1980’s Montage

On September 15, 2023September 13, 2023 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles2 Comments

1980’s Montage by Eduard – Wentworth – 250 pieces

This was an EXTREMELY entertaining puzzle to assemble, and we all worked on it – sister and brother-in-law, hubby, and myself all had a hand in putting this one together. It’ll be no surprise that we all loved it. Who doesn’t love the wild and colorful 80’s?

From boomboxes and video games to our favorite hair bands and the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man – this was a great image to work with. At 250 pieces it was just the right amount of challenging, and we all enjoyed working together to get it assembled.

The whimsies in this one were so much fun to look through! A Polaroid camera, an outfit with big shoulder pads, a DeLorean, a cassette tape, and even a Casio watch – they were all perfect for this puzzle.

I was a little too old for Strawberry Shortcake in the 80s, but this section with the bright colors was one of my favorites to assemble.

Polly Pocket. This is another toy from the 80s that I never really got into or played with, but I took this picture because it brings to mind my mom. She was the best grama in the world (although she was named Meema by her oldest grandchild and that is what she was called forever after) and she took being a great Meema very seriously. She loved having fun toys for all the grandkids to play with, and she kept a big bucket of Polly Pocket toys for all the grandchildren to enjoy. There was something about the tiny little dolls and their houses and accessories that all the girls (and some of the boys) loved to play with, and Meema loved playing with them too. She was a big kid at heart, and she loved having these little tiny toys for her grandbabies. She was awesome. 💗

I’m so glad I took this puzzle with us on vacation, we all had a wonderful time assembling it, and it brought back so many memories of our youth. In my head the 1980’s doesn’t seem that long ago at all, but then when you do the math and realize the 80s started more than FORTY years ago – yikes! Where did all the time go?!?

Beneath the Waves

On September 13, 2023September 13, 2023 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw PuzzlesLeave a comment

Beneath the Waves by Lauren Altes – Mr. Bob Puzzles – 40 pieces

Please forgive the wonky pictures in this one, I have no excuse other than possibly exhaustion from all the travel. This is the first of the puzzles from our recent visit to Michigan, so get ready for a week or so of beautiful (mostly) wooden puzzles assembled by me and the new additions to my puzzle posse

Still, isn’t this a bright and beautiful little puzzle? It was so nice to sit and talk while my sister-in-law made dinner and I put this colorful mini puzzle together. (I did offer to help with the cooking, but sometimes the most helpful thing you can do is stay out of someone’s way – that was the case on this particular evening.)

It didn’t take much concentration, the colors and the whimsy pieces helped to make this one pretty simple to put together – but it was still nice to work with even as easy as it was.

It seems these were just a generic set of whimsies, they didn’t really match the artwork at all. But that’s ok with me, it was still lots of fun.

The artist, Lauren Altes, also did the artwork for the puzzle that Mr. Bob Puzzles was commissioned to do for the National Breast Cancer Foundation of Australia in 2021- Look After Your. I loved her sense of humor, the colors, the composition; it made for a fantastic assembly and for such a good cause too.

I’ll have to check the rest of my Mr. Bob Puzzles here at the house and see if there are any more by this artist, I enjoy her work very much!

Slow Day

On September 12, 2023September 12, 2023 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles2 Comments

Slow Day by Charles Wysocki – Buffalo – 300 pieces

A quick little puzzle with a wonderfully quaint Wysocki image – it was a joy to put together. I always enjoy the artwork of Charles Wysocki, even more so if it isn’t the typical town scene. This one has only one building and is a more close up view than most of his artwork that I’ve seen.

The quality was excellent, with no bent pieces and an exceptional fit. Truly a wonderful puzzle to assemble.

I wish I had more to say about this one, but it was just a lovely assembly of an excellent quality puzzle. It was thoroughly enjoyable from the first piece to the very last.💚

Magical Journey

On September 10, 2023July 26, 2023 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles6 Comments

Magical Journey by Jan Patrick Krasney – MasterPieces – 300 pieces

My youngest son picked this puzzle out when we were at the bookstore, and he did a good job – it was much more difficult than it looks! Of course it could be that I finished up the last 100 pieces or so at 2 am, perhaps lack of sleep was the challenge, not the image. 😫🛏

I think the only reason he picked out this puzzle was the fact that it has an owl in it, and he’s been obsessed with them for quite a while now. Whatever the reason, it was more entertaining than I thought it would be for an image that I don’t think I would have chosen for myself.

The quality was excellent, and that is not something I usually say about a MasterPieces puzzle; they’re in the middle tier of puzzle companies in my opinion. But this puzzle was all around excellent: thick pieces that fit together very well, an excellent variety of piece shapes, and a crisp and clear image reproduction. It’s the second MasterPieces in a row that was such good quality, I was duly impressed!

If your eyesight is good enough you can read what’s on these postcards.

Did anyone notice the puzzle pieces when you first looked at the completed puzzle? I certainly didn’t. It didn’t register with me until I was sorting the pieces; I had to look at the box image again and see where they were.

One my favorite type of pictures to take. The fit was so good with this one that it stands up on it’s own. Truly, a wonderful all around quality puzzle that I enjoyed very much. 😍

Bluebells

On September 9, 2023July 26, 2023 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles4 Comments

Bluebells – Wentworth (Mini Mindful) – 40 pieces

As beautiful as this image is, I have to say this Mini Mindful was a bit disappointing for me. All of the other puzzles in this line that I’ve done have had tessellating pieces, or a repeating pattern of interestingly shaped pieces – this seemed just like a regular micro puzzle from Wentworth.

There’s not a thing wrong with Wentworth’s micro puzzles, but I was hoping for more of a challenge with the Mini Mindful; one that makes you really focus because it’s more difficult than a “regular” puzzle. This is just my opinion of course, but that’s what this blog is – my opinions about the puzzles I assemble.