Birds – Part 1

On July 9, 2020 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles2 Comments

Birds 1-1 — Birds – Lafayette Puzzle Factory (Cra-Z-Art) – 100/500 pieces

This is part one of five – unlike most of the other sets, there are 15 small puzzles here instead of only 12. Another difference is that, unlike most of the other sets, these have quite a variation in sizes. You can see in the picture above that the middle bird is much smaller than the one on it’s right. In some ways that makes them a little more interesting to assemble, as you don’t get used to the usual shape and size when putting them together. Some seem bland in color and some are striking; but I enjoyed each assembly anyway, regardless of the color.

This is an older set, the ones with the more slippery backing, and also they’re branded as both Lafayette Puzzle Factory and Cra-Z-Art. The quality is good, with a nice variety of piece shapes and a good fit. I highly recommend giving one of these sets a try, I for one absolutely adore them. (As I’m sure you can tell because I’m having such a good time that I keep acquiring more sets and assembling them. Hope you guys aren’t sick of these puzzles yet, because there’s a lot more where they came from! 😉 )

I wish I knew more about birds, there isn’t much I can tell you about this species of bird without doing research (which I do not wish to do, sorry). The colors on the wings are lovely though! Making up bios about all of these birds isn’t something I”m going to do this time; they seem to have less personality than the unicorns did. I suppose if I were a “bird person” I might feel differently – but a bird person I am not.

But since the box tells me the names of each of the species, I feel as though I can at the very least name them. So……since this bird somehow seems masculine to me I’m naming him Pasquale the Painted Bunting. He’s French. 🗼

I admit to having a juvenile mind and grinning – a bit of a wicked smile – at finding out the name of this bird. Titmouse. Ha. Titmouse. *giggle*

This species is a bit muted in color, and seems small, but I’m going to (in my mind) give it a BIG personality. When you’re little and you blend in you’ve got to make yourself known. Therefore, I’m giving this little one a very big name. Talayah the Tufted Titmouse. She takes NO GUFF!

This is Alan the American Robin. He’s a bit boring and he looks a little cranky, but he does have lovely coloring on his breast.

Sorry about the tardiness of this post, I have no excuse other than I was feeling lazy today and just couldn’t muster the energy to sit in front of the computer and type up this post. I’m way behind on adding the puzzles I’ve already done to my queue, and it starts to get overwhelming to think about. Just a bad day I guess. I’ll try to do better.

Toadstool Brook

On July 8, 2020 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles8 Comments

Toadstool Brook

This was such a fun puzzle, with absolutely beautiful artwork by Steve Read. It’s been on my shelf for quite a long time, I’m not even sure how long. While looking for a puzzle with less than 1000 pieces I spotted this one way in the back; thank goodness!

Quality-wise, this puzzle was only good/fair. The fit was pretty loose, which is always a bit disappointing. But, as a whole it was still entertaining to put together, that is more than half the battle! The artwork by Steve Read is stunning, and I’m kicking myself for not getting a good closeup picture of the fairies’ faces – they are absolutely gorgeous!

Toadstool Brook 1

There are 22 fairies in total for you to find, some of them took me quite a while to locate. If you’re not paying attention this fairy hidden in the toadstool is easy to pass over. Of course you’re seeing it right away – I’m showing you right where it is! 😉

Toadstool Brook 2

This fairy wasn’t too difficult to find, but it did take me a little longer than I’d like to admit. My glasses needed to be cleaned. I’m not old. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

I got a really great glow in the dark picture with this one, which surprised me. This puzzle has been on the shelf for at least 2 years, possibly more. I was pretty sure that the chemical that makes it glow would have petered out, but this puzzle produced an awesome picture.

Toadstool Brook 3

I don’t usually get such good glow images, so this one really pleased me. I love a good glow in the dark picture!

Ice Cream Pops

On July 6, 2020July 6, 2020 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles10 Comments

What a fun puzzle! It’s perfect for both kids and adults, it isn’t an easy one so it’s a good puzzle for more than one generation to work on together, and it’s full of ice cream – who doesn’t love ice cream pops?

This puzzle had very good quality even though it’s Eurographics; large, thick pieces, lots of variety in piece shape, and nice fit. From the last four or five Eurographics puzzles that I’ve assembled, I have noticed that their puzzles for children are very good quality, but their new adult puzzles are quite poor quality indeed. Luckily I enjoy a good puzzle for children. (If you only assemble adult puzzles, I would recommend skipping this brand unless you know that it is a much older copy. Their puzzle quality has gone downhill in the past several years.)

Ice Cream Pops 1

This ice cream pop is not only kinda pretty, but there’s a recipe for it on the back of the box! So if a yogurt berry ice cream pop sounds good to you, you’re in luck!

Ice Cream Pops 2

Here’s the recipe for anyone who might want to make some, and if you do – please let me know how they turn out. I’d love to hear from you.

I haven’t been making any ice cream pops, but I have been making ice cream. I have an ice cream maker that churns and stirs the “slurry” as my husband calls it, and we’ve been enjoying all sorts of different flavors of ice cream. Our favorite so far is raspberry, but the mixed berry has been great too, as well as chocolate pecan, pistachio, and maple nut. With all this time at home I have plenty of help in the kitchen, and making ice cream has been a favorite activity for us all.

A Walk on the Pier

On July 5, 2020July 5, 2020 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw PuzzlesLeave a comment

A Walk on the Pier was a great puzzle, with fantastic artwork by Art Poulin that made for quite an entertaining assembly. The quality was wonderful as well, with large, thick EZ grip pieces that fit together very well. I had a great time with this one!

Sometimes, all the Americana type of images on jigsaw puzzles all seem to blend in and have the same type of scene – over and over and over again. Every so often I find myself passing up the ones in my to do “pile” because even though it hasn’t been assembled yet, it just looks too familiar. I still love Charles Wysocki, Jane Wooster Scott, Heronim, and the many other Americana artists whose images make for great puzzles, but now and again they all start to look alike and I find myself needing to take a break from those images.

This one though was just what I was looking for at the right time, and the assembly was great fun!

A Walk on the Pier 1

The detail in the tackle shop window is amazing. Hubby would be able to spend hours in there, that’s for sure.

A Walk on the Pier 2

I love lighthouses, and have also in my mind romanticized living in one. My injury has caused me to “socially distance” myself from most of the world anyway, and after almost six years I’ve had a lot of practice at it. Being alone in a lighthouse with just my family around me sounds absolutely wonderful to me; imagine how quiet it would be as well! Plus, doesn’t it look like it would have the most beautiful view?

Unicorns – Part 4

On July 2, 2020July 2, 2020 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles6 Comments

Unicorns 4-1 — Unicorns by Rose Catherine Khan – Cra-Z-Art – 125/500 pieces

Sadly we have come to the last day of the unicorn puzzles. I have had such a fun time being silly and giving these beautiful unicorns a backstory; giving them silly names, jobs, and hobbies, and in general just loving the ridiculousness of it all.

I certainly hope I have inspired a few of you to seek out and find some of these sets by Cra-Z-Art. They have almost 20 sets altogether, and I’ve enjoyed every single one that I’ve assembled. (I will say the animal set {elephant, tiger, etc.} was quite difficult though) They’re great when you don’t have a lot of time or space, you can grab a small group of pieces and put together one or two small shaped puzzles; and they’re a lot of fun!

Unicorns 4-2

This is Drucinda, the Duchess of Unicornia. Her mask looks quite chic, like she is going to a masquerade ball; and the mane – oh my – that long flowing mane! I do love a redhead! She is extremely vain about her mane and spends quite a bit of time getting it groomed to perfection, and is known to wear her mask to save herself having to apply makeup to allow extra time for mane maintenance. The Duchess enjoys taking her pack of Basenjis for long walks, attending gourmet cooking classes, tending her prize-winning rosebushes, and loves to unwind with a trough of Moscato and a few grilled cheese sandwiches.

Unicorns 4-3

This gorgeous color blue, with the sparkles – it’s so stunningly beautiful! And the little touch of pinkish-purple to accent it–I adore this one! May I introduce you to Mia the Magnificent; Mia is the unicorn equivalent of a supermodel, with those long legs and that long, beautiful neck – how could she not be? Despite her “high class looks” though, Mia is a tomboy through and through. She loves riding her dirt bike, camping out for weeks at a time, and making her own furniture. If you catch her at home you’ll find that beautiful mane and tail tied back in braids to keep it out of her way while she works on her projects. The best part is that she isn’t vain or full of herself at all, she’s just a regular unicorn.

Unicorns 4-4

I mean, come on! Look at this glorious unicorn! Curly pink hair, the legwarmers accented with feathers, the floral saddle – it’s just too cool for school! This is, without a doubt, the silliest, girliest, most fantastic unicorn! I’ve named her Her Royal Highness Hailey Hydrangea – she’s the queen! And she is my absolute favorite of all 12 unicorns. I love them all, of course, but she is by far the best in my book.

Queen Hailey Hydrangea is a bit of an eccentric, her outfits are on the outrageous side, and she loves to be silly – prancing across the sprawling lawns of her castle for all to see. Her favorite pastime is, of course, assembling jigsaw puzzles! She adores all shapes and sizes of puzzles, but refuses to buy “luxury” puzzles and spend ridiculous amounts of money for one puzzle when she could purchase many for the same price. She also enjoys needlework and pottery – but much, much less than puzzling.

I do hope you’ve enjoyed these unicorns, I certainly have! 💖🦄