Review: Butterfly Kingdom

On May 27, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews4 Comments

This post is sponsored by Bone Owl Puzzles.

Butterfly Kingdom – Bone Owl Puzzles – 1000 pieces

Butterfly Kingdom is a beautiful image and makes for a wonderfully challenging puzzle. I enjoyed the random cut and oddly shaped pieces which added to the difficulty, but didn’t detract at all from the entertainment of the assembly.

Bone Owl Puzzles is a new company based in Canada offering a small selection of beautifully crafted “offbeat” jigsaw puzzles from artists all around the world. Their puzzles are manufactured in the US and I found them to be very good quality. The images are unique and interesting and I had a difficult time choosing which puzzle I wanted to review. They have 6 different puzzles in their catalog at the moment, and I was only able to narrow it down to 4. I had to enlist the help of my husband and sons to help me decide! The artwork is so beautiful and unique and each of the choices had something that really drew me in; that’s so important – having images that inspire and get you excited about assembling them.

The quality of the puzzles was very good, and I was quite impressed. The pieces are made from single-ply chipboard to prevent the splitting that sometimes happens with lesser quality multi-layered board. They are a good thickness and fit together well, and have a linen finish that gives a luxurious feel. The image reproduction is excellent, the lines are crisp and the colors are amazing.

My only problem with the quality was the large amount of puzzle dust. It can be annoying to deal with, but in the end doesn’t really interfere with my enjoyment of the assembly. I’ve learned that if you get a puzzle that’s near the end of the run when the die is getting duller you’ll have more dust. I’ve had many premium quality puzzles with a lot of dust, and I don’t consider it to be a flaw, it’s just one of those things that sometimes happens – there is no perfect manufacturing process. I’ve never assembled a cardboard puzzle that didn’t have at least some dust, for me it’s just part of the process of working with puzzles.

The pictures above show the unique cut of the pieces and the beautiful colors in the image, it was a fascinating puzzle that was a joy to assemble. I enjoy the random cut, it keeps me on my toes and makes me look at the pieces differently. The image is always the key though; if the image is boring or uninspiring I won’t be assembling the puzzle no matter how interesting the pieces are.

The trees on either side of the image were the most challenging part of the puzzle for me, but not too much so. There are shades of color and patterns in the tree trunks that help with the assembly, along with the unique shapes of the pieces. It wasn’t as difficult as I thought it might be, and I was nearing the end of the assembly and very motivated to see the entire finished image. It was the perfect combination of fun and challenging for me and the completed puzzle is gorgeous!

Bone Owl Puzzles are definitely recommended. This puzzle was a treat to assemble and I look forward to working on more of their puzzles, the only problem is choosing which one I’d like to do next. 👍

Details:

Title: Butterfly Kingdom
Artist: Dan May
Brand: Bone Owl Puzzles
Piece count: 1000 pieces
Size: Approx. 27 x 19 in. (68 x 49 cm)
Purchased: N/A, sent for review

Quality:

Board: Very good
Cutting: Very good
Image: Excellent
Box: Average
Fit: Very good
Puzzle Dust: Large amount of dust
Piece cut: Random cut
Piece shapes: Very good variety
Finish: Matte finish, lays flat

Overall Rating: Very 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.

Jazz Dance

On May 26, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles2 Comments

There’s something about the look of magazine cover puzzles that I absolutely love. The vintage covers are interesting and beautiful and make for a nice change from landscapes and other “usual” puzzle images.

This is my first NY Puzzle Company puzzle, and I enjoyed it very much. There was a large amount of puzzle dust, but otherwise I found the quality to be quite good. The random cut made it challenging and fun, the pieces were thick and fit together well, and the matte finish helped make sure that the darker areas weren’t too difficult to assemble under lights.

The Vogue covers by William Bolin are striking and beautiful, and any of them would make some challenging and wonderful puzzles. Here are a few of my favorite Vogue covers of his from the 1920’s and 1930’s – they’re stunning!

william-bolin-vogue-cover-october-1926_u-l-peql4i0

vogue-magazine-cover-featuring-a-woman-wearing-william-bolin

2-a-vintage-vogue-magazine-cover-of-a-woman-william-bolin

I had a great time with this assembly; the blocks of color, musical score, and darker areas made for a great balance of ease and challenge. The cut was much more random than some brands, and made for some excellent gray cell exercise. Many times you think you’re looking for a certain shape, and it turns out that you’re actually looking for 2 smaller pieces that are not shaped how you thought at all. It keeps you on your toes!

I’m looking forward to working more puzzles from this brand, this one was good quality – and a good time. What else could I ask for?

Meadow Cottage

On May 25, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw PuzzlesLeave a comment

Wentworth puzzles make me very happy; and since I bought wooden puzzles for both my mother and my daughter (and myself) this year for Mother’s Day I’ve been working with them quite a bit lately.

These micro puzzles are not as easy as they look, and are perfect for when you don’t have a lot of time or space but still want to get your puzzle on. They’re great for me when I’m feeling terrible and spending most of my time in bed; I can lay out and assemble the entire puzzle on a cookie sheet.

I love the artwork of Dominic Davison, his landscapes and cottages are absolutely gorgeous. Because he uses a mouse instead of a paintbrush to create his digital works of art I find them much easier to assemble than puzzles that use images of traditional paintings. His use of color and light in the composition makes for great puzzles that are appealing, charming, and fun to put together.

I’ve still got 16 of these micro puzzles left to assemble (and 3 that are done and waiting to be posted); I’m looking forward to each and every one of them. Even if the image or the cut is difficult I know that I’ll be able to get it done – they’re only about 40 pieces. Even I can do that!

Sunset Over a Busy Day

On May 24, 2018May 24, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles8 Comments

This puzzle was a pleasure to assemble, the gorgeous colors and exceptional fit made for a great time. Doesn’t this look like a great spot for a getaway?

The picture above doesn’t do this puzzle justice, the image is absolutely beautiful and the colors are stunning. I would have liked to have the artist’s name somewhere on the box; I searched every inch of it and nowhere is credit given to the artist. If I were an artist that licensed my work to be made into a puzzle I would definitely want credit for it! Thank goodness for the internet, with the name of the painting it was easy to find the name of the artist and I can at least give him credit here.

Most of the Milton Bradley puzzles I’ve assembled so far have been very good quality. Their pieces are a good thickness, they have a very good variety of piece shapes and the fit is excellent. The image reproduction is excellent as well and in general I’ve been thoroughly impressed with their puzzles.

I’m not always in the right frame of mind for an image like this one, but Sunset Over a Busy Day was just what I needed. The sky was easy to start with, and the dock and cabin offered enough of a challenge to keep it from being too easy. I find that my moods directly affect the type of puzzles I choose to assemble. I haven’t completely figured it out yet, which moods prefer which puzzles – all I know is some days I won’t even consider a certain puzzle and a few days later that same puzzle is exactly what I’m looking for.

Perhaps that means that it’s pretty important for me to have a very good variety of puzzles to choose from. So mom keep up that thrift store shopping, my ever-changing moods require a wide variety of interesting puzzles to choose from. ☺

Daisy Field Farm

On May 21, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles6 Comments

Here’s the last of the 3 “bathroom puzzles” – hubby enjoyed this one the best. Assembling the fence was his favorite part. He loves structure and linear images so the fence was what he wanted to work on the most. I even left the last 10 pieces of this puzzle for him to put in – what a sweet wife he has! 😉

This puzzle was as much fun to assemble as the other two, and I was sad for us when it was finished. I didn’t see any more at the store the last time I was there except for Starry Night, and I don’t think I’m brave enough for that.

I have to go out twice tomorrow for appointments, so if I’m feeling ok I just might make a stop at the same store and see what else there is for me. These aren’t premium quality, but they’ve got me and my husband working together on puzzles again, that’s what makes me happiest about them.