Author: Stacey at myjigsawjournal

Pop the Champagne

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles4 Comments

Pop the Champagne by Aimee Stewart – Wentworth – 80 pieces

This challenging and beautiful little puzzle was SO much fun to put together! It was the last one in a day where we put together two mini wooden puzzles, one larger and more difficult wooden puzzle, and a 500 piece cardboard one. Luckily, we had just as much fun with this last one as we did the first.

I’ve done a few shaped Aimee Stewart images, and they’re always a bit challenging but lots of fun – this one was no different. The swirling shapes of the pieces and the gorgeous colors made for a great assembly.

There was only one whimsy piece with this mini puzzle, a bunch of grapes right near the center of the bottle…

We had such a great time with this that it ended up staying with my sister-in-law, she kept saying how much fun it was and I just couldn’t resist leaving it for her just like the Tea Bath puzzle we put together at their cabin on our first trip. I know it will be well loved and put together many more times. 💕

Hubby and his sister worked on it by themselves for a few minutes, and I got in there closer to the end and sis and I put in the last few pieces together. Love, love, loved it!

Stephen King Books In Progress…

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzling8 Comments

Stephen King Books (?) – Unknown Brand – 1000 pieces

While I like the image of this one, it’s the absolute worst quality cardboard puzzle I’ve worked with in quite some time. It’s almost as frustrating to assemble as the bad quality wooden Crafthub puzzles I completed earlier in the summer.

This must be a Chinese knockoff, quickly produced without any care taken towards quality. So far it’s missing one piece and there is an extra corner. In addition it’s incredibly thin, so thin that it’s hard for me to even pick up the pieces from my board or the trays that I keep them in. The fit is horrid and not even two pieces can be picked up together to move; it’s important to assemble the pieces close to where they will be placed or there will be a struggle to move them without everything coming apart.

I’m pretty sure this one will be completed today, I’m motivated to finish it quickly and get it off my board so I can start working on a puzzle with better quality – I’d even be willing to work on a Ceaco if that’s all I had here! 😂

New York Map

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles2 Comments

New York Map – Cavallini & Co. – 500 pieces

This interesting puzzle belongs to my sister-in-law, she brought it upstairs to show it to me while we were visiting and I couldn’t resist it. Of course we had to put it together, look at all those words! 😁

I’ve only ever done one other puzzle by this company, and I find them to be very good quality. They use the “sharp” white backing that I’m not fond of, but otherwise they make very nice puzzles. They’re a bit pricey for me, but there’s always the thrift store and purchasing them second-hand.

All of their puzzle packages say “Vintage Puzzle” on them, which I find to be misleading; perhaps what they mean is that the images are vintage, or vintage-looking. In my mind vintage means at least 20-40 years old; these puzzles definitely are not old, they are newly manufactured. Maybe that’s just me being pedantic, but I’m allowed – it’s my blog. 😁

This tall section showing Central Park was one of the first sections we put together, that green was very easy to find in this mostly white and blue image.

You all know how much I love to assemble words – can you believe I let my sister-in-law put this whole section together by herself? Me neither! I did though, cause I’m a nice old lady. 👵

I’m not sure why this nun was taking a baby out for a stroll, but I found it interesting enough to make sure there was a close-up picture of it.

We had a great time putting this puzzle together, even though it was more difficult that it looks. Sometimes the ones that challenge you are the most fun!

1980’s Montage

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles2 Comments

1980’s Montage by Eduard – Wentworth – 250 pieces

This was an EXTREMELY entertaining puzzle to assemble, and we all worked on it – sister and brother-in-law, hubby, and myself all had a hand in putting this one together. It’ll be no surprise that we all loved it. Who doesn’t love the wild and colorful 80’s?

From boomboxes and video games to our favorite hair bands and the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man – this was a great image to work with. At 250 pieces it was just the right amount of challenging, and we all enjoyed working together to get it assembled.

The whimsies in this one were so much fun to look through! A Polaroid camera, an outfit with big shoulder pads, a DeLorean, a cassette tape, and even a Casio watch – they were all perfect for this puzzle.

I was a little too old for Strawberry Shortcake in the 80s, but this section with the bright colors was one of my favorites to assemble.

Polly Pocket. This is another toy from the 80s that I never really got into or played with, but I took this picture because it brings to mind my mom. She was the best grama in the world (although she was named Meema by her oldest grandchild and that is what she was called forever after) and she took being a great Meema very seriously. She loved having fun toys for all the grandkids to play with, and she kept a big bucket of Polly Pocket toys for all the grandchildren to enjoy. There was something about the tiny little dolls and their houses and accessories that all the girls (and some of the boys) loved to play with, and Meema loved playing with them too. She was a big kid at heart, and she loved having these little tiny toys for her grandbabies. She was awesome. 💗

I’m so glad I took this puzzle with us on vacation, we all had a wonderful time assembling it, and it brought back so many memories of our youth. In my head the 1980’s doesn’t seem that long ago at all, but then when you do the math and realize the 80s started more than FORTY years ago – yikes! Where did all the time go?!?

Antique Market In Progress…

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzling6 Comments

Antique Market by Eduard – Buffalo – 1000 pieces

This image is quite difficult to walk away from; there are so many small things to discover and one piece leads to finding something else…it’s hard for me to stop because I know what the next piece looks like. All I have to do is find it!

The colors are so bright and while the image could seem crowded it doesn’t feel that way as I’m assembling it. My one issue is the finish seems unusually shiny, more so than your average Buffalo puzzle. Perhaps it’s just me and this is how they always are, it’s hard to tell.

As usual I started with all the words, except for the ones on the teal colored roof; those were done separately. Otherwise I just worked with whatever small section seemed like it would be fun to put together. It’s going rather quickly, and I’m enjoying myself immensely.

Working on something fun today? I hope so. Happy puzzling my friends!