The Village Hall

On May 22, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw PuzzlesLeave a comment

I was in the mood for a Ravensburger puzzle, and this one looked like fun – it was! Again, I don’t take a picture of the entire puzzle because I don’t want to ruin the fun for anyone. So much of the enjoyment I get from puzzles like this is working out what’s going on and who goes where. I don’t want to spoil someone else’s fun!

In this puzzle, the caretaker at Grimley Hall is certain his new booking system is foolproof. But what if he didn’t take enough care and what if the Hall were double booked, or worse? As usual the result is comical and makes for a great puzzle.

Sometimes I’m just in the mood for a puzzle with quality I know will be excellent and I can just chill out and have fun with the assembly. Ravensburger is always available for that! This puzzle was no different and it was nice to sit down and get lost in the puzzle and tune out the world, even if only for a few minutes at a time. The pieces just feel good in your hand and you can put your mind in puzzle gear and not think about anything else.

As usual the art of Geoff Tristam is excellent and funny with bright colors and clean lines, and humor that I love. Also if you’re not familiar with the What If puzzles, on the back of each box is a blurb about the artist and he’s dressed up for a picture relating to the puzzle. On the back of this box he’s dressed up like the caretaker and he even has a ledger for bookings! I adore cartoon puzzles, and Geoff Tristam’s artwork is some of the best. 🙂

I highly recommend trying the What If puzzles. The quality is exceptional, the artwork is excellent and it’s wonderful exercise for your brain.

Bears! Bears! Bears!

On May 20, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

I had high hopes for this puzzle, but unfortunately the quality was lacking in my opinion. The previous cork-backed puzzle I assembled had excellent quality and was quite fun to assemble. This puzzle, while fun, was not of the same superior quality. The cork backing was coming off a large number of pieces and there was image lift on the top as well. Disappointing, I enjoyed the previous Ceaco puzzle with cork on the back and was hoping for another interesting Ceaco with exceptional quality. 😐

Ceaco has some great artists working with them and I love the images on some of their puzzles, but I wish the quality were better. Even just a little bit more thickness of the pieces would make a huge difference. Or perhaps a little more consistency would be welcome, how can the quality be so radically different between the two puzzles?

This image from Jane Wooster Scott is adorable, and the assembly was fun. You can see especially in the sky that there were whimsies in this puzzle – and there were a few where several pieces put together formed an animal or object. If you look at the lower left side of the house you can see where four pieces fit together to form a horse! Interesting to me as well was the fact that there were two different breeds of dog, you could easily tell each one; there was the distinctive silhouette of a poodle, and also a cocker spaniel which is easy to recognize.

I’ve enjoyed all the interesting puzzles mom has found at the thrift stores – there have been puzzles backed with cork or velvet, “talking” jigsaw puzzles, interesting 3D puzzles, new puzzle companies we’d never heard of before, puzzles made of foam, educational puzzles, etc. It’s always fun to try something new and see whether or not it’s enjoyable. I try to always give a new puzzle a chance, because you never know what awesome new experience could be around the next corner piece! 😉

Jungle Colors

On May 19, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

This puzzle looked so cool that mom bought it from the thrift store knowing the quality wouldn’t be amazing. It is a stunning image and made for a challenging assembly at times, but we enjoyed it which is what matters most.

Alas, as sometimes happens with thrift store puzzles, a piece was missing. Bummer, but it was still a fun assembly even with the sameness of the pieces (they were all ballerinas) 😐 Oh well, a good time was had by all!

I’d love to find more puzzles with images from this artist. The colors she chooses are gorgeous and the fact that everything is outlined in white made for an extremely interesting assembly. They’re striking and would be good glued and framed as art, at least I think so.

3D Underwater Puzzle

On May 17, 2017May 18, 2023 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

This kid’s puzzle is very interesting! The puzzle itself is 21 pieces, but there are 14 extra pieces that you stick into the puzzle after it is assembled. I’ve never seen anything like it. The pieces themselves were very thick and sturdy, which is always a good thing for a child’s puzzle, and you can see from the picture the colors are bright and cheery.

It’s quite an interesting take on a 3D puzzle, I never would have thought of it. You assemble the puzzle first, and where a matching loose piece is to be inserted there is a small slit. Each animal is represented along with seashells, seaweed, and a treasure chest.

I’ll be very interested to see how my “grandson” feels about this puzzle and if he enjoys the concept and the extra pieces. Although I’m sure he will want to keep his younger brother away from them, because brother likes to walk around sucking on puzzle pieces. I think he knows how much it annoys his big brother!

This is another of mom’s interesting thrift store finds – 75 cents! The box it comes in is written entirely in German and I couldn’t find a manufacturer’s name anywhere; I searched on the internet and couldn’t find the puzzle itself either. It’s a mystery!

Family Farm

On May 15, 2017May 18, 2023 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

This is a very cute puzzle that was definitely worth the 59 cents paid for it! 🙂

I’m enjoying the smaller piece count puzzles; it feels like an accomplishment to finish a puzzle the same day you start it. Little victories, right? If it makes me happy, then that’s what matters.

Bits and pieces, not my favorite brand, but this puzzle quality was pretty good. It seems hit or miss with this company, at least for me; and we only buy this brand from thrift stores where we can check out the pieces prior to purchase. This one was not a problem at all, and quite fun! Mom and I finished it in no time. 🙂

Very random cut as you can see, which made us pay attention – some of those pieces were HUGE! It’s a very cute image and I would definitely do other puzzles by the same artist – Mary Thompson. It reminds me of the area where I grew up – farms and cows and tractors – oh my!

The large piece puzzles make it seem easy sometimes and I think it adds fun – though that’s only my opinion. I love getting wrapped up in a big puzzle that takes a while, but it’s also enjoyable to sit down with a friend or loved one and put together a puzzle that doesn’t seem too difficult. They’re both great in their own way which is why puzzling is great for young and old; any age group or any difficulty. Bring it on!