Delphinium Cottage

On May 12, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw PuzzlesLeave a comment

I thought I should show one of these mini framed puzzles actually in the frame. The glue I used was high gloss, so there’s a bit of glare; but it looks pretty darn good to me. ☺

This was the second of my newly named “bathroom puzzles”, and hubby and I enjoyed assembling it very much. It’s difficult not to work on a puzzle when it’s sitting there – and you’re sitting there. To be honest, I miss not having a tiny puzzle in there now that they’re all assembled. Here’s hoping I find more of them one of these days.

I found this image easier to work with than Colors of Venice, and it went together more quickly. The bright flowers and more obvious contrasts helped speed up the pace; it was much easier to separate out certain sections. It may have helped that we were a little more experienced with the very small pieces too – they really were great fun!

To be honest, I didn’t even notice the puppy in the bushes until I was assembling the dogs in the grass. I got all the dogs in the foreground put together and still had pieces with light yellow fur on them, they didn’t seem to connect to the dogs already assembled, where in the world did they go? And how did I miss that every time I looked at the poster? I’m claiming muddled middle-aged brain as an excuse for my lack of perception.😉

I’ll puzzle just about anywhere that’s it’s possible, obviously. It actually helps me deal with my chronic pain, and reduces my anxiety and stress. And even if those things weren’t a factor I find puzzling to be fun, engaging, entertaining, and satisfying. Whatever reason motivates you to puzzle is the best reason there is. Puzzle on my friends!

Fantasy Palace

On May 11, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles7 Comments

This puzzle made me think it would be difficult, but it wasn’t. Quite the opposite, it was entertaining and beautiful – and it makes me a little sad that I don’t have any more new bigger wooden puzzles to assemble. Eventually I’ll get myself some more though, no worries.

I’ve long admired the artwork of Ciro Marchetti, his use of color and whimsy is absolutely beautiful – it reminds me of Aimee Stewart’s art. This is the first puzzle of his that I’ve done and it was more fun than I’d hoped for. That it was a wooden puzzle added to my enjoyment, it’s the best time I’ve had puzzling in a while.

I’ve run out of adjectives to describe how fabulous working with wooden puzzles is. It’s a special treat, and I make no apologies for spending money on something that makes me happy. Every post with a wooden puzzle ends with me encouraging you to treat yourself to a wooden puzzle, and I will continue to do that. Wooden puzzles are a visual and tactile pleasure to work with; we’re completely worth it – no question.

Mr. Potato Head

On May 10, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

This is a cute 48 piece puzzle of Mr. Potato Head that comes with 20 clings that you can mix and match to create different faces. And to think that in the early 1950’s when the toy was first produced it was just separate plastic body parts with pushpins that you used on a real potato! What?!

I think the idea for this puzzle is excellent, but I was pretty disappointed with the quality. I really wanted to like this one too! The pieces were thin and easily bent, what I consider to be not sturdy enough for repeated play. If the object is to assemble and play with this multiple times I don’t think the pieces will hold up well. As you can see in the image above, the puzzle also doesn’t lay completely flat – not great. The clings themselves seem like good enough quality, but to comment on them specifically I would want to spend more time with them. All in all I was hoping for better from this puzzle, we found it new and unopened at the thrift store.

I wanted to make at least 2 different faces to show some of the clings that come with the puzzle. I had a good time choosing and trying to make a funny face. 🤓

Perhaps if this puzzle is something your little one would really enjoy you could glue it once it was assembled to keep the pieces from bending and wearing out from repeated use? I don’t have an answer. It’s a great idea, but not as well executed as I’d hoped for. This puzzle is unfortunately not recommended.

Irises

On May 9, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles2 Comments

This is another very small piece puzzle that mom found somewhere. The image is only the top of Van Gogh’s Irises, but it was lovely and challenging and I had the best time putting it together!

The two puzzles we have from this series were truly the best quality smaller piece puzzles that I’ve worked with. The pieces are thick and fit together extremely well, there is no wondering if you have placed the piece correctly or not. The image reproduction is very good, but seems a bit darker than the original artwork (from my non-artist point of view anyway). If mom finds any Andrews + Blaine small piece puzzles at the thrift store we’re definitely getting them!

The whole puzzle fit on a cookie sheet, and I assembled the entire thing while in bed. I haven’t been able to sit at my puzzle table for well over a week now, so all the puzzles I’m doing have to fit on my white board or something smaller so that I can do them while lying down or propped up. There’s another advantage of the tiny puzzle! 😉

I was actually a little afraid of this puzzle for a while, the image is a bit difficult. I found it to be quite calming to assemble though; and even if I had to sit and stare at them for a bit, I could find and place the pieces correctly. In the end though, I’ve discovered that I’m much braver about difficult images if there aren’t many pieces. I don’t think I’ll ever attempt Starry Night in 1000 or even 500 pieces; but I didn’t have a problem putting it together as a 40 piece wooden puzzle. If it’s super challenging my courage is directly related to piece count. 300 pieces or less? Sure! More than that? Probably not. Maybe 500 tops – maybe.

I really enjoyed this puzzle much more than I anticipated, just as much as the first one I assembled – Fairgrounds. You can’t really tell how small they are until you see the tiny little box they come in. I took a great picture of the puzzle box next to my coffee cup in that post!

It doesn’t look like these small puzzles are being produced by A + B anymore, but if you happen across one in a thrift store, go for it! It’s a nice change from larger piece counts, and just may be more fun than you think. 👍

Harvest of Gold

On May 8, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles3 Comments

This image reminds me of my youth; I grew up in farm country. Tractors and fields remind me of home and a simpler time.

The colors of these machines jumped right out at me; dad always had a John Deere, as did most of the other people in our area. I don’t ever recall seeing a blue tractor! As a puzzler, the bright blue and yellow made for an easy place to start assembly, once they’re done there are plenty of places to work from and holes to fill in. I thought the corn field itself would be a pain, but it wasn’t bad at all. I suppose it’s more about the artwork than I thought!

This was the first panoramic Sunsout puzzle that I’ve assembled, the fit was very nice (not too tight) and it was grid cut rather than random. It doesn’t seem like it from the picture, but this puzzle is 3 feet long. It’s nice every once in a while to have a longer, shorter puzzle; there’s less leaning forward to place pieces and it’s easier on your back and neck. At least that’s how it is for little old lady me. 👵