Author: Stacey at myjigsawjournal

Green

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles10 Comments

Green by Shelley Davies – Cobble Hill – 1000 pieces

I wasn’t sure whether or not I would like these color puzzles from Shelley Davies. I mean, they’re absolutely gorgeous – but would they be entertaining to assemble? Short answer is … yep! In fact, it was way more enjoyable than I’d imagined.

Would have loved to have a poster to help out with this puzzle; I know the ones for sale now have a poster included but mine is a few years old and didn’t come with one. It certainly would have been nice to have – especially since mine was in a smaller square box rather than the larger rectangular one. It was a little challenging to find some of the very small bits on such a small box cover.

The plate with all the queens on it was quite entertaining, and it looks great too. I wouldn’t really call this an educational puzzle, but I learned a little bit about the different queens and their reigns. 👑

This was the first section I assembled, the swirly gold pieces were the easiest to pick out. It’s always nice to have some small section to start with immediately after the border; and this is where I started.

There were SO many words in the whole puzzle, once I pulled them all out it was a little intimidating – but with a little perseverance I got there in the end. There were several colored pencils in the image as well, most with the name of the artist hand written on them.

I wasn’t sure I even wanted to give any of these color puzzles a try – and now I’m thinking we may need to get several more colors!

The Puzzle That Will Freeze Your Brain

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles2 Comments

The Puzzle That Will Freeze Your Brain by Clive Branson – Wentworth – 34 pieces

These puzzles with the scary titles from Wentworth are so entertaining for me, and the beautiful and interesting shapes of the pieces are a joy to work with. Of course, I only do the micro puzzle versions of them, because assembling these difficult images with several hundred of the similarly shaped pieces actually would be scary!

At only 34 pieces, this one wasn’t that difficult, and I love the Christmas tree shaped pieces. This image is one I definitely would shy away from in a larger piece count, it doesn’t look like one that would be fun at all – at least not for me.

Putting together a difficult image isn’t something I go out of my way for, though some do enjoy the challenge of a formidable assembly. Normally, I do not. A puzzle that seems like a chore just doesn’t do it for me, it isn’t fun. I puzzle because it’s entertaining, relaxing, and a great little mental workout. If it feels like an intellectual marathon just to get a few pieces together – uh, no thank you.

Luckily, thanks to Wentworth micro puzzles, I can put together some difficult images without the stress of too many pieces. Lovely!

Alice in Wonderland

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles6 Comments

Alice in Wonderland – Ravensburger – 1000 pieces

This assembly was so much fun! All the bright colors made it relatively easy to put together, and the entire image just made for excellent puzzling. I really had a great time. 😊

Working with a Ravensburger puzzle is almost always a wonderful experience. The excellent fit, the beautiful image, the quality of the chipboard and how the pieces feel in your hands as you’re contemplating where it should go – all reasons they’re one of my favorite puzzle companies.

There’s a thing that happens each time I sit down with a puzzle, it’s hard to describe. At first I’m looking at all the pieces as I lay them out, trying to find things that look easy to pick out or colors that jump out at me. I’m searching for the edges, and also for what parts I’ll be assembling first after the border is put together. The pieces and I are almost getting to know each other.

Every time I’m searching for a particular piece to finish a small section I’m also becoming more familiar with every piece, every color, every shape. Soon, it becomes easier to find a piece; because I’ve seen them and touched them and moved them around so much that I know exactly which one I’m looking for. The assembly starts to speed up, the image is becoming clearer – it’s exhilarating and intoxicating – I love that feeling!

This puzzle was the epitome of those things for me, and was completely entertaining to assemble. Cartoon images are much more fun for me to put together than photographic images (just my opinion), and the bright colors make it easier for these old eyes to see what’s going on. There were so many great characters and sections to assemble – absolutely loved it! 💖

Tweedledee and Tweedledum. When you say the names it makes me think of lovable but annoying idiots. They try to help, they think they’re helping – they are so NOT helping! I’ve run into a few people in my life that I would put into this category; unbelievably exasperating. You know the kind of person I mean; the ones that make you repeat over and over in your head that you are actually a good person and please don’t lose your temper – they’re trying to be helpful.

Or is that just me?

Ah, the king. He’s so darn cute, at least I think so. He’s only about 12 pieces out of 1000, but I distinctly remember his voice from the movie; and how he wanted so much to be in charge but was completely overtaken by the Queen of Hearts.

I had such a fun time with this puzzle. I’d like to find more of these collector’s edition puzzles; there are so many memories for me that are locked up in these old Disney movies.

I’m amazed that this movie came out in 1951 – my parents were four years old!

American Eagle

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles7 Comments

American Eage by Sharon Turner – Sure-Lox – 300 pieces

This is such beautiful artwork, I love the feeling of different colors and textures that form such a striking image. It was very quick to go together, and made for an excellent puzzling experience.

Sure-Lox puzzles used to be on my “never buy” list, but their quality has improved quite a bit. Their update with better quality and new packaging puts them nearer the middle of the road as far as quality brands for me. The pieces are thick and the fit is very good. The finish is quite shiny but otherwise the image reproduction is good as well. Only having one piece shape is a bummer, but in a 300 piece puzzle it isn’t quite as annoying to me – especially when the image is so interesting.

This is the first puzzle image from Sharon Turner that I’ve done, and I have to tell you that it was absolutely fabulous to assemble. The colors, textures, and overall artwork are just beautiful and it made for a really entertaining puzzle. I hope there are more of her images on puzzles for me to find.

Loved this one! 💖

Yeti for 2022

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles9 Comments

Yeti for 2022 – MicroPuzzles – 150 pieces

I know I just posted a MicroPuzzles puzzle a few days ago, but I’ve developed a health complication and haven’t been able to be at my board for the last several days. Unfortunately, it may be a week or more until I’m able to be back at the table; so the only puzzling available to me is in bed, on trays. Good thing there are so many mini puzzles from several different brands to keep me company. 😎

There are about 20 completed puzzles in the queue at the moment, so while my puzzling will be limited to smaller ones for now, you won’t be seeing them until nearer the end of January. But I always like to start the new year with a completed puzzle on January 1 – so we interrupt our December puzzles for a brand new one just completed this morning!

*Please forgive the less than optimal lighting, these pictures were taken in my bedroom, on a tray. I tried my best.*

This puzzle is from the MicroPuzzles subscription box I received in December, and it’s great having a New Year’s puzzle to share with you on New Year’s Day. Most of it was completed last year (yesterday), but I left a few pieces so that it would be the first completed puzzle of the new year. Isn’t it adorable?

Both this puzzle and the other one in the December subscription box have a little something extra too, something I haven’t seen before on any of the previous puzzles of theirs that I’ve done…

An image on the back as well! I saw all the snowflakes when I dumped out the pieces – they even helped me make sure I’d gotten the right pieces together along the edge. My assumption was that it was just a bunch of snowflakes on the back, but it was a lovely surprise when I flipped the completed puzzle over and saw the 2022. Very nice! The second December puzzle hasn’t been assembled yet, but I can see snowflakes on the backs of the pieces in the test tube; it could be the same image as above, or maybe something different – we’ll have to wait and see when I get to it.

It’s so nice for me to still be able to work on my puzzles when sitting up at the board isn’t an option, and having mini puzzles to work on to break up the monotony of watching television is a welcome distraction. There are many brands that have small puzzles that you can work on anywhere with just a little bit of space, and they make me very happy indeed!

Happy New Year to all my puzzle posse! I hope you are all safe and well, and here’s to a better year than the last. 💚🧩💚