Category: Jigsaw Puzzles

Review: Mandala Fruit Tree

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews1 Comment
This post is sponsored by Puzzle Warehouse.
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Mandala Fruit Tree by Paul Heussenstamm – Pomegranate – 500 pieces

I chose Mandala Fruit Tree to review, and I wasn’t disappointed – it’s just beautiful! I also enjoyed learning about mandalas from the information of the back of the box. I had no idea they were spiritual and used for meditation, or that they are a mystical symbol seen by many as the doorway to the soul.

The artist, Paul Heussenstamm, believes that soul patterns are manifested in mandalas, and his works often contain them. All of that makes this image even more striking and interesting for me. Click the link above to see all of this artist’s puzzles currently available at Puzzle Warehouse. (They even carry a couple of Peaceful Wooden Puzzles of his work! Click to see my post on my wooden puzzles with a review of Peaceful Wooden Puzzles)

Pomegranate is one of my favorite brands. The pieces are wonderfully thick and the finish feels almost soft in your hands. The fit is tight, but not too much; you won’t have to use your upper body strength to put them into place. 😉 Their catalog of puzzles is mostly fine art, and the image and color reproduction is superb. I don’t normally comment on puzzle boxes, but even the boxes of Pomegranate puzzles feel amazing – you know you’re holding a premium puzzle in your hands when you’re holding a Pomegranate.

This puzzle was more of a challenge than I anticipated, but I was up for the task. Once I assembled the edge and the plain blue background I had to come up with a strategy for the tree itself. I decided to separate the pieces by shape and work by piece shape first and then color/pattern. It worked wonderfully and I thoroughly enjoyed the entire assembly. Mandala Fruit Tree was even better than I thought it would be, I highly recommend it! 👍

Details:

  • Title:                  Mandala Fruit Tree
  • Artist:                Paul Heussenstamm
  • Brand:               Pomegranate
  • Piece count:     500 pieces
  • Size:                  Approx. 24 x 18 in. (61 x 46 cm)
  • Purchased:      n/a

Quality:

  • Board:               Excellent
  • Cutting:             Excellent
  • Image:               Excellent
  • Box:                   Excellent, short bio of artist on back
  • Fit:                     Very good
  • Puzzle Dust:     Moderate amount
  • Piece cut:          Grid cut
  • Piece shapes:   Good variety
  • Finish:               Matte finish, lays flat

Overall Rating:      Excellent, highly recommended

 

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

Hang Loose

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment
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Hang Loose by Scott Westmoreland – Ravensburger – 500 pieces

This is a puzzle that I probably wouldn’t have purchased new; it’s not the typical artwork that interests me. But as usual I am proven wrong because this was so much fun to assemble! Will I ever learn? Probably not. But it is fun that I’m still getting surprised by how fun a certain image is to assemble, so I guess I’ll just keep on being me! 😉

In addition, it was a great puzzle to work with someone else (my mom ❤) – the towels and surfboards on opposite ends of the puzzle make it perfect for working with others. It’s easy to grab the pieces for one of the boards or towels and assemble it without getting in someone else’s way. We had a great time with this puzzle, and it was just the right amount of challenging with the sky and ocean. I highly recommend it!

This would be a great puzzle for a summer vacation with family, or even for a holiday get together where you’re snuggled in front of a fire wishing for the beach. Hang loose, and happy puzzling! 😎

 

Review: Lighthouse 1

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviewsLeave a comment
This post is sponsored by Puzzle Warehouse.
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Lighthouse 1 by Karla Gerard – Educa – 1000 pieces

I love the artwork of Karla Gerard and thought Lighthouse 1 would be quite a fun puzzle to assemble. Oh my. I was not prepared for how difficult this was! Still, I am very proud that I finished it. Hey Ma – look what I did! 🙋High five!

This is only the second Educa puzzle that I’ve completed, the first was a collage of sorts and so much fun that I didn’t really take notice of the piece shapes. There is not much variety (most of the pieces are 2 prong/2 hole *ballerinas*), so a puzzle like this one with large areas of the same color/pattern is quite a challenge. The overall quality is good; the pieces are a good thickness and fit together well, although a bit loosely. I guess I would say that it might pay to be careful of the image you select when purchasing an Educa puzzle – your favorite image might be more challenging than you expect! There are plenty of busier images, collages, and smaller piece counts that might help lower the challenge level. But if you’re up for a challenge there are plenty of Educa puzzles that would keep your brain cells limber too – click the link above to see what’s available now at Puzzle Warehouse.

Still, after I changed my method of attack I did enjoy the assembly. I would normally just pull all the pieces for a section and start assembling them, but that didn’t work very well here; so many of the pieces were the same shape that it was a bit tedious. So after some thought and a nice coffee break I decided that I needed to complete all the smaller sections first, and then assemble all the edges/outlines. It helped tremendously, and I was ready to conquer this gorgeous puzzle. I conquered, and it looks amazing. 🙂

If you like this image check out the other Contemporary Art Puzzles in stock now at Puzzle Warehouse. Several have made it onto my wishlist, including several by Kandinsky, Charley Harper, and Alphonse Mucha. So many puzzles, so little time!

Lighthouse 1 would be a great gift for that avid puzzler in your life who enjoys a challenge – or challenge yourself – you can do it! 👍

Details:

  • Title:                  Lighthouse 1
  • Artist:                Karla Gerard
  • Brand:               Educa
  • Piece count:     1000 pieces
  • Size:                  Approx. 27 x 19 in. (68 x 48 cm)
  • Purchased:      n/a

Quality:

  • Board:               Very good
  • Cutting:             Very good
  • Image:               Very good
  • Box:                   Average
  • Fit:                     Good – somewhat loose
  • Puzzle Dust:     Moderate amount
  • Piece cut:          Grid cut
  • Piece shapes:   Not much variety, pieces can fit in wrong spot
  • Finish:               Matte finish, lays flat

Overall Rating:      Very Good, recommended (challenging)

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

Ballet Recital

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment
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Ballet Recital – Melissa & Doug – 100 pieces

The picture of this puzzle doesn’t do it justice at all, it’s gorgeous! Sometimes these children’s puzzles surprise me. I enjoyed this puzzle more than I usually enjoy kid’s puzzles – it was fun and so lovely to look at!

Melissa & Doug puzzles generally have very good quality. This puzzle did as well, thick pieces that fit together very nicely. All the pieces are what I call ballerinas 😉 , but there was enough variety in shape that it wasn’t difficult. I appreciate companies that make their children’s puzzles with such good quality. Puzzles are excellent for helping develop young minds; they are good for spatial awareness, fine motor skills, problem solving, self esteem and much more. Puzzles are great for young and old alike.

This would be an excellent puzzle for a little dancer in your life, I loved it! Definitely recommended. 👍

Review: Homage

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviewsLeave a comment
This post is sponsored by Puzzle Warehouse. 
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Homage by Danny Hahlbohm – Sunsout – 500 pieces

As soon as I saw this puzzle, I knew it was the one I wanted to review first. It’s visually stunning, and just makes me smile. Homage is a beautiful reminder that Christmas isn’t only about getting presents and acquiring things to make us happy.

Sunsout puzzles are of good quality in my opinion. They have thick, sturdy pieces that feel good in your hands and usually fit together well. The fit on this puzzle would make Goldilocks proud, I think it was just right! Their catalog is varied and interesting, and there are always plenty of Sunsout puzzles I would love to assemble (I especially love their Nene Thomas and Lori Schory collections). Click the link above to see all the Sunsout puzzles currently available at Puzzle Warehouse.

This puzzle went together quite fast for me, it was hard to walk away! The pieces fit together quite well, and the more I assembled the more fun it became. The trees in the upper left corner were the most challenging, but with the semi-random cut it was pretty easy to pick out the shapes I was looking for. A truly enjoyable puzzling experience that had me wishing for more pieces – it was over almost too quickly!

I absolutely recommend this puzzle; Christmas puzzles aren’t usually my thing but I really enjoyed this one. This is the time of year when people start buying puzzles for the family to work on together during holiday visits, or as gifts. If this puzzle isn’t quite your taste, click the link above to see the other Christmas puzzles currently in stock at Puzzle Warehouse. There are definitely plenty to choose from! 🙂

Details:

  • Title:                  Homage
  • Artist:                Danny Hahlbohm
  • Brand:               Sunsout
  • Piece count:     500 pieces
  • Size:                  Approx. 18 x 24 in. (46 x 61 cm)
  • Purchased:      n/a

Quality:

  • Board:               Excellent
  • Cutting:             Very good
  • Image:               Very good
  • Box:                   Average
  • Fit:                     Very good
  • Puzzle Dust:     Small amount
  • Piece cut:          Semi-random cut
  • Piece shapes:   Good variety
  • Finish:               Slightly shiny finish, lays flat

Overall Rating:      Very good, recommended

 

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