Pulitzer Prize

On September 10, 2019 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles6 Comments

I was a little disappointed with this puzzle – not only did I lose a piece (I seem to be very good at that lately), but there was serious problem with the image reproduction. You can see at the top of the puzzle it looks as if someone has poured a dark stain over it.

You can see on the left the puzzle itself, and on the right is the poster that came with the puzzle – there’s a huge difference. I contacted the company to let them know about the problem, and to their credit they got in touch with me the same day.

They wanted to see pictures of the problem, so that they could speak to their manufacturers – and that was the main reason I got in touch with them. All I’m looking for are great puzzles to do, and when I feel there’s something they need to hear about that could help them improve quality, I always want to let them know.

They also offered to send me a free puzzle, but I didn’t take them up on it. Even though there was a problem with the printing, it was only a small part of the puzzle; and even with the stain across the top I still enjoyed assembling the puzzle. In that way, I feel I got my money’s worth and don’t feel that I need to be reimbursed with a new puzzle. I love their collage puzzles, and this one problem won’t keep me from buying more in the future.

The piece shape is very obvious, which it seems to be in most of their puzzles. It doesn’t detract from the assembly for me, but it would matter if you planned on displaying it. The pieces are a good thickness and fit together well, and other than the image reproduction issue the quality was very good.

The assembly was entertaining and engrossing, and it went together very quickly for a 1000 piece. It was interesting to see which of the books I’ve read and to see all the ones I’ve never even heard of. I thought I was well read, but of all the Pulitzer Prize winning books shown I’ve only read seven of them. I guess I’m not as well read as I thought! Oh well, my family loves me and thinks I’m pretty awesome, that’s what truly matters.

Love

On September 8, 2019 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles6 Comments

When you see a puzzle called “Love”, you don’t normally expect a Wysocki, or at least I don’t. This one though is a great scene, with more people than you normally see in one of his images.

I had a great time with this puzzle, and it went together pretty fast. A turn of the century tennis club with a lot of lounging around going on. The foreground was a little harder than the background, but it wasn’t too bad. The background and sky definitely looks like a typical Wysocki, and assembling those parts was almost soothing; I’ve put together quite a few Wysocki images and it was comforting to assemble.

Buffalo puzzles are very good quality, and their 300 piece puzzles are my favorite of all their piece counts. There’s something about the boxy pieces that isn’t as pleasing to work with when they’re smaller. Just my own opinion of course, many people love the larger piece count Buffalo puzzles. There’s nothing wrong with them, I just have to be in the right mood to work on a 1000 piece or higher.

Love 1

I love this flag “We Are Oblivious To Sanity” – I think I’d like to get that put on a t-shirt for myself. Sanity is overrated if you ask me. 🙃

Laundry Day

On September 7, 2019 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles4 Comments

It seems like forever since I’ve assembled a Ravensburger, and my daughter found this adorable puzzle on clearance while we were at the bookstore. How could I pass it up? The answer is – I couldn’t! I suffer from PADS, and my happiness was directly tied to finding fun puzzles to assemble, thankfully there were a LOT of beautiful puzzles on clearance and I was a very happy little old puzzle lady that day. 😁

At only 300 pieces, I was able to put this one together in bed on the white board. I needed to be working on a puzzle, but wasn’t feeling well enough to sit at my puzzle table. The smaller piece counts are not only just as fun to assemble as larger piece counts (they are for me anyway), but they’re great when I want to puzzle but have to be in bed. I also find them to be an excellent palate cleanser for when I’m stuck or frustrated with a larger piece count that I’m working on, or after I’ve finished a particularly difficult image.

This unbelievably cute image by Adrian Chesterman was a little more difficult than I thought it would be, but that was a nice surprise. The challenge was welcome, and the puppies were too cute!

The quality, of course, was exceptional; Ravensburger puzzles usually are. The feel of the pieces in my hand was lovely – I think I’ve assembled so many of their puzzles that I would be able to tell which pieces were theirs if I was blindfolded! When I get a Ravensburger, one of the first things I do is open the box and grab some pieces and just run my fingers across them. They are a great thickness, and the finish feels wonderful in my hands.

Also, when I’m holding a piece and thinking about where it should go, I find that I absentmindedly rub it with my thumb. It’s always nice to have a premium quality puzzle that has a good hand feel, and Ravensburger is definitely in that category for me.

This puzzle made me very happy, it was great on all counts – quality, image, and assembly. It gets two wet noses way, way up! 🐶🐶

Petrified Wood Mosaic

On September 5, 2019 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles5 Comments

This image is so different and interesting; mom and I both loved it as soon as we saw it. I opened the box several times when I was looking for my next puzzle, but always put it back because it looked so difficult and it wasn’t the right time (also I wanted to work on it with mom and she wasn’t always able to come play puzzle with me).

It had great quality, thick pieces, and a nice fit too. The only minus was that there was only one piece shape, it seems that there are quite a few puzzles out there with just the one shape, and personally I would love it if they branched out a bit and added more interesting, or even just “other” shapes.

The box for this one said Fitting Reminder, but there was also a notation that it was from American Greetings Corporation. There was no date on the box, but it looks quite old. I’m guessing it’s most likely from the 80’s. It was a very cool puzzle!

There were so many darkish muddled looking pieces that it was a bit difficult. But once I got going I enjoyed the challenge and it was hard for me to get up and walk away from it. It’s so very different than most puzzle images, and I got sucked into “just one more piece” over and over again.

This puzzle very much makes me think of mom, and I ended up taping the back of it so that I could keep it. It makes me extremely sad that we didn’t have a chance to work on it together, we would have had a great time; and there would have been a quite a bit of little old lady cussing too, I’m sure. 👵

There are so many puzzles here that mom found for us and that we were both looking forward to assembling together. Perhaps that’s why I’ve been wanting new puzzles lately, the older ones all have memories attached – and all those memories are primarily of my mom. I guess I’m trying to hold on to those as long as I can.

Monsters

On September 3, 2019 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles2 Comments

I enjoyed this more than I expected to. I haven’t done a cartoon puzzle in a while and I forgot how much fun I find them. The bright colors make me very happy, and the easier sorting is a bonus as well.

Monsters 1

I started with Mike, the green was easy to find and I loved the character too. Every time I look at it I hear Boo yelling “Mike Wazowski!” in the movie. So cute!

Monsters 2

There were an abundance of eyes, and I worked on them next. So many eyes! This puzzle was completely absorbing and entertaining, it reminded me how much I like cartoony puzzles. I bought this one on the insistence of my daughter, it seems she knows better than I do what puzzles I would enjoy – I should take her shopping with me every time. 😉