Review: Rainbow Marbles

On October 23, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

Rainbow Marbles by Julie Seabrook – Galison – 500 pieces

I am a fan of color blend puzzles like this image; unfortunately, this one was a bit disappointing for me. When mom brought her recent thrift store purchases for me to look at and I saw this one I was so excited to start assembling it. I love the image! Galison puzzles, sadly, have just the one piece shape – what I call ballerinas (2 prongs, 2 holes). The lack of variety made this puzzle more difficult and less entertaining for me. And I wanted so much to like it! 😕

Many people are only concerned with the image itself, and the puzzle doesn’t need to have premium quality to entertain. I am sometimes the same way; if the image is fun for me I can overlook quality issues that might drive me crazy with an image that, for me, is less entertaining. Rainbow Marbles is perhaps the exception that proves the rule – although I love the artwork on this puzzle, it was still a disappointing assembly for me because of the piece shape. That said, I am still recommending it for others who might only be looking for a great image.

Galison puzzles have good quality board that is thick, and the pieces fit together well. The image reproduction is excellent, with sharp focus and no blurring or fuzziness and a slightly shiny finish. I don’t normally comment on boxes unless they are exceptional in my opinion, but the box with this puzzle was extremely sturdy and well made. The lack of variety in piece shape may be problem for some, but if the image is one that you like it may not be a concern for you.

All reviews are just opinions. I try to at least be as objective as I can, and even though a puzzle image or quality may not be my taste, I try to give a detailed accounting of those things that I feel other puzzlers may want to know. We can’t all love the same puzzles for the same reasons. If variety in piece shape isn’t as big a deal for you and you love this image, I’m confident in recommending this puzzle. It’s got good quality, and it really is a beautiful picture!

Details:

Title: Rainbow Marbles
Artist: Julie Seabrook
Brand: Galison
Piece count: 500 pieces
Size: Approx. 20 x 20 in. (51 x 51 cm)
Purchased: Used, thrift store

Quality:

Board: Very good
Cutting: Good
Image: Excellent
Box: Sturdy
Fit: Very good
Puzzle Dust: Moderate amount
Piece cut: Grid cut
Piece shapes: Poor, no variety
Finish: Slightly shiny finish, lays flat

Overall Rating: Good, recommended

Rainbow Marbles was assembled in August, but got lost temporarily due to my old lady brain or medication fog. Usually once I finish a puzzle and take pictures I do three things; 1) the image is put onto the completed puzzles page for that month, 2) I start a new blog post page and put all pictures there also with a few notes about the assembly (and puzzle info if I’m writing a review), and 3) I add the pieces and puzzle to the running total for the year.

I’ve usually got 2 weeks worth of puzzles already completed and waiting to be written up and posted, so I didn’t really notice that I messed up one of those steps. When I thought I was starting a new blog post page, I clicked the wrong button and started a whole new page for the site (like one of the monthly completed puzzles pages). Since puzzles normally don’t get published right away it was saved as a draft, but not with all the other post drafts of other puzzles.

It wasn’t until last week when I was starting to write up new site pages for brand reviews that I noticed this little guy hanging out in the site pages drafts where he wasn’t supposed to be! How could I have missed this for 2 months? And if I hadn’t decided to start writing reviews of puzzle brands how long would it have been before I found this little guy? Heaven only knows!

Kittens in the Kitchen

On October 22, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles7 Comments

To be honest, I didn’t even notice there were cats in this puzzle until I started assembling it! I only saw the kitchen as a whole when I looked at the box, the kittens didn’t even register – of course I didn’t see the name of the puzzle either – Kittens in the Kitchen. I guess I don’t get the Captain Observation award for the day, huh?

I love the sign, I only wish I had a dining room to put it in. The view out the window is very pretty and was lots of fun to put together. 🙂 Unfortunately there were 2 missing pieces, but that didn’t make it any less fun to put together – at least not for me.

This was a thrift store puzzle, and seems to have been well loved before it was donated. Some of the pieces were bent and the finished puzzle didn’t lay completely flat. It’s difficult to say whether this is because it was pre-owned, or whether it’s a manufacturing defect; nevertheless it was an entertaining puzzle that made for a lovely afternoon.

Review: What, No Chocolate!?

On October 20, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews1 Comment

This post is sponsored by Puzzle Warehouse.

Fruit — What, No Chocolate!?- Ceaco – 500 pieces

I thought this puzzle would be pretty easy. Once again, I thought wrong. This puzzle, which I have named “What, No Chocolate!?” is another from the 8-in-1 multipack called Sweet & Salty. I was going to name it something mysterious and weird, but when it came time to think of something my mind went blank! It isn’t an enigmatic name, but it makes me smile, and it’s a little more creative than just “Fruit”. 😉

This particular puzzle looks so inviting and fun to assemble on the box, and it was! Although it was more of a challenge than I anticipated it was still great fun. The bright colors of the fruits helped in the sorting, but it wasn’t as quick and easy as I thought it would be. I was going to start with the blackberries, but once the puzzle was sorted I changed my mind and started with the cut orange. I had to just go with my gut and assemble it as it played out, not with a set strategy. It’s a great image, and looks amazing once complete!

Ceaco puzzles have a great selection of images to choose from, although sometimes I find the quality to be lacking. The quality of these puzzles has been better than I expected, especially from a multipack. The fit is excellent, the images are beautifully reproduced, and the pieces are a good thickness. Sometimes the chipboard is fanning on the backs of the pieces, and there are some that aren’t cut all the way through; overall though, the quality is good. Click the link above to see their puzzles currently in stock at Puzzle Warehouse.

Puzzle Warehouse has so many puzzles to choose from, in so many different categories! If you’re a fan of food & drink puzzles, click the link to see the pages and pages of awesome choices. They have so many interesting collages of different foods that I’ve added several to my wishlist (which is getting way out of hand). There’s a gorgeous 2000 piece Springbok called Tin of Treats that looks like so much fun – with some of the same chocolates from a puzzle I completed last year called Chocolate Artistry. Gorgeous!

I’m having a great time with these food puzzles and have started assembling another from this box. It’s more difficult than all the others so far, and it may take me a while to get it done – but it’s going to look so cool when it’s finished! What, No Chocolate!? was a fun challenge and it’s definitely recommended. This Sweet & Salty box has been very entertaining so far!

Details:

Title: What, No Chocolate!?
Artist: iStock
Brand: Ceaco
Piece count: 500 pieces
Size: Approx. 14 x 18 in. (36 x 46 cm)
Purchased: N/A, sent for review

Quality:

Board: Good
Cutting: Good
Image: Very good
Box: Average, 8 puzzles in 1 box
Fit: Excellent
Puzzle Dust: Moderate amount
Piece cut: Grid cut
Piece shapes: Good variety
Finish: Slightly shiny finish, lays flat

Overall Rating: Good, recommended

I received this product at no cost in order to facilitate this review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are truthful and 100% my own.

Kitten Surprise

On October 19, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles2 Comments

Kittens aren’t my cup of tea, but this is quite a cute puzzle and it was fun to put together. The baskets were easy to sort and assemble, but the rest of the puzzle was trickier than I thought it would be.

The balloons themselves weren’t too difficult, but all the hanging ribbons weren’t easy. I knew the kittens would be a bit more work, though every puzzle is easier when your puzzle posse comes to help out. 😎

300 pieces are my favorite size for Buffalo puzzles. There’s something about the larger piece counts (1000 and over) that seem so cookie cutter – the pieces are all essentially the same size and I don’t always want that when I’m working on a puzzle. Maybe it doesn’t seem as noticeable or annoying when the pieces are larger. Who can tell how my weird brain works and why a person likes some things and not others? All I know is that I prefer the larger pieces when working with Buffalo.

Empire State Building

On October 18, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles2 Comments

After building the very large pirate ship, this little 16 piece puzzle was a breeze! What a nice gift (it came in the box with the Queen Anne’s Revenge); it only took me about 10 minutes or so to put it together.

This 3D puzzle was fun, but even as small as it was you had to pay attention. I had to take apart a few pieces because I didn’t look as closely at the instructions as I should have. Perhaps overconfidence had set in because I had finished the very large pirate ship and was feeling pretty darn proud of myself.

I enjoyed putting it together, and although I still prefer a standard jigsaw puzzle, it’s pretty entertaining to take a break from the norm and mix it up with something new. Have you tried a 3D puzzle?