Lots of Puzzling…

On June 19, 2023June 19, 2023 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzling, Miscellaneous2 Comments

There’s been quite a bit of puzzling so far on our trip, even more than I anticipated! We spent the weekend up in Northern Michigan with my sister and brother-in-law at their cabin – a bonfire all weekend long, lots of sitting around and visiting, several puzzles assembled with family, and plenty of good food and good times.

Hubby designated himself in charge of the fire, and he took this picture early one morning when the rest of us were sleeping. I told him it was a beautiful image and my sister-in-law said it would make quite a difficult puzzle. It’s very pretty, but I don’t think I’d be interested in a puzzle with this image unless it was a wooden one with a Victorian cut – otherwise it would be way too difficult for these old eyes.

I brought several puzzles for myself to put together while we were on vacation – because I purposely don’t want to be “entertained” while we’re on our little holiday. Hanging around and not doing much at all is my favorite kind of vacation. I was showing my sister-in-law all the different puzzles I’d brought, and she was excited to do a couple of them – at one point I told hubby that I may not have brought enough puzzles, we were gonna run out if we kept putting them together so quickly!🤣

Of course his answer to that was that we should find more puzzles to buy. (I sure did find me a good husband, didn’t I?)

Peanuts – Day 2

On June 18, 2023June 6, 2023 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles2 Comments

Peanuts by Charles Schulz – RoseArt – approx. 125/500 pieces

Of the Peanuts characters shown today I related to Peppermint Patty the most – she was her own person and didn’t really care about what others thought of her. Charlie Brown (the main character of the comics) just never really clicked with me; he always seemed resigned to his fate and that is DEFINITELY not me at all. And Snoopy – I always loved Snoopy’s commitment to making mischief wherever he went. 😁

I talked about the quality of this set in yesterday’s post, it was my first disappointing set of these mini puzzles by RoseArt/Lafayette Puzzle Factory. I’m hoping that the other two sets I have left – Hello Kitty and Main Street – are of better quality than this one was.

The assembly was enjoyable, but not as much as with previous sets. I guess I’m going to have to say that this particular set of puzzles isn’t recommended; or perhaps if you’re looking to assemble these be cautious and check to see where they were manufactured. If it’s in China, beware.

Peanuts – Day 1

On June 17, 2023June 5, 2023 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles6 Comments

Peanuts by Charles Schulz – RoseArt – approx. 125/500 pieces

Lucy, Schroeder, and Woodstock, just hanging out together. Just a fun afternoon of classical music and Lucy’s unrequited love for Schroeder. Very cute.

This puzzle was a gift from hubby for Mother’s Day – he’s a sweetie and I love him to puzzle pieces. Unfortunately, this was the first time I was disappointed in any of these sets; the quality was subpar which made the assembly both frustrating and unsatisfying.

I’ve never had a problem with the quality of these sets of smaller shaped puzzles, perhaps this may be pandemic related. Many puzzle companies started having their manufacturing done in China when the demand for puzzles was sky high during all the lockdowns. The quality went down (in my opinion) for several companies, and maybe this “made in China” puzzle was one of the ones that didn’t get as much attention as it should have.

First of all, there is a missing piece; I am 99% certain it is not my fault. Poor Woodstock seems to have had a rough trip to the barber shop – he’s missing a big chunk of hair! Secondly, the fit of this puzzle was TERRIBLE; it was both extremely loose and “mushy”. Many times you couldn’t tell if the piece was placed correctly even when it was obviously the right one.

Loose fitting, mushy connections and missing pieces – how very very disappointing.

Do You Collect Puzzles?

On June 16, 2023June 6, 2023 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzling18 Comments

Are you a collector? Or do you just like to assemble a puzzle once and then sell or donate somewhere and move on to the next one? I’m a little bit of both, actually. 😁

There aren’t any series of images that I collect (except one, but it’s more for sentimental reasons), but I know that many people do. Almost every cardboard puzzle that I’ve assembled has been packed up and donated – either to friends, a local senior center, charity shop, or school. There are a few puzzles that I’ve kept because they belonged to Mom or Grama, or because Mom and I assembled them and loved them so much that I cannot bear to get rid of them. Other than those, cardboard puzzles aren’t ones that I keep or collect.

*I have kept all The Talking Jigsaw Puzzles because they’re so unique and interesting, and because Mom and I adored working on them together. The Fitness Center, The Hospital, The Office Building. If I find any of the rest of the series in the thrift stores I will definitely be keeping them too; I don’t have The Beach, City Hall, High School, or Heartbreak Hotel.*

As you can see from the above picture, I do keep almost all of my wooden puzzles. (These are just a few of my micro puzzles from Wentworth, I also have almost every larger puzzle from every company I’ve tried.) There have been a few that I’ve given to friends, and a couple that I’ve sent to others from giveaways on the blog, but otherwise I still have all of my wooden puzzles.

I wouldn’t say I’m a “collector” though – making sure I have every one of a certain series or from a particular artist isn’t something I’m interested in. I buy wooden puzzles that have images or interesting cuts that I think would be entertaining to assemble, that’s it. “Collecting” just to have them isn’t me.

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with being a collector; it’s a hobby or a passion, just like any other. I’m interested in whether or not any of my readers are collectors of puzzles – no matter the kind. Do you collect all puzzles from a certain brand, artist, or series like The Talking Jigsaws? If you do, where do you keep them, and do you assemble them over and over or keep them unopened and pristine like those who collect comic books?

Boobie Trapped

On June 15, 2023June 14, 2023 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles8 Comments

Boobie Trapped by Angie Rees – Artifact – 340 pieces

This is the most fun I’ve had with a puzzle in a long time, the bright colors, the silly artwork, the excellent pieces – it all made for a great puzzle that I would love to start all over again. I gave myself over completely to the puzzle and just put in pieces wherever I found them; no pressure, no peeking at the box, just a little bit of puzzle paradise whenever it was needed.

When I first started stocking up on puzzles to work on after my surgery I was only looking at the smaller piece counts. I didn’t look at much else and ended up completely missing this one. Penny and I were window shopping online together (lots of texts back and forth with links to cute puzzles) and she came across this image. She knew immediately that I would love it, and it ended up that several cute ones had gone totally unnoticed by me because smaller piece counts were all I was looking at. Thankfully she’s always there to pick up the slack and enable me as much as possible, so an additional order was placed – we couldn’t leave this poor boobie trapped moose all alone!

The dangers of air-drying your laundry in places where there are roaming moose; well, it seems apparent what one of those dangers is doesn’t it?

Great whimsy pieces, including a bra and underwear set. Love the sense of humor with with one! The two beavers with the forest ranger hats were adorable as well.