Category: Jigsaw Puzzles

Typefaces

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles6 Comments

Typefaces by Hugo Maciel – Ravensburger – 500 pieces

This interesting image was much more difficult than I thought it would be, but still loads of fun! The artwork looks like it was done in crayon or something other than digital or paint. It took me a bit to get used to it, but I found the challenge intriguing and completely captivating.

It was great quality, of course, it’s a Ravensburger. The feel of the pieces, the fit, the variety in piece shapes, the image reproduction – all wonderful. I expect nothing less, and they absolutely delivered.

Typefaces is the title, because if you look at each face you’ll see that each represents a letter of the English alphabet. Sometimes it isn’t the whole face, parts of it are shaded so that only part of the face forms the letter – it’s really quite ingenious if you ask me. It took me a minute when I first looked at it to actually see the letters, and when I did of course I had to have it. Plus, it’s a collage, and you know how much I adore them.

There was something about the color-blocked background in this section, I really enjoyed putting it together.

You can see how the background looks very different than the usual brush strokes or digital color. It made it more difficult at times, but sometimes difficult is fun. 😎

Love

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles4 Comments

Love – MicroPuzzles – 150 pieces

Happy Mother’s Day to all moms and dads out there! I knew when I received this in my monthly MicroPuzzles subscription box that it was definitely the best puzzle I had on hand here at the house for Mother’s Day this year; and so I got right down to it in order to be ready for the “holiday”.

I knew the border would have to go last on this one. The letters were not easy, but they were much easier than all the white hearts, dots, and swoops – and definitely easier than that border! Still, it’s a beautiful puzzle, isn’t it?

My only request every Mother’s Day is always that I don’t have to take care of anyone or make any decisions. I don’t need gifts or breakfast in bed, those things just aren’t me.

My kids have all been adults now for well over a decade, and both my injury and my anxiety make it so that having them take me out to a restaurant for a meal isn’t pleasant for me. I’d much prefer to stay home, have my kids tell me they love me, and make sure that I don’t have to cook dinner. (I’m a cheap date!)

I hope your day is wonderful, and that all of my PADS Posse friends out there get to spend today doing something you love, or spending time with those you love. I appreciate all of you that hang out with me here every day – it’s truly a blessing to have so many puzzle pals. ❤

Happy puzzling my friends!

Puppyness*

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

Puppyness* – Re-marks – 100 pieces

A cute, quick, good quality puzzle that was a welcome break from larger piece counts. And I just couldn’t resist that adorable puppy face! Like many smaller puzzles this one had no title; I wasn’t feeling overly creative when I started typing up this post, so the name is just puppyness. That’s all I see when I look at this image, the sweet puppyness of that expression. 💖

I find that many smaller piece count puzzles are quite expensive to purchase new, so usually I get them from swaps with other puzzlers or thrift stores. I don’t mind spending a dollar or two for a 100 piece puzzle, but unless it’s a truly amazing image I don’t purchase them new. I’m a tightwad sometimes, and proud of it!

Authors

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles6 Comments

Authors – Re-marks – 1000 pieces

I knew this puzzle would be entertaining the moment I saw it, but I enjoyed it even more than I thought I would. The random cut was a change from the usual grid cut that most manufacturers prefer for their puzzles. It usually takes my brain a few minutes to adjust to the difference in how the pieces fit together, but once I’m there it’s a nice break from the way my brain normally works in putting together grid cut puzzles.

Other than a slightly loose fit this lovely collage was excellent quality. Re-marks puzzles can be hit or miss sometimes, but they have so many interesting and beautiful collages in their catalog that I cannot help myself and buy them anyway. I put up with issues because the images are absolutely my pile of pieces, and most of them cannot be found with any other puzzle brand.

My favorite of the sections to put together. Lewis Carroll isn’t my favorite author, but I enjoyed the assembly of this section the most.

All along the edges were books by the authors in the image. You can read titles, author’s names, and even publishers on them all – you can even see the rips in the dust jacket on this book. Clear, crisp reproduction all the way around.

There were only two authors on more than one stamp, J.W. von Goethe and Charles Dickens. I’m not sure why they, above everyone else, deserved a double dose – but there you have it. I suppose whomever put this collage together would have had their own ideas about which authors were more important.

If you had been in charge, who would have gotten extra space?

Story of the Lion

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles6 Comments

Story of the Lion by Amanda Michele – Sure Lox – 300 pieces

This puzzle is absolutely beautiful, but was not fun to assemble at all. It’s such a disappointment though, I really wanted to enjoy this one!

Sure Lox is much better than it used to be, with thicker pieces and a better fit: not these special editions though, it was NOT fun to work with. Adding whimsy pieces to cardboard puzzles never works the way people would hope – when things don’t connect they are constantly shifting all around and you are perpetually moving them back to where they go. It can be unbelievably frustrating – and it was.

In addition, this puzzle doesn’t lay flat – the whimsy pieces especially. As they don’t connect to anything they stick up out of the puzzle in places. Extremely annoying.

There are 75 whimsies out of 300 pieces, that’s a lot. And in this instance it isn’t a compliment. Some were huge, some small as the average puzzle piece. I found it a bit too much. Theater, if you will. Look at us, we can make fun shapes out of cardboard! Did it make for an entertaining puzzle? Nope.

Some of the pieces you can see come in different sizes, those I stacked up to be able to take the picture without using my entire board. The only one that’s image-side up is the shape of Africa; if it were turned around it would look like a bizzarro-world African continent.

Unfortunately this puzzle was not enjoyable, and I wouldn’t recommend it. Even at only 300 pieces it was difficult and cumbersome – and for me it was just annoying.