Category: Miscellaneous

Happy 10th Anniversary My Jigsaw Journal!

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzling, Miscellaneous17 Comments

Ten years of jigsaw puzzles, I almost can’t believe it! And all from wanting to do a GIANT jigsaw puzzle and document it online for my friends and family. Just….wow.

So when I realized that this year would be the 10th anniversary of the blog, I mentioned it in passing to my bestest puzzle pal, Penny. We talked about how we’ve been friends for over nine years because we met right here at My Jigsaw Journal and ended up trading emails, then phone numbers, then we started trading and gifting puzzles to each other – but we’d never met. We live in the same state, just under two hours away from each other, but it never worked out for us to get together.

Until now, of course! 😎

Penny and I talked about how I started the blog because I was working on the world’s largest (at the time) commercially available puzzle and I wanted to keep family and friends updated on my progress. By starting the blog I could update every day, and whoever was interested could read when and if they wanted to – that way I wouldn’t bore people or become completely annoying talking to them about something they weren’t really interested in. Penny then earned her title of The Vice-President of Enabling by telling me that Trefl has some new very large piece count puzzles, including ones with Disney images; and wouldn’t it be great for the 10th anniversary of the blog to start another great big Disney puzzle just like I did ten years ago?

Wouldn’t it be great? Hmmm….

This of course led to checking out the puzzles online and of course they were adorable, and before you know it there were a couple of very BIG puzzles on their way to my house. Penny and I decided that we were both going to start working on this new puzzle at the same time, and that when we got together we’d each have our puzzles to show off and take pictures with. So before you see any of those pictures, here’s the new puzzle we’re starting today…

Golden Age of Disney – Trefl – 13,500 pieces

Ain’t she a beauty?? It reminds me of Disney’s Memorable Moments, mostly because of the separate sections with different movies or characters shown, and the fact that there are even twinklies in the background! (If you were here at the beginning you’ll know what that means 😉)

Just because I can, I’m going to brag a little…here’s me on top of my giant puzzle from 2016. It took me six months to complete it all, but I’m immensely proud of the accomplishment; and it’s the whole reason I started My Jigsaw Journal – so my friends and family could watch me put it together online.

Memorable Disney Moments – Ravensburger – 40,320 pieces

The new puzzle is not nearly as big as that giant one that had me going “temporarily” bonkers ten years ago🥴, but it’s still pretty darn big and I’m almost as excited to start this one as I was the enormous Disney from a decade ago. This new puzzle is in more easily digestible chunks – 1,500 pieces per section as opposed to 4,032 pieces on the larger one. That’s a huge difference for me, and the sections are small enough that each one would even fit on my white board if that’s where I wanted to work on it. With the previous puzzle I had to work each section on my BIG board (5 ft x 4 ft,) because they were colossal sections. Mostly though, I’m very happy to only have to sort through only 1,500 pieces for each section, that’s the best part of all! (Sorting really helps me with the way I puzzle, but it also needs a big straw, which is to say…it sucks.)

I love the images, I love everything about this new puzzle except for one thing. The little booklet that comes with this puzzle tells you that if you want to connect everything together you have to remove rows of pieces from each section so that they all connect into one puzzle. Uh….no thank you. What’s going to happen is I am just going to put each completed section where it goes and take a picture of it that way. I already know what a chore it is to assemble and connect an extremely large piece puzzle, there’s no way in hell I’ll be disassembling part of it just to take a damn picture. The way it’s described in the booklet says the puzzle has 13,500 pieces, but if you’ll be assembling and connecting it their way the finished puzzle would be 12,556 pieces. Nope. No thanks. Not going to happen.

I can’t speak to how Penny will be connecting or photographing hers, but my pictures will just be sections set next to each other. And since I’m not technically connecting them they could be put in any order or shape I’d like; it doesn’t have to be a three by three square/rectangle, it could be one long row, etc.

So when Penny and I were finally able to meet for the very first time I brought my new giant puzzle and we took a few pictures. If you’ve been here long enough you know I’m not a fan of me being in any photos, especially online, but I made an exception here for the anniversary post…

We’re both going to be starting this big puzzle at the same time, but since she has younger kids, a job, and a life I have a feeling that I might be the one who finishes first. Doesn’t matter though, it’s still going to be fun!

It took nine years of emails, texts, and talking in the comments of the blog before we finally met and I’m so very glad that we did. It was a whole big deal for me involving several days away from home, my daughter had to take the day off work in order to drive me, etc. I normally don’t do much that’s just for me, but this time it was important. So all the arrangements were made several months in advance and we were finally able to get together. Our visit was only for a few hours, but completely worth all the fuss!

Ten years of this blog – it’s brought me many things. Best of all is friends from all around the world, and this one specifically that is so close to home. She’s my bestest puzzle pal and the only one in my life, really, who is always down to talk about puzzles (or anything, honestly). Everything and anything puzzle related she’s ready to listen, talk, share pictures – whatever we feel like doing. I’m so glad we found each other here. 💚🧩

There have been hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of puzzles here (about 1,451 actually, with a grand total of 735,306 pieces assembled so far) and many, many comments and conversations about all things puzzle and beyond. Yep. I checked that too. Of course I did – 7,972 comments!

I’ve found fellow puzzle bloggers from Finland and Germany and Russia that I’ve traded many emails and puzzles with, and fellow puzzlers and PADS sufferers from around the globe who love to talk puzzles with me. I’m so glad to be in this community of people who are so kind, considerate, compassionate, and giving. We puzzle nerds are the best, even if I do say so myself! I am most definitely a proud puzzle geek. 🧩🤓

So Happy Anniversary to My Jigsaw Journal! I never thought I’d be doing this for so long, but here we are. We’ve puzzled and shared and laughed and cried together, all of us. And it means to world to me, you have no idea. 💕💖💕

Have You Heard of Puzzle Chess?…

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzling, Miscellaneous11 Comments

A couple of months ago I learned about puzzle chess when I was doing some online window shopping for puzzles; I saw that Cobble Hill has a line of 100 piece jigsaw puzzles specifically designed to be perfect for the game of puzzle chess. Being intrigued, and loving to read and see and know as much about my beloved jigsaw puzzles as I can, of course I had to check it out.

I learned it’s a very simple game, the rules are few and easy to learn and anyone can have a game up and running in no time at all. So of course I wanted to play it, because it sounded to me like lots of fun – and I finally got the chance to play it last Friday with my bestest puzzle pal Penny when we met together for the first time. Wanna know something? I had a really good time and loved playing it with her, so I’m excited to tell all my tens of readers about it!

How long has puzzle chess been around? I have no idea. Like I said I only heard about it for the first time a few months ago. If you’re someone who participates in competitions you’ve probably seen it played, or at least know about it as there are competitions for it right alongside the regular puzzle competitions. The USA Jigsaw Puzzle Association has it’s rules and game play instructions on it’s website, so anyone can learn and play. Interested?

Want to learn puzzle chess? Here’s what you’ll need – a jigsaw puzzle, 200 pieces or less works best, a chess timer (or a chess timer app on your phone), and paper or something to cover up the pieces. Penny and I didn’t cover the pieces, but I’m telling you that’s part of the rules according to the JPA. Apparently the game can be one on one, or two versus two. Whatever you like.

To get ready turn all the pieces face up, separate the border pieces and cover the rest. Assemble the border together. Now you’re ready to begin. Place the chess clock where all players can reach it and set it for 30 minutes for each player or team. Whoever has the most time remaining when the puzzle is finished wins; or if your timer runs out before your opponent, you lose.

The rules (according to the JPA) are as follows:

  • Uncover the pieces, the first person to find a piece that connects to the border places it and hits their timer to start the clock
  • Players alternate placing pieces, all pieces must connect to an already placed piece or the border
  • You may only touch one loose piece at a time
  • Once a piece has been placed, stop your timer which starts your opponent’s timer
  • You may touch or try as many pieces as you want on your turn

So that’s it basically, five rules, a puzzle and a timer are all you need to play. Does it sound like fun? I thought so, so when Penny and I were making plans to meet for the first time ever I told her I’d love to try it with her. She agreed, and then I found an adorable 100 piece Halloween themed puzzle that was perfect for it.

Here we are, playing Puzzle Chess for the first time. It didn’t matter who won, we had a good time playing and that’s what was important to us. Neither of us are built for speed puzzling, that’s for sure. Being under the gun or the timer – it’s too much stress! Just a little bit of fun and a different way to puzzle, and happily we both enjoyed ourselves.

So that’s the game of Puzzle Chess. I think it would be a great game to play with anyone – a child, a senior, your partner, anyone who enjoys jigsaw puzzles basically. I’m definitely going to try and get hubby and my son interested, I think they’d enjoy it too. I’d better watch out though, they’re both WAAAAYYY more competitive than I am.

Still, it should be fun, and having fun spending time with my loved ones is what it’s all about. 💖

Dog Lovers In Progress…

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzling, Miscellaneous8 Comments

Dog Lovers by Anderson Design Group – MasterPieces – 1000 pieces

There hasn’t been too much work on this one, unfortunately. It’s been a rough week for me and I’m just hanging on and doing the best I can. Most of the week has been spent in bed, and yesterday wasn’t much different. I did make myself get in front of a puzzle though, because I knew I needed a puzzle to show you for today’s post. I’ll get my mojo back, I’m sure. I just need some rest.

This is post number 2000 here on My Jigsaw Journal. Can you believe it?!? Me neither! I should have gotten here a few years ago, but I’m known to take a break or two (sometimes for more than a year at a time). That’s alright, all good things happen in their own time, don’t they?

I wish I had something other than an in progress post for you today, but I don’t. There weren’t any plans to commemorate post 2000 and by the time I realized it there wasn’t time to plan much so I figured it would just be like any other day.

When you think about it though, the time it takes to write up that many blog posts – my goodness, I should be so proud of myself! (If you knew how many times I go back over them before posting to be sure there aren’t spelling or grammatical mistakes, you’d ask me if I was currently being medicated for my OCD *I’m not*)

Happy 2000th post to My Jigsaw Journal, and happy puzzling to us all! 🧩💚

Shopping Anyone?

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzling, Miscellaneous5 Comments

Just a few of my Wentworth Mini Puzzles…

I normally don’t do this, but I just had to share this with you all in case you enjoy wooden puzzles and have some of your puzzle budget burning a hole in your pocket…Wentworth is having a sale!

Sales happen all the time, I know; but this sale literally made me get up out of bed as soon as I saw it to get to my computer to make a purchase. My son brought me the mail as I was resting and watching tv, and I noticed a Wentworth catalog. I was absentmindedly looking through it while continuing to watch my program when I came upon the page with Harry Potter puzzles. Many of them are quite interesting looking but they didn’t excite me that much – until I saw that they were all 70% off!

Every single Harry Potter puzzle that Wentworth makes is at this moment 70% off, while supplies last. I didn’t want to take the chance that any of them would be sold out so I hopped out of bed, grabbed my wallet and immediately went puzzle shopping. 🛒💸

Wooden jigsaw puzzles aren’t for everyone, I know, but just in case this might be for you I thought I’d let you know about the sale. I have not, nor will I receive any money for promoting them, and this post isn’t sponsored by Wentworth. This is just one excited puzzle geek letting my fellow PADS Posse members know that if they were interested in Harry Potter or wooden jigsaw puzzles – or both – that they might want to check out Wentworthpuzzles.com. In case Harry Potter isn’t your style there are also many select puzzles on sale for 10 or 20% off, there are lots to browse through.

If you aren’t interested in buying any of these puzzles, that’s okay. I bought 9 of the 14 different Harry Potter images that were available, so you’ll be seeing some of them here soon enough.🧙‍♂️

What I’ve Been Doing

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzling, Miscellaneous6 Comments

Once I came back to the puzzle table after my two year hiatus, in addition to working on jigsaw puzzles I’ve been re-reading through the blog. Every. Single. Post.

I started at the beginning in September of 2016 when I received the enormous box containing the Memorable Disney Moments puzzle with 40,320 pieces and kept reading right on through. Of course it was way too many posts to read in one sitting, and when it was too painful to sit in a chair putting puzzles together I would take my computer and read through old posts in bed. It was nice to refamiliarize myself with all the puzzles I’ve done, read all about what fantastic puzzles mom would find at the thrift stores and how much fun we had working on them together, and to read through all the many moods of me. (Apparently when Stacey is p*ssed off she can be VERY funny!😈)

And even though I had just read through the entire blog my memory isn’t what it used to be. I was thinking about all my mini puzzles; which ones I had already done and which ones were yet to be assembled. So one very early morning when sleep eluded me I went through all my Wentworth mini puzzles and all my MicroPuzzles to see which ones had already been completed and which ones I had yet to do. My memory can’t be trusted so I used the blog to search for each image to be certain whether or not a particular title had been posted about. I was shocked to find that there were only five Wentworths that I haven’t done – but even more shocking there were FORTY MicroPuzzles that needed some puzzle love!

The picture above is just some of the MicroPuzzles that still need to be assembled. I was a member of the subscription service, and even when I stopped puzzling for a while the mini puzzles kept right on coming through the mail. At some point I had to replace my debit card and the subscription service stopped. (I’m kicking myself now that I didn’t take care of keeping the subscription going when that happened, because now MicroPuzzles has ended their subscription service and all those fantastic images that were unique to subscribers only are gone forever.😥)

Anyway, now all the mini puzzles that need assembling are back in the puzzle room where they belong. Hubby did some work in there while I was away from the blog, and moved all my puzzles around. I had a system, and he bleeped it up! I had shelves for puzzles that were yet to be assembled, piles and boxes of puzzles to be donated, some that were being sent to Penny, and now I don’t know what’s what anymore. All the puzzles are on new shelving units in my walk-in closet, and I’m going to end up having to take my computer in there to check which puzzles I’ve done and which still need putting together. Many of them I know for sure whether or not they’ve been done, but there are even MORE that I have no idea whether or not it’s been assembled yet and I’ll have to check the titles against the blog posts to see what’s what.

So in addition to assembling puzzles, writing up posts, and window shopping for new puzzles online I’ll have to slowly go through all the puzzles that are here and figure out which group they belong in. I’m actually looking forward to it though (just don’t tell hubby); it’s kind of nice to take a trip down memory lane every once in a while. And I’m certain I’ll find some great puzzles that I forgot I had!