Do I Look Merry?

On July 29, 2020July 29, 2020 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles5 Comments

Well? Does he? As the pet parent of a Boston Terrier I can tell you that this look says “Why are you doing this to me? Can we please get this stupid picture over with?” So the title I’ve given this silly, sweet puzzle has been shortened from what it is in my mind. When I look at it, what I hear in my head is “Do I Look Freakin’ Merry to You?”.

This is the second – and last – Christmas puzzle I assembled for Christmas in July. I normally try to do a few Christmas puzzles every July, but I just wasn’t feeling it this year. But the fact that this adorable image is a Boston Terrier and that it was only 100 pieces made the decision pretty easy. This is my kind of Christmas image!

Brother Sister Design Studio is a brand/trademark of Hobby Lobby. As I don’t shop there for personal reasons, this is the first puzzle from this brand that I’ve assembled. For a store brand it was better quality that I thought it would be – I would characterize the quality as good. Although as I’ve only assembled this one puzzle I cannot make a final determination on the brand’s overall quality.

I enjoyed the assembly very much, mostly because of the adorable image; and I was surprised by the detail you could make out in the reflection from the dog’s eye…

Do I Look Merry 1

You can see the room where the picture was taken in this reflection! It jumped out at me while I was assembling the eyes, so I had to take a closeup to show you. The image reproduction was the best part of the quality in my opinion, although the finish was quite shiny and made assembling the darker parts a little more difficult under the artificial lighting at my puzzle table.

So, as this pup would probably say, “Happy freakin’ Christmas in July.” 🎅

Review: Willard & Margaret*

On July 23, 2020 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews, Thrift Store Puzzles8 Comments

This is another puzzle that I have named (with a little help), because there is no title on the box anywhere. After some discussion with my puzzle pal Penny we have decided to name this one after the characters in a silly Ray Stevens song “It’s Me Again Margaret”. Willard & Margaret. I just love the sound of their names; and the names absolutely do NOT seem like the right ones for these pups, which makes the title even more funny to me. 😁

Re-marks has a large catalog of puzzles to choose from, and I find that because many of the images are ones I enjoy assembling I am willing to overlook some quality issues that come up from time to time. I have had the odd problem here and there, but overall I find their puzzles to be good/very good quality. The pieces are a good thickness with a very good variety of shapes that fit together well (although sometimes loosely). The image reproduction is very good as well, with beautiful colors and sharp lines.

The quality of these smaller 100 piece puzzles from Re-marks is very good, and reminds me of a White Mountain puzzle in both the quality of the chipboard used and the shapes of the pieces. They fit together well and I’ve seen no image lift on any of the pieces even though this is a second-hand puzzle. They’re fun to assemble too, and the images makes me smile – they’re both silly and entertaining to put together. 🙂

It is always my intention to be objective, although I freely admit that I am not perfect. I do try to remind the readers that all reviews are basically subjective; it is my impression and opinions about the puzzle I am assembling, nothing more. Take every review with a grain of salt – ultimately you have to decide for yourself which aspects of a puzzle’s quality are most important to you. I’m just trying to provide my perspective in the hopes that it might help you decide which puzzles you do or do not wish to try.

Happy puzzling! 🧩

Details:

Title: Willard & Margaret*
Artist: Unknown
Brand: Re-marks
Piece count: 100 pieces
Size: Approx. 10 x 10 in. (25 x 25 cm)
Purchased: Used, puzzle swap

Quality:

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

Overall Rating: Very good, recommended

Toadstool Brook

On July 8, 2020 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles8 Comments

Toadstool Brook

This was such a fun puzzle, with absolutely beautiful artwork by Steve Read. It’s been on my shelf for quite a long time, I’m not even sure how long. While looking for a puzzle with less than 1000 pieces I spotted this one way in the back; thank goodness!

Quality-wise, this puzzle was only good/fair. The fit was pretty loose, which is always a bit disappointing. But, as a whole it was still entertaining to put together, that is more than half the battle! The artwork by Steve Read is stunning, and I’m kicking myself for not getting a good closeup picture of the fairies’ faces – they are absolutely gorgeous!

Toadstool Brook 1

There are 22 fairies in total for you to find, some of them took me quite a while to locate. If you’re not paying attention this fairy hidden in the toadstool is easy to pass over. Of course you’re seeing it right away – I’m showing you right where it is! 😉

Toadstool Brook 2

This fairy wasn’t too difficult to find, but it did take me a little longer than I’d like to admit. My glasses needed to be cleaned. I’m not old. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

I got a really great glow in the dark picture with this one, which surprised me. This puzzle has been on the shelf for at least 2 years, possibly more. I was pretty sure that the chemical that makes it glow would have petered out, but this puzzle produced an awesome picture.

Toadstool Brook 3

I don’t usually get such good glow images, so this one really pleased me. I love a good glow in the dark picture!

Ice Cream Pops

On July 6, 2020July 6, 2020 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles10 Comments

What a fun puzzle! It’s perfect for both kids and adults, it isn’t an easy one so it’s a good puzzle for more than one generation to work on together, and it’s full of ice cream – who doesn’t love ice cream pops?

This puzzle had very good quality even though it’s Eurographics; large, thick pieces, lots of variety in piece shape, and nice fit. From the last four or five Eurographics puzzles that I’ve assembled, I have noticed that their puzzles for children are very good quality, but their new adult puzzles are quite poor quality indeed. Luckily I enjoy a good puzzle for children. (If you only assemble adult puzzles, I would recommend skipping this brand unless you know that it is a much older copy. Their puzzle quality has gone downhill in the past several years.)

Ice Cream Pops 1

This ice cream pop is not only kinda pretty, but there’s a recipe for it on the back of the box! So if a yogurt berry ice cream pop sounds good to you, you’re in luck!

Ice Cream Pops 2

Here’s the recipe for anyone who might want to make some, and if you do – please let me know how they turn out. I’d love to hear from you.

I haven’t been making any ice cream pops, but I have been making ice cream. I have an ice cream maker that churns and stirs the “slurry” as my husband calls it, and we’ve been enjoying all sorts of different flavors of ice cream. Our favorite so far is raspberry, but the mixed berry has been great too, as well as chocolate pecan, pistachio, and maple nut. With all this time at home I have plenty of help in the kitchen, and making ice cream has been a favorite activity for us all.

Lapping Up the Luau

On June 25, 2020June 25, 2020 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

This is one of those untitled puzzles where, here at My Jigsaw Journal, I get to choose a title that is silly, or ridiculous, or just one that makes me laugh. These usually require some thought, or a complete disregard of thought that has me coming up with an enigmatic or ludicrous title that doesn’t even make sense with the image (those are the really fun ones). In this case though, I decided to go along with the image and just choose a fun and slightly silly title that made me laugh….Lapping Up the Luau.

I mean, look at this little pupper with his/her lei and cool sunglasses; and the rubber ducky is too cute! Even if you’re not a dog person you have to see this image and smile, you just can’t help it. Lap up that luau little one, you deserve a fun day at the beach! 🕶⛱

These small boxes with 100 piece puzzles from Re-marks are just what a gal like me needs to cleanse the palate after a large puzzle, or to jump back in to puzzling when you’ve had a sustained break from it. They’re well made, good quality puzzles with adorable images that are truly entertaining to put together. I don’t know what else I could ask for!

With puzzles that are such a small piece count I always put away the box and just work the puzzle with my only clues coming from the pieces themselves. I think it’s not only entertaining, but it keeps my mind sharp so I don’t have to re-hone the puzzle skills later on with a larger puzzle that perhaps might frustrate me.

Unfortunately I think there’s only one of these left here that I haven’t assembled, which makes me a little sad to be honest. They’re so much fun to do!