Review: Big World

On October 21, 2019October 21, 2019 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews5 Comments

If I’m being honest I’d tell you I was a little bit scared to start this puzzle. Look at the image, it’s gorgeous – but I didn’t know where I would begin. Once I started sorting the pieces though, I found a few sections to pull out and start with; when they were assembled it didn’t seem so daunting to keep going and filling in from there. Sometimes I have to just jump in and get myself going, most of the time it’s never as difficult as I think. 🙂

Milton Bradley puzzles seem to have improved their quality quite a bit, I was thoroughly impressed with this puzzle and it’s quality. The pieces are on the smaller side, but not too much so. They had a good hand feel, fit together quite well, and had a very good variety of shapes. The image reproduction is excellent and did the artwork justice in my opinion, the colors are beautiful with no blurriness or fuzzy areas. Overall a very good quality puzzle.

Big World 1

There’s just something about peacocks, they make for wonderful puzzle images. This one is beautiful, and I wish the picture did it justice. It was one of the first things I assembled after the edges and even though there weren’t many pieces to it, it gave me a great sense of accomplishment.

Big World 2

This flying fish balloon and the ship below it – great fun to put together! The use of colors by Ciro Marchetti brings to mind images by Aimee Stewart – both artists produce absolutely gorgeous artwork. This one especially has a dreamy quality, a fantasy image that makes no sense but definitely looks like a world you’d want to visit (or at least I would).

I’ve been a little obsessed with assembling panoramic puzzles lately. It’s much easier on your back to not have to reach so far to put pieces in at the top; having the entirety of the puzzle very close to you is somehow comforting and I am completely enjoying working with them. I only have one more panoramic here in my stash, I guess that means I might have to arrange a shopping trip – these puzzles are good for my mental health.

Big World was more fun than I expected and had much better quality than I anticipated. If you’ve got a long enough workspace to assemble a panoramic puzzle this one is absolutely recommended – two peacock tails way up! 🦚🦚

Details:

Title: Big World
Artist: Ciro Marchetti
Brand: Milton Bradley
Piece count: 750 pieces
Size: Approx. 11 x 34 in. (27 x 86 cm)
Purchased: New

Quality:

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

Overall Rating: Very good, recommended

Review: Pets Rock

On October 13, 2019October 13, 2019 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews4 Comments

Pets Rock is actually the second puzzle in this series of three that I’ve done, and they all have the same name. They’re highly entertaining (at least they are for me), and go together quite quickly. I very much enjoyed this assembly, and it was the perfect puzzle to help get my puzzle mojo back after more than a week of no puzzling.

Ceaco isn’t a favorite brand; I find that sometimes the quality is quite lacking and sometimes it’s very good – there’s no consistency. The pieces of this puzzle were on the thin side, and had a tendency to bend. They fit together well though, there were a variety of shapes, and the image reproduction was very good. There was a lot of puzzle dust, so much so that I had to vacuum the puzzle board when I was done. A bit annoying, but for the most part didn’t detract from the assembly. Ceaco has a large and interesting catalog of images though, and some are too cute or gorgeous for me to pass up.

I didn’t enjoy the image as much as the first Pets Rock that I assembled; most likely because I’m now a little old lady, and I prefer the personalities that I know and relate to. Elvis, David Bowie, and Michael Jackson are more my style than Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber, and Katy Perry. Personalities aside, having six sections that are easily sorted and assembled is easy and entertaining. I started with kitty Katy Perry – that blue hair stood out and was fun to put together.

Even though the pieces weren’t the thickest and tended to bend a little, the assembly was quick, fun, and extremely entertaining. If the image is to your liking, it’s definitely recommended. I don’t think a puzzle has to be premium quality in order for you to enjoy it – and I absolutely had a great time putting this one together. 🙂

Details:

Title: Pets Rock
Artist: Takkoda
Brand: Ceaco
Piece count: 550 pieces
Size: Approx. 24 x 18 in. (61 x 46 cm)
Purchased: New

Quality:

Board: Fair, thin and easily bent
Cutting: Good
Image: Very good
Box: Average
Fit: Very good
Puzzle Dust: Large amount
Piece cut: Grid cut
Piece shapes: Very good variety
Finish: Slightly shiny finish, lays flat

Overall Rating: Good, recommended

Review: Flower Cart

On September 21, 2019September 21, 2019 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews6 Comments

I was very surprised by the quality of this puzzle – thick pieces and a great fit, very nice image reproduction as well. I’ve never had a Sure-Lox puzzle with such nice quality. Of course, as far as I’m concerned I’d only work these 300 piecers from them.

You’ll be shocked to hear that I bought this new, I paid retail! I was desperate to find some interesting 300 piece puzzles, saw these new looking Sure-Lox boxes and decided to give this one a try. If I get a bee in my bonnet to buy more puzzles, I may go back to Tuesday Morning and get another of these 300 piece puzzles and see if the quality is similar.

Even though I don’t always love flowers in a puzzle, I very much enjoyed this one. It was also the first image from this artist that I’ve assembled; and even though it looks as though it would be quite difficult with the art style, I found it to be just the right amount of challenging and not at all frustrating. The colors were beautiful!

This brand has always been on my naughty list, but this 300 piece puzzle was much better quality than I’ve ever had from Sure-Lox. I would definitely recommend this puzzle, but specifically only this puzzle and not the brand in general.

Details:

Title: Flower Cart
Artist: Patrice Procopio
Brand: Sure-Lox
Piece count: 300 pieces
Size: Approx. 26 x 18 in. (65 x 46 cm)
Purchased: New

Quality:

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

Overall Rating: Very good, recommended

Review: Colored Powder

On September 15, 2019September 15, 2019 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews3 Comments

This image is GORGEOUS! It wasn’t as difficult as I’d feared it would be, and I absolutely loved putting it together. 💖

The Big Ben puzzles that I’ve been finding at my local Tuesday Morning store have been very good quality and a joy to work with. I love the slanted grid cut, and the dry feel of the pieces. The fit is quite good as well, and overall the entire puzzle was wonderful.

I started with the light blue, which wasn’t too hard. But the rest of the puzzle was a bit of a challenge mostly because my husband took the extension cord off of the big light directly above my puzzle table. It took a few days for me to find a replacement and before I did, seeing the colors of whichever puzzle I was working on was a little difficult – and this one especially!

Seeing the difference between the reds, oranges, and pinks was made even more problematic because of the lack of good lighting. The hurricane shutters are still on all of our windows (hubby is out of town for work), so I couldn’t even get any help from the window near my table.

All problems aside, this image is so beautiful that I loved watching it come together as each piece was added. It’s a little challenging, but definitely worth it!

Details:

Title: Colored Powder
Artist: Big Ben Puzzles
Brand: Milton Bradley (Big Ben)
Piece count: 500 pieces
Size: Approx. 18 x 24 in. (46 x 61 cm)
Purchased: New

Quality:

Board: Very good
Cutting: Very good
Image: Excellent
Box: Average
Fit: Very good
Puzzle Dust: Moderate amount
Piece cut: Grid cut (slanted)
Piece shapes: Very good variety
Finish: Slightly shiny finish, lays flat

Overall Rating: Very good, recommended

Review: Lip Smackin’ Sweets

On August 28, 2019 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews2 Comments

Lip Smackin’ Sweets was difficult, but in a good way. Even though the quality was less than optimal it was still entertaining and completely absorbing.

Lafayette Puzzle Factory has good/fair quality; though I have noticed that the smaller piece count puzzles seem to be better quality. This 1000 piece had thinner pieces, a loose fit, lots of puzzle dust, and didn’t lay completely flat. On the good side there were a nice variety of shapes and the image reproduction is crisp, which is many times not true of photographic collages.

Lip Smackin' 1

The plate above was my favorite part; the bright yellow was easy to find as were the Nerds. I’m not sure I know exactly why this part was my favorite, but it was. Perhaps I just liked the look of it.

Lip Smackin' 2

The little blue “Satellite Wafers” were one of the first things I assembled. The pale blue was easy to find, and there were quite a few of them. I had a good time figuring out which satellite went where – I enjoyed the challenge. I never did like these candies though, it felt like eating tasteless styrofoam. Blech!

Some puzzlers don’t mind a less than premium puzzle, and for those people I’m recommending Lip Smackin’ Sweets. Even though the pieces were thin and the fit was loose I still enjoyed this puzzle. It doesn’t have to be perfection for me (or anyone really) to be entertained – and in the end, it’s a beautiful finished puzzle. This is a pretty image, with bright, fun colors and it kept me absorbed and wanting to be at my board for several days. That’s truly what it’s about.

Details: