Back to…. Basics!

On April 22, 2017May 18, 2023 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw PuzzlesLeave a comment

You’re probably tired of hearing me say this, but this puzzle was so fun! Pretty much most of the puzzles I do are enjoyable – because jigsaw puzzles are fun!! And as usual with a Wasgij puzzle I am not showing the entire image – no spoilers here!

It took longer than usual to finish this puzzle, most of the week was spent lying in bed and resting – but I buckled down and finally got it done. This Wasgij concept is Back to…. In these puzzles the box shows you a scene as it is today, and you have to puzzle what it would have been like back then – a time period of their choosing. For this particular image the box shows a family’s living room as it is today – people on cell phones, playing video games, on the computer, listening to an MP3 player, reading a tablet, etc. So what would this living room have looked like back in the 60’s? What kept everyone entertained before computers, cell phones and electronic games?

I love this concept, and I was excited to get going on this puzzle – of course it didn’t disappoint! (Tiny spoiler alert) My favorite thing about this puzzle was a small thing but it made me happy – they were playing a board game that looks like Parcheesi! My family and I love that game and I played it with the kids a LOT when they were younger. My daughter learned it so well that she became quite the shark and was ruthless when playing – her daddy taught her that! Anyway, it made me smile. 🙂

I enjoyed this assembly very much, in this particular image it was quite easy to pull out a section of color or pattern and put it together. One pattern leads to another and before you know it everything is connecting and coming together to form the entire image. The artwork by Neil Easton is well done with clean lines and lots of humor. And as usual the pieces are thick, fit together extremely well and have a matte finish with an almost waxy feel. Jumbo puzzles are some of the best out there – they’re right up there with Ravensburger in my opinion. I love them both!

I haven’t tried a Wasgij Mystery puzzle yet, so I think that may be the next one I try. I can’t wait to solve the mystery and puzzle what happens!

Stamp Collector’s Dream

On April 21, 2017May 18, 2023 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

Oh my goodness was this puzzle ever awesome! If you read this blog regularly (although not very many do) you know I love collage puzzles. I’ve been wanting this puzzle for a long time now, and mom found it at the thrift store. YESSSS!!!!

Unfortunately it is missing an edge piece in the lower left corner; but although a bummer, it did not diminish my enjoyment of this puzzle – love love loved it! This is like the matchbook collage, it’s like having a hundred little mini puzzles to assemble and connect. So fun, and so hard to walk away from! Charlie Girard does an awesome job with his collages, they’re always entertaining. 🙂

White Mountain isn’t currently selling this puzzle, but it is still available from some online retailers like Amazon and eBay – or you can see if it’s hanging around at a thrift store near you.

I finished this one in a day 😮 Good thing I can bring my small puzzle board into my bedroom so I can work on it while resting. I just can’t resist a collage, they’re so difficult to leave alone. One piece always leads to another and then you know you need to take a break, but the last piece you put in has a weird color or shape and you know exactly what piece goes there and you just have to remember where you saw it, and then, oh cool, this section connects over here and……………and then, uh, where did the day go?

Dancing Fairies

On April 19, 2017May 18, 2023 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles1 Comment

This puzzle I’d been looking at for a while now and it has been on my wish list for months! When I finally decided to go ahead and order myself some puzzles this was the first one to go in the shopping cart. I love this image!

I am also happy to report that it was as much fun to assemble as it is to look at. In just a few minutes the edge was put together and the moon was starting to come together. Surprisingly the fairies were easier to assemble than I thought they would be; there are slight differences in their dresses or the background behind them. I enjoyed this puzzle even more than I’d hoped!

This was a “premium quality” puzzle according to the box, but I don’t see the difference. It seems to me that all Jumbo puzzles are premium quality. Same excellent fit, image reproduction, thickness, etc. I didn’t notice that anything was particularly different than the other Jumbo puzzles I’ve worked. In my mind whether they say it or not every one of their puzzles is premium quality. 😎

It’s so nice for me to be able to sit down and lose myself in assembling a puzzle. There’s a dialogue I have in my head sometimes when I’m searching for a piece; or if someone is helping me there is banter back and forth about the puzzle or piece shape, etc.

It’s important, for me at least, to do something non-electronic. Everyone seems absorbed in their phones or tablets, or they sit and watch tv doing nothing. Not that any of those things are terrible, but I think it’s important to do other things as well. Have a conversation, read an actual book, learn to cook something, or sit down and use your hands and your brain and work on a jigsaw puzzle.

Just my two cents for the day. 🙂

Jiuzhaigou Park

On April 17, 2017May 18, 2023 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles4 Comments

That’s a name and a half, but also a gorgeous image and a enjoyable puzzle! I finished this one in an afternoon of watching Netflix and resting in bed. It was a bit of a challenge, but it worked out great and I think it’s a beautiful puzzle. 🙂

I haven’t done a Big Ben puzzle since I was little, I remember my grandmother having a Big Ben puzzle or two and working on them with her. I don’t really recall anything about the quality of the puzzles I did with my grandma, I just remember enjoying helping her. Big Ben puzzles have been around for a long time!

This is of course a newer Big Ben puzzle and the quality is excellent! I was surprised at how nice the pieces are, I saw the name Milton Bradley and assumed (incorrectly) that the quality would be lacking. The pieces are thick and sturdy with a beautiful image reproduction and matte finish. There are a variety of piece shapes and the fit was nice and tight without being difficult. I enjoyed the quality almost as much as I enjoyed the picture.

I assembled this puzzle from the middle out, which isn’t the way I normally do a puzzle. But for this picture I started from the sun behind the mountain and worked outward from there. The flowers in the foreground were the last thing I assembled – I usually leave the more plain sections for the end but for this puzzle I did most everything backward! It doesn’t really matter how I got there though, because I enjoyed the assembly and that’s what really counts. 🙂

Keep On Dancing

On April 15, 2017May 18, 2023 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles2 Comments

So I finally broke down and ordered myself some new puzzles – I haven’t bought any new ones for myself since I bought the giant Disney puzzle. They arrived a few days ago and I was so excited! It was like Christmas morning!

Something about this image made me happy, and it was the puzzle I wanted to assemble first. It was an excellent assembly! It was fun to pull out pieces for a specific dress and assemble them, and before I knew it all the beautiful dresses were done and the dance floor was full! This is one of those puzzles you can’t seem to walk away from and it’s done in no time at all. I love puzzles like that!

I’ve only ever done one Gibsons puzzle before, and it was a 1000 piece. I love the feel of the pieces; they’re thick and sturdy and make the puzzling a tactile experience that I can’t properly put into words. The quality is exceptional! I wasn’t aware when I ordered it that it was a 500 piece with the extra large pieces, so the finished puzzle was 27 x 19. A nice big puzzle that feels like quite an accomplishment. 🙂

There’s something about a large piece puzzle for me, I’m not sure what it is, but it seems like the assembly always goes much faster. Perhaps it’s a perception thing? “These pieces are really big, it shouldn’t take any time at all to finish this entire puzzle.” And then I prove myself right by staying with it until the assembly is complete. I’m not sure if that’s it, but I enjoy the large piece puzzles whatever the reason.

I had a great time with this assembly, the only downside is that it’s over already!

Also, I wanted to wish my puzzle “dealer” a very happy birthday! Thanks for all the thrift store shopping for great puzzles and great puzzle deals. Who else would have found a 4000 piece puzzle for $1.99? But most of all, thanks for working on puzzles with me and being the only person who actually wants to hear me talk about jigsaw puzzles as much as I do, and in general just being your awesome self. Love you mom! 😉