complete!

I highly recommend Pomegranate puzzles, and in particular the Gregory L. Blackstock puzzles they carry. They are a joy to assemble!

Lindbergh’s Flight

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles4 Comments
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Lindbergh’s Flight – Parker Brothers – 500 pieces

Super cool puzzle from 1967! Unfortunately, missing 5 pieces, but it was still fun to assemble. You can see the age on the image itself, but it only makes it look more authentic if you ask me.

I LOVE having words to assemble, and this puzzle was almost nothing but words. 🙂 The pieces fit together very well, but way too many of them just sat next to each other instead of connecting. Pet peeve. Hate that!

This wasn’t as difficult as it looks, and mom and I had a great time assembling it. It was all a matter of putting things together in the proper order. Photo first of course, and then the map and the masthead. After that it was headlines from largest to smallest, etc. It wasn’t terribly difficult and lots of fun!

Too bad it was missing so many pieces, but after 50 years I guess you have to expect that a piece or two might wander off. Still, a fun assembly and total worth the $2!

We’re Cruisin’

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment
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We’re Cruisin’ – Ceaco – 125 pieces

This puzzle is almost 30 years old! It’s showing some age spots, but it’s exceptional quality. I guess back in the late 80’s Ceaco was making some really nice, thick kid’s puzzles.

The pieces of this puzzle are so thick and dense it almost feels like wood. I’ve never seen a Ceaco puzzle like this one before, I wish they still made puzzles like this! Another thrift store find, of course – this one is from the year I got married. How in the world is 1988 that long ago? Yikes!

An adorable puzzle, and a nice easy assembly with wonderfully thick pieces that are all present and accounted for. Can’t get much better than that. My thrift store purchasing guru needs to find us some more cool puzzles please. This one was so nice!

 

A 14th Century Castle!

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw PuzzlesLeave a comment
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Wasgij Back to #2 – A 14th Century Castle! by Bill Houston – Jumbo – 1000 pieces

When I was deciding what puzzle to do next I looked at my photos and realized I hadn’t done a Wasgij in over a month, it was definitely time! This was the first of the Back To.. series that I’ve done, the opposite of the Destiny puzzles – and it looks like I love them both! 🙂

As usual, I don’t show the entire finished puzzle. I don’t like to ruin the fun for anyone in figuring it out for themselves.

Jumbo quality is exceptional and right up there next to Ravensburger – for me anyway. I love the feel of the pieces and how they fit together, and the puzzles are gorgeous! If you can’t tell – I’m a fan. 😎

In this puzzle we see a 14th century castle as it is today, with tourists and souvenirs and tours being given. So what was it like in the 14th century when the Lord of the castle lived there? Today they’re selling hot dogs and ice cream, what was being sold back then? There’s an archaeological dig today, where did those bones come from? It’s a great image for puzzling and you’ll enjoy the finished puzzle – there’s so much to look at!

I really enjoy the added challenge of the Wasgij and What If puzzles, it’s nice to puzzle without an image to work from, it feels like more of an accomplishment when I’m done. Plus the added bonus is that each series is from a manufacturer with excellent quality.

As usual, I loved this puzzle – no big surprise! How boring,they’re always great – ho hum. 😉

Review: Mini Find It – Easter

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Game ReviewsLeave a comment
This post is sponsored by Puzzle Warehouse.

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Mini Find It – Easter is a game where you do what the name says, find it! In the game among all those beads are many items to be found. There is a list on the top to tell you what’s hidden inside and all you have to do is find it. Easy? Theoretically! Everything isn’t easy to find, but you’ll have a great time looking.

I don’t know what it says about me (in my late 40’s) and my mom (in her early 70’s), but we are having the best time with these kid’s games! Perhaps it says that we’re technically adults, but we also like to let our inner child out to play – A LOT. 😎

For this game, though, I didn’t just rely on two little old ladies and what they thought – I wanted to see what a child in this digital age thought and whether or not a non-electronic toy could hold his attention. Levi is 10 years old and a family friend, so I wanted his thoughts on this game and whether or not today’s tech savvy kids would enjoy it. He was excited to help out, and was so great I’ve hired him to be my product tester – luckily homemade baked goods are all the payment he requires. 😉

Levi had the game for a little over a week, and even took it on a weekend getaway with family. Here is his review…

He thought it was fun, but more fun to play with someone than by yourself. He also enjoyed that it wasn’t easy to find everything and that it provided lots of hours of play time. The objects were hidden very well, and you really had to work at moving the game around to try to find everything. He thinks the objects were very small and could be a tad bigger, but that overall he really enjoyed the game and thought it was good for just about everyone to play. (Well reviewed Levi! Let me know if I’m baking cookies or brownies for you. 😘)

Identity Games manufactures this game, and they make several versions. The Easter game I reviewed is a mini version; probably about 6 or 7 inches high. The regular Find It games look to be about twice as tall but perhaps a little thinner. They have many versions to choose from  – discover America, pirates, glitz & glamour, dinosaurs, even one called “Ew, Gross!” I wonder what they’ve hidden in that one! The regular editions come with playing cards and ways to play sheet. Click here to see all the Identity Games available at Puzzle Warehouse.

Like Levi, mom and I enjoyed this game very much. It’s perfect for car rides, in the waiting room at the doctor’s office, waiting at a restaurant, or just in the living room at home. Almost all ages can play, so the whole family can get involved in the search. It isn’t so easy that you find everything quickly and become bored – you know the items are there if you could just get the beads to fall the way you want them to! (They rarely do, you gotta work at it! 😉 )

Find It, any of the versions, would make a great gift, especially for someone who needs to unplug from everything for a while. It’s good for visual acuity, attention span, and just plain old fun! I personally would love to see exactly what they’ve hidden in the “Ew, Gross” Find It. I’m giving this game 3 thumbs up, one for each generation that had a great time playing it! 👍👍👍

 

I received this product at no charge in return for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are truthful and 100% my own (or those of my product tester)