Review: Homage

On November 27, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviewsLeave a comment

This post is sponsored by Puzzle Warehouse.

Homage by Danny Hahlbohm – Sunsout – 500 pieces

As soon as I saw this puzzle, I knew it was the one I wanted to review first. It’s visually stunning, and just makes me smile. Homage is a beautiful reminder that Christmas isn’t only about getting presents and acquiring things to make us happy.

Sunsout puzzles are of good quality in my opinion. They have thick, sturdy pieces that feel good in your hands and usually fit together well. The fit on this puzzle would make Goldilocks proud, I think it was just right! Their catalog is varied and interesting, and there are always plenty of Sunsout puzzles I would love to assemble (I especially love their Nene Thomas and Lori Schory collections). Click the link above to see all the Sunsout puzzles currently available at Puzzle Warehouse.

This puzzle went together quite fast for me, it was hard to walk away! The pieces fit together quite well, and the more I assembled the more fun it became. The trees in the upper left corner were the most challenging, but with the semi-random cut it was pretty easy to pick out the shapes I was looking for. A truly enjoyable puzzling experience that had me wishing for more pieces – it was over almost too quickly!

I absolutely recommend this puzzle; Christmas puzzles aren’t usually my thing but I really enjoyed this one. This is the time of year when people start buying puzzles for the family to work on together during holiday visits, or as gifts. If this puzzle isn’t quite your taste, click the link above to see the other Christmas puzzles currently in stock at Puzzle Warehouse. There are definitely plenty to choose from! 🙂

Details:

Title: Homage
Artist: Danny Hahlbohm
Brand: Sunsout
Piece count: 500 pieces
Size: Approx. 18 x 24 in. (46 x 61 cm)
Purchased: n/a

Quality:

Board: Excellent
Cutting: Very good
Image: Very good
Box: Average
Fit: Very good
Puzzle Dust: Small amount
Piece cut: Semi-random cut
Piece shapes: Good variety
Finish: Slightly shiny finish, lays flat

Overall Rating: Very good, recommended

I received this product at no cost to facilitate this review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are truthful and 100% my own.

Review: My Sister’s Closet

On November 22, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews, Thrift Store Puzzles2 Comments

My Sister’s Closet by Tricia Reilly-Matthews – Sunsout – 300 pieces

I liked the quality and the image of this puzzle very much. Sunsout is hit or miss for me sometimes. We all have different things that are important to us in a puzzle, and sometimes the fit of Sunsout is too tight and (for me) it takes away from the enjoyment of puzzling. This 300 piece puzzle though, was a great fit and such a sweet image. 🙂

I don’t believe I’ve worked a puzzle by this artist before, she seems to capture the essence of children. I don’t know another way to explain it, you can tell looking at the little girls in this picture that the artist knows and loves children. Once I looked her up it all made sense, Tricia Reilly-Matthews teaches art to children from kindergarten to 5th grade – of course she paints children so well!

It’s amazing how tastes seem different depending on how much you have to spend on something. This image is very cute, but I don’t think I’d purchase it if I had to pay full price. It’s just not the type of image I’m most drawn to. But ask me to only pay 69 cents for it, and I’m there! Absolutely I’d love to do this puzzle! I wonder if that speaks more to my puzzle addiction, or to my tendency to be a tightwad/cheapskate?

Whichever is the answer, I’m glad mom found this puzzle to do, I enjoyed it very much!

Details:

Title: My Sister’s Closet
Artist: Tricia Reilly-Matthews
Brand: Sunsout
Piece count: 300 pieces
Size: Approx. 18 x 24 in. (46 x 61 cm)
Purchased: Used, thrift store

Quality:

Board: Very good
Cutting: Very good
Image: Excellent
Box: Average, quite large for a 300 piece puzzle
Fit: Very good
Puzzle Dust: Moderate amount
Piece cut: Grid cut
Piece shapes: Good variety
Finish: Slightly shiny finish, lays flat

Overall Rating: Very good, recommended

The Puzzle that Wrapped up Christmas

On November 20, 2017November 20, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews5 Comments

So now we’ve come to the end of my wooden puzzle “experiment”. This puzzle was the last of 5 companies that I’ve tried. I enjoyed this puzzle very much, even though I chose a puzzle from the extra difficult jigsaw page. I didn’t find it all that difficult to be honest, but it sure was fun! I’ll have a post soon regarding all the wooden puzzles, and what I’ve learned.

Wentworth Wooden Puzzles is a British company that has an excellent reputation for quality puzzles. They’re the last of the reasonably priced companies I could find, and their catalog is quite large. They have puzzles starting at what they call a micro-puzzle (30-40 pieces), all the way up to 1500 pieces. The price is on par with the other companies I’ve tried, and I’ve heard good things about their puzzles so I gave it a go (even though with shipping from the UK it was a bit more).

Most of their puzzles include whimsy pieces, but the majority of the cuts seem a bit “regular” to me; I had already gotten a puzzle with regular pieces so I definitely wanted something different. This led me to their extra difficult page where I found this interesting wrapping paper puzzle. I loved it! And, it has repetitive reindeer shaped pieces in addition to the repetitive image for more of a challenge – Merry Christmas to me! 🎄 Here’s the back of the puzzle so you can see the pieces…

The pieces are about half as thick as the pieces from the other companies I’ve tried, but somehow almost feel more dense. There seems to be a coating or backing applied to the back of the wood as well. Although the pieces are thinner, they are still quite sturdy and they still have that wonderful, satisfying plunk when they fall into place. It’s bliss. 🙂

I poured the pieces out of the bag and thought “What have I gotten myself into?” It was overwhelming to see so many similarly shaped pieces. But once I settled down and really looked at them, I could see small differences in the shapes which allowed me to sort the pieces with purpose. Once the sorting was done, I picked 2 pieces that went together and started building – it really wasn’t very difficult for me at all. I loved it!

I enjoyed this puzzle very much and thought their quality was excellent! I’m still looking forward to trying one of their regular puzzles to see if I like the cut. Perhaps soon I can review one of those regularly cut puzzles, maybe a micro-puzzle?

*I may or may not have gone completely off the rails and ordered more than 30 of their micro-puzzles. I cannot recall at this time your honor.* 😁

Details:

Title: The Puzzle that Wrapped up Christmas
Artist: iStock Photo
Brand: Wentworth Wooden Puzzles
Piece count: 300 pieces
Size: Approx. 14 x 11 in. (36 x 25 cm)
Purchased: New

Quality:

Board: 1/8″ wood
Cutting: Excellent
Image: Excellent
Box: Excellent – very sturdy box, pieces come in a fabric bag
Fit: Excellent
Puzzle Dust: None
Piece cut: Repetitive – extra challenging
Piece shapes: Repetitive – reindeer
Finish: Matte finish, lays flat

Overall Rating: Excellent, highly recommended

Review: Einstein’s Rainbow

On November 17, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews5 Comments

Einstein’s Rainbow by Edward Kinnally – Peaceful Wooden Puzzles – 260 pieces

O M G! I had the best time with this puzzle – look at those gorgeous colors! This is the fourth wooden puzzle brand I’ve tried, and oh dear – I loved this one too! Perhaps I should start playing the lotto in the hopes of being able to afford all of these puzzles I want.

Peaceful Wooden Puzzles has a beautiful catalog of images, and I adore the selections they have from this artist – Edward Kinnally. They’re a bit challenging, but colorful and interesting and a little “trippy”. Click the link to check out their website and the artists and images available. Also, when you order from their website you can choose the type of whimsies you would like – religious, universal, or none. I chose universal, you can see them best in the picture below. There are several flowers, an owl on a tree branch, a hummingbird, dragonfly, ladybug, maybe a swan, and a beautiful lady with a parasol…..

In addition, Puzzle Warehouse also carries this brand and you can order from their website too. This would be great for making sure your order is large enough to qualify for free shipping! 🙂

It will be no surprise that I thoroughly enjoyed this puzzle, the Victorian cut of the pieces and the stellar image made for a great afternoon of puzzling. This is definitely one I’ll be doing again and again. The image is so well-adhered to the wood that it almost looks like it’s been painted on. It’s such a great puzzle, I’m pretty pleased with myself for choosing this image. Way to go me!

If you’re looking for a special gift for a puzzler in your life, I would definitely recommend checking out Peaceful Wooden Puzzles by clicking either of the links above. Beautiful puzzles!

Details:

Title: Einstein’s Rainbow
Artist: Edward Kinnally
Brand: Peaceful Wooden Puzzles
Piece count: 260 pieces
Size: Approx. 10 x 12 in. (25 x 30 cm)
Purchased: New

Quality:

Board: 1/4″ wood
Cutting: Excellent
Image: Excellent – outstanding even!
Box: Excellent
Fit: Excellent
Puzzle Dust: None
Piece cut: Victorian/whimsies/very intricate
Piece shapes: Excellent variety
Finish: Matte finish, lays flat

Overall Rating: Excellent, highly recommended

Review: Tulip Field

On November 15, 2017November 15, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews7 Comments

Tulip Field – Sibbett Studio – 363 pieces

This was the third wooden puzzle I purchased, Sibbett Studio is the manufacturer. The company is run by the Sibbett family – Peter and Jeannie, and their 4 children in Washington state. They don’t maintain a website from what I found, but you can find their puzzles on Amazon; or if you’re in the area you may find them at a local market or fair.

As you can see by the picture, Sibbett puzzles are grid cut. I have to say, it was a little bit of a bummer for me. Part of the fun of wooden puzzles has been working with the wonderfully intricate and detailed whimsies, or even just crazy piece shapes. The Sibbett puzzle I worked with had the standard 6 different piece shapes of a grid cut. Many people prefer the standard shapes rather than a random cut; I even prefer it sometimes, on a cardboard puzzle. If you’re looking to purchase a wooden puzzle and you prefer the grid cut pieces, Sibbett Studio may have the right puzzle for you.

Piece cut aside, these puzzles are very well made. They use salvaged and re-purposed cedar, white fir, and maple logs, and they also construct the boxes the puzzles are stored in! The box design is patented and contains no hardware or glue.

The heft of the pieces is lovely, and even though they’re the same 1/4″ thickness as other wooden puzzles, they feel thicker. The images are all “handmade” as well, all are photographs taken by Peter Sibbett. There are plenty of wildlife, landscapes, and nature puzzles to choose from – or they can craft a puzzle for you from your own pictures.

These are well crafted, handmade wooden puzzles. I enjoyed the assembly, although there were a few times where pieces seemed to fit where they did not go, and there was the smallest bit of image lift on one of the pieces. Still, it is a lovely image and a well made puzzle!

Details: