Owl Farm

On September 17, 2019September 17, 2019 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles2 Comments

Adorable image and a pretty easy assembly. Still, it was fun to put together and there was a little bit of challenge. Mostly what I was looking for was a “mind-numbing” experience, I didn’t want to think about anything other than puzzle pieces and how they fit together. This puzzle was exactly what I needed.

I think this was the first image by Debbie Mumm that I’ve done, and I had a great time with it. Owls can be very cute, and she has quite a few owl images; there are several that I would very much enjoy assembling.

I’ve done several Ceaco puzzles lately, and they’ve mostly been good quality. But it’s been more about the image for me. They have such a varied catalog of interesting images, and some of them are exclusive, so I’ve got to decide whether I want to pass on the artwork because of the brand. I usually don’t pass on fun or interesting images from Ceaco anymore. If it looks like it will be entertaining then I’m going for it.

Life is for living, and puzzling!

Review: Colored Powder

On September 15, 2019September 15, 2019 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews3 Comments

This image is GORGEOUS! It wasn’t as difficult as I’d feared it would be, and I absolutely loved putting it together. 💖

The Big Ben puzzles that I’ve been finding at my local Tuesday Morning store have been very good quality and a joy to work with. I love the slanted grid cut, and the dry feel of the pieces. The fit is quite good as well, and overall the entire puzzle was wonderful.

I started with the light blue, which wasn’t too hard. But the rest of the puzzle was a bit of a challenge mostly because my husband took the extension cord off of the big light directly above my puzzle table. It took a few days for me to find a replacement and before I did, seeing the colors of whichever puzzle I was working on was a little difficult – and this one especially!

Seeing the difference between the reds, oranges, and pinks was made even more problematic because of the lack of good lighting. The hurricane shutters are still on all of our windows (hubby is out of town for work), so I couldn’t even get any help from the window near my table.

All problems aside, this image is so beautiful that I loved watching it come together as each piece was added. It’s a little challenging, but definitely worth it!

Details:

Title: Colored Powder
Artist: Big Ben Puzzles
Brand: Milton Bradley (Big Ben)
Piece count: 500 pieces
Size: Approx. 18 x 24 in. (46 x 61 cm)
Purchased: New

Quality:

Board: Very good
Cutting: Very good
Image: Excellent
Box: Average
Fit: Very good
Puzzle Dust: Moderate amount
Piece cut: Grid cut (slanted)
Piece shapes: Very good variety
Finish: Slightly shiny finish, lays flat

Overall Rating: Very good, recommended

Pirates

On September 14, 2019 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles2 Comments

This is the first puzzle from this box with a missing piece. I was pretty surprised; everything seemed to be well taken care of, and each puzzle is in it’s own small bag. It’s a little disappointing, but there are still a good amount of interesting puzzles in the box that are complete, and I’ve been enjoying putting them together.

Each puzzle has an educational side, where things are named or explained – those are my favorites. The cute pictures are fine too, but I’ve had a great time learning things I didn’t know before, or re-learning things I’ve forgotten.

The explanations of the parts of a pirate ship reminded me of threats I’ve heard on tv shows or movies. “Hang him from the yardarm”, and being “keelhauled”. You can see where the keel is at the bottom of the ship; I think being dragged under the ship attached to the keel is a particularly horrible form of punishment that I would absolutely want to avoid! And being hung by the yardarm was a method of execution that was quite unpleasant as well – not for me, thanks!

Pirates 1

This cute image of cartoony pirates doesn’t really go with my previous paragraph, does it? These are kids puzzles after all. Unfortunately this one won’t be sent with the others to the school where my daughter works, in true pirate fashion it’s lost a leg – and I have no wooden ones to replace it! 😉

Pet Portraits

On September 13, 2019September 13, 2019 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles7 Comments

My daughter found me a bunch of clearance puzzles at Barnes and Noble, and she was very insistent that I get this one. Of course, it has a Boston Terrier in it! She loves my Buddy, and we all love Boston Terriers, they are not only adorable dogs, but they’re so wonderfully sweet – especially our Buddy.

Of course it was our favorite portrait in the puzzle…

Pet Portraits 1

That frozen look, especially when we’re playing with our little guy, is what we lovingly call “crazy eyes”. Bostons love to play, and when we’re getting ready to throw a toy he freezes and looks at us with the crazy eyes, it’s because he’s just so excited!

Pet Portraits 2

I love the demure look on the bird’s face – how cute is that? It’s like she knows she’s cute and is posing for a picture. Adorable! I’m not a fan of birds as pets, only because I very much enjoy peace and quiet, and I find that birds are always making noise – no thank you. I’d much rather assemble a puzzle with birds. 😉

The puzzle itself was good quality, but I’ve had quite a few puzzles with just the one piece shape lately and they’re a bit boring. I enjoy figuring out which piece shape I’m looking for, and I find it’s also very helpful when you have a large area of one color. I’m choosing what to puzzle next right now, and if I open the box and see only one piece shape I close it right back up and keep looking for a more interesting one with a variety of shapes.

Hula Kitty

On September 11, 2019September 11, 2019 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles2 Comments

This was my least favorite image of the 4 that we bought, but it’s still cute. I quite like the images with the disgusted looks of the animals on them; where they’re staring daggers at the person who dressed them up in ridiculous outfits – they make me laugh. 🙂

These 100 piece Ceaco puzzles are average quality, but for me it’s more about the fun of a “one coffee puzzle” available for a quick assembly. I get a kick out of being able to finish a puzzle in one sitting, and it’s even better when the image isn’t a childish one. There’s nothing wrong with a kids puzzle image, but it’s also fun to find some that are more adult.

There’s still one more of these to assemble, and I’ve been putting it off. I adore the image, and am saving the best for last. I would be extremely happy to find more of these little darlings somewhere, they’re great images and I love the smaller piece counts.