Holy Whiteness Batman!

On May 18, 2017May 18, 2023 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw PuzzlingLeave a comment

Noah’s Ark by Jean-Jacques Loup – Heye – 2000 pieces

I’m old enough to remember the Batman television show from the late 60’s and all the weird things Robin used to say (although in my defense I watched the reruns – the show was cancelled before I was born). When I stopped to think about a title for this post, Holy Whiteness Batman just popped into my bizarre, aging brain.

I don’t normally post about a puzzle in progress unless it’s the world’s largest puzzle. 😉 But this thing threatened to get the better of me yesterday and I wanted to show that I won!

I started working this 2000 piece puzzle and the edge pieces were all completely white! I love this image and have been looking forward to assembling this puzzle, but the edge on this sucker put me to the test.

The edge was started confidently, I knew it would take more time than usual, but didn’t think it was going to be a problem. Started from a corner and kept on going until I had to stop because I was almost running out of space on the board. All the pieces appeared to be placed correctly but obviously were not. A 2000 piece puzzle by Heye is normally about 50 pieces across and I was up around 58 or 60 pieces. Yikes!

Thankfully when I was sorting the puzzle I had pulled pieces for certain sections to work on first. So I decided it was time to stop working on the edge for a bit and perhaps it would be a good idea to assemble the words at the bottom. Then once those were assembled I would be able to begin again with the bottom edge and would have pieces to fit them into.

It turns out that was a good plan! Once the words were complete it was obvious what I had started was either the top edge of the puzzle, or it was the bottom – entirely wrong! Once the bottom row was properly assembled, the rest seemed to go much more quickly. With a couple of small sections removed from the edge I started on, I had most of the top row complete as well and only had the sides left to do.

Even then it seems that some of pieces are almost identical and seem to fit where they do not. Once I thought I had the correct piece I pulled it out of the way and kept on checking the rest of the pieces to be sure there wasn’t another one that might fit. Good thing too, as several times I was wrong and another piece fit even better. I’m hopeful that the edge is assembled correctly, but I won’t know for sure until I have the inside border assembled – luckily I pulled these pieces as well! If I’ve screwed it up I will know today and will be able to fix it quickly (I hope) and without much fuss.

This is not a problem I have had before with Heye puzzles, but I have also not assembled one of their puzzles with large sections of one color. To be fair, I was on pain medication yesterday so that may have been part of the problem, but I can’t blame it all on that. I looked very closely at the first part I had assembled and it looked like the pieces fit correctly! I still love Heye quality, but I know now to be careful when there is a lot of sameness and/or when I have had to take my pain meds!

I’m still looking forward to the assembly of this puzzle, and even though day one was a little stressful I think it’s going to be great fun!

3D Underwater Puzzle

On May 17, 2017May 18, 2023 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

This kid’s puzzle is very interesting! The puzzle itself is 21 pieces, but there are 14 extra pieces that you stick into the puzzle after it is assembled. I’ve never seen anything like it. The pieces themselves were very thick and sturdy, which is always a good thing for a child’s puzzle, and you can see from the picture the colors are bright and cheery.

It’s quite an interesting take on a 3D puzzle, I never would have thought of it. You assemble the puzzle first, and where a matching loose piece is to be inserted there is a small slit. Each animal is represented along with seashells, seaweed, and a treasure chest.

I’ll be very interested to see how my “grandson” feels about this puzzle and if he enjoys the concept and the extra pieces. Although I’m sure he will want to keep his younger brother away from them, because brother likes to walk around sucking on puzzle pieces. I think he knows how much it annoys his big brother!

This is another of mom’s interesting thrift store finds – 75 cents! The box it comes in is written entirely in German and I couldn’t find a manufacturer’s name anywhere; I searched on the internet and couldn’t find the puzzle itself either. It’s a mystery!

Soon!

On May 16, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw PuzzlingLeave a comment

As of yesterday we have a date set, the hall is reserved and I will FINALLY be able to assemble the entire 40,320 piece puzzle! I’m very excited, and even though it’s another month I have to wait I know that the date is coming up and it’s definitely going to be completely assembled. 😎

I had to make sure all the people I wanted to invite were able to come, and that’s why the date is so far away. It seems far away at the moment, but I know in the grand scheme of things it really isn’t. It took a little over 6 months to complete, so waiting another 4 weeks isn’t that much of an inconvenience (it just seems like one!)

I’m so looking forward to seeing the entire puzzle, I have a feeling it will be extremely overwhelming when all the sections are assembled and I can visualize my accomplishment. 😮

So, if you’ve been waiting to see me with the completed puzzle it won’t be too much longer that you have to wait. I promise I will let someone take my picture and I will definitely be posting pictures of the final assembly and the completed puzzle!

Family Farm

On May 15, 2017May 18, 2023 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

This is a very cute puzzle that was definitely worth the 59 cents paid for it! 🙂

I’m enjoying the smaller piece count puzzles; it feels like an accomplishment to finish a puzzle the same day you start it. Little victories, right? If it makes me happy, then that’s what matters.

Bits and pieces, not my favorite brand, but this puzzle quality was pretty good. It seems hit or miss with this company, at least for me; and we only buy this brand from thrift stores where we can check out the pieces prior to purchase. This one was not a problem at all, and quite fun! Mom and I finished it in no time. 🙂

Very random cut as you can see, which made us pay attention – some of those pieces were HUGE! It’s a very cute image and I would definitely do other puzzles by the same artist – Mary Thompson. It reminds me of the area where I grew up – farms and cows and tractors – oh my!

The large piece puzzles make it seem easy sometimes and I think it adds fun – though that’s only my opinion. I love getting wrapped up in a big puzzle that takes a while, but it’s also enjoyable to sit down with a friend or loved one and put together a puzzle that doesn’t seem too difficult. They’re both great in their own way which is why puzzling is great for young and old; any age group or any difficulty. Bring it on!

Country Cupboard

On May 14, 2017May 18, 2023 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles3 Comments

Happy Mother’s Day! This is the puzzle I chose to do for today because it reminds me of my mom. ❤

For most of my youth mom was a stay at home mom, and there was usually something fresh baked or homemade on our table. Not only because she didn’t work outside the home, but because it’s much less expensive to cook things from scratch. We lived in the country and there were plenty of fresh foods for canning and freezing that helped keep our grocery bills down. There were lots of family trips to pick apples, blackberries, cherries, strawberries, etc. And then we “got to” help mom prepare them for whatever she was going to do with them. My sisters and I were not always thrilled about it to say the least. Raspberries and cherries were the worst! Cherries especially because they had to be washed, then you had to remove the stem and then remove the seed inside – one by one. Ugh. We didn’t even like cherries or the cherry pie filling mom made from them!

When I see a jar of canned tomatoes like in this puzzle it reminds me of my mom and how much she worked at home so that she could be at home for us. I’ve turned into my mom, because my kids know how much better homemade cookies are, and that it’s almost always cheaper to cook at home then to go out for dinner. I learned what I needed to know from my mom who is the best there is!

And now as an adult mom is my best friend. A lot of people say that, but for me it’s actually true. We talk every day, go shopping together when I’m able to, work on puzzles together and just hang out whenever we can; we have our own little jokes together and can crack each other up with a single word or a look. I’m so glad she’s my mom and in my life and that I get to see her as much as I do. I love her bunches and bunches!!

This is where the comparison to my mother ends, she’s awesome and the best – this puzzle leaves a lot to be desired. 😐

The pieces of this puzzle fit together so tightly that you can see in the picture that the it doesn’t even lay flat, it’s curled up on the sides. Every piece required a lot of effort to connect, it’s one of my puzzle pet peeves. When I have to work so much to put pieces together it makes me feel as if it’s not the correct placement. This is especially difficult when you have a darker image, you feel you need to check and double check if the pieces really fit there. Also when the fit is so tight the pieces don’t all lay flat and many of them have several edges sticking up; and the piece shapes are quite prominent in the finished puzzle, even from a distance. The image was crisp and clear in some areas and very fuzzy and vague in others. On the plus side, the pieces were quite thick and the variety of piece shapes was very good.

Sometimes it’s hit or miss with Springbok in my opinion. This one was a miss. Thrift store shopping is always interesting, it could be an awesome find or a dud. But that’s alright, there are plenty more puzzles to try – maybe the next Springbok we find has amazing quality and an excellent image!

So Happy Mother’s Day to all – but especially to my thrift store shopping, puzzle hoarding bestest friend. I love you to (puzzle) pieces, but if you need help canning some cherry pie filling YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN!!! 😎