Author: Stacey at myjigsawjournal

Monkey Around

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

Monkey Around – RoseArt – 100 pieces

This was a quick, engrossing puzzle, but not easy at all. I really liked this one even though the image isn’t something I would normally choose; it was much more entertaining than I thought it would be.

The pieces were on the thinner side, but the fit was good and the image reproduction was excellent. There was no variety in piece shape, but with only 100 pieces it wasn’t bad to work with at all.

I almost always enjoy working with kids puzzles, any size puzzle is fun for me! 🧩💚

Sorry Guys…

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Miscellaneous26 Comments

My apologies for not giving all my faithful readers a heads up, life kinda took me over for a bit and it was all just too much. I took a very much needed mental health break, including a trip back to my home state of Michigan to visit loved ones.

I haven’t touched a puzzle since the last time I posted, on June 2nd. But today, at the very least, I’m back on my computer and sitting at my puzzle table.

Depression and anxiety are no joke, and dealing with them on a daily basis sucks big time. Life just overwhelmed me; hubby had another surgery and I had to drive him everywhere – my anxiety about being on the road went absolutely crazy. That made the depression worse and it was just an infinite circle of one feeding the other. I’m sure that being away from my puzzles didn’t help, but I honestly spent almost all of the last 6 weeks in bed and jigsaw puzzles weren’t even on my mind.

But at least I’ve chosen my next puzzle, a collage of canines that make me smile. Plus, it’s the smallest piece count I have here at the moment (750) other than a 500 piece of 12 shaped puzzles that I’m just not in the mood for right now. I will try to get it sorted today, and may even start on it – but no promises.

So how are you all? Working on some fantastic puzzles? I’d love to hear from you!

*My sincerest apologies for disappearing again, I’m just doing the best I can.*

The Artist’s Desk

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles14 Comments

The Artist’s Desk – Ravensburger – 1000 pieces

I knew it would be difficult going in, but as is usual for me I enjoyed the challenge of it very much. It always surprises me when I’m sorting a puzzle what I first THOUGHT I would pull out, and how much it changes as I’m doing the actual sorting. Many times I think one color or pattern will really stick out, and it turns out other things jump out at me even more than predicted. The same happened here, to no one’s surprise I’m sure.

Very good quality, although there was much more puzzle dust than usual. The bright blue of Ravensburger puzzle dust makes me happy for some reason – I’m just a weirdo puzzle junkie trying not to snort that glorious dust in my quest to find my puzzle nirvana.

Totally kidding, do NOT snort puzzle dust!

This pen drawing of Buzz Lightyear and Woody on an RC car was my favorite section to assemble. It wasn’t easy, but I absolutely loved it.

This was the most colorful part of the entire image, and it was much harder than it looks. Still, there’s something about going through the pieces over and over and then finding the exact ones you need – I can’t get enough of it.

I’ve put together hundreds and hundreds of puzzles and it still doesn’t get old or boring for me. Thank goodness there is a seemingly endless supply of images and puzzles available. They help me bring order to the chaos, a sense of calm to my spirit, and joy to my heart.

Animal Designs

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles8 Comments

Animal Designs by Awa Tsireh – Artifact Puzzles – 105 pieces

Isn’t this an interesting puzzle? It’s certainly not the usual image that I go for, but there was something compelling about it, and I kept going back to it on the website. You know me, I hate for a puzzle to be without a home. 😉 It was by no means an easy puzzle, but I loved falling into that wonderful headspace where all you can think about is the image and the shapes – it’s meditative and lovely.

Wonderful quality Ecru puzzle from Artifact; their Ecru line of puzzles has a closer cut (less obvious piece shapes in the finished image) and a matte finish to reduce glare. Artifact Puzzles have a special place in my heart, my very first wooden puzzle was one of theirs and I still take it out and assemble it every now and again – it was and still is perfectly lovely!

There were only three whimsy pieces in this puzzle, they’re reminiscent of the animal designs in the image. It’s the perfect place to start working, as the pieces that surround them are the easiest to find. There weren’t many colors in this image, and the ones they used were repeated all throughout; but at only 105 pieces it wasn’t too terrible or time-consuming.

I did enjoy the challenge though, and the mini-hexagon pieces made it even more interesting to put together. An excellent puzzle all around, and I’m looking forward to assembling it again. 💗