Category: Thrift Store Puzzles

Down on the Boardwalk

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles4 Comments

Down on the Boardwalk by Charles Fazzino – TCG – 300 pieces

The riotous color in this image was very enjoyable and went quite quickly once it was started. I’ve done a few Charles Fazzino images and they’ve always been interesting and entertaining to put together. Normally artwork with so many things packed tightly together isn’t quite my cup of tea (think Jan van Haasteren), but this one has enough breaks with the ocean and sky that it wasn’t too difficult.

The quality was much better than expected for a TCG puzzle; they are hit and miss in the quality department for me – usually more misses than hits unfortunately. But this puzzle had great reproduction, good cut, and an excellent fit.

Everything was bright and fun with lots of people, places, and things to see. Love the Rainforest Cafe!

The whole puzzle was just all around fun. I’ve never been to Atlantic City, but this boardwalk puzzle makes it look like fun.

Flower Deer

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles4 Comments

Flower Deer by Coco de Paris – Milton Bradley – 300 pieces

This image is just beautiful, and adorable at the same time. Loved it! This is the third of these puzzles with images by Coco de Paris that I’ve done, and they’ve all been great fun, but not too easy at the same time. So entertaining!

The quality was pretty good for this thrift store puzzle. A good variety of piece shapes, good fit, nice image reproduction, and a not too shiny finish. Overall, I would say good/very good in the quality department for this one.

If you look at the back of the box there are so many different brand names it was difficult at first to decide which one to credit. Listed on the box were Milton Bradley, Cardinal, Hasbro, and Spin Master. I decided that the name shown on the front as well would be the name I went with, so Milton Bradley is credited here.

Fun little puzzle that didn’t take nearly as long as I thought it might, it was difficult to walk away from once I got into the assembly of the center. The border was assembled first, and then the puzzle sat unloved and alone on the board for more than 24 hours before I actually started working on the inside of the puzzle; but once I started I didn’t want to leave.

Lots of fun!

Ice Cream Social In Progress…

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzling, Thrift Store Puzzles6 Comments

Ice Cream Social by Lars Stewart – Milton Bradley – 300 pieces

It took me forever to decide which puzzle to do next; my last puzzle of 2023 was a 1000 piece puzzle that was a bleeping nightmare to work with and my first puzzle of 2024 was a little 101 piece puzzle that my son got me for Christmas. I wanted the next one to be entertaining and relatively good quality and seeing this Lars Stewart image made my decision for me – bright colors, lots of words, and lots of yummy, colorful ice cream!

This is a thrift store purchase, and there are a lot of pieces with bent tabs, but otherwise the quality has been good so far. The fit is nice, the finish is matte and has a good hand feel, there are a good variety of pieces and the image reproduction is gorgeous.

Here’s hoping it’s a complete puzzle and it remains fun to assemble!

Bed of Clouds

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles4 Comments

Bed of Clouds by Schim Schimmel – Ceaco – 100 pieces

Quick little kids puzzle that didn’t take long at all to assemble. It was a thrift store purchase, taped up with another 100 piece GITD puzzle – both were new and unopened. To me, there’s no problem buying it there because Ceaco isn’t actually getting any of my money.

It’s sometimes sad for me when I see a beautiful image on a Ceaco puzzle, the quality and their customer service is just not up to snuff – but some of their puzzle images are just stunning! Oh well, I’d rather work a puzzle with better quality from a company that I know will take care of things if there’s a problem.

The quality on this one wasn’t great, you can see along the border where the pieces are bent at the corners and sticking up, and the fit wasn’t great either. Still for about 99 cents it was a good purchase and my youngest son and my hubby enjoyed the GITD aspect of it. They took it outside to “charge” in the sunlight and had a good ole’ time finding the darkest spot in the house to check out how much it actually glowed. Love💖my boys!

For me the glow was a little disappointing, the entire top portion of the puzzle had no glow at all. Still, it’s cute, right?

Shining Brightly

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles7 Comments

Shining Brightly by Alan Giana – E&L – 100 pieces

This is exactly the type of puzzle image that puts me off, but it was a gift from a friend so of course I assembled it. Because it’s only 100 pieces I put it away to assemble with all my other little puzzles during December – and here it is. Sickeningly sweet snowfall, outside tree and all. 😐

It’s a thrift store puzzle, and you can tell it’s been assembled many times. It wasn’t the greatest quality to begin with, and the thing is falling apart. The fit is horrendous, and the image is lifting in several places. Not a great puzzle. But it isn’t surprising, E&L isn’t a brand I would ever recommend; even their new puzzles are lacking in the quality department.

This was one of those times where I don’t really enjoy the puzzle at all, but I very much want to finish. My brain almost goes into this mode where it isn’t about having fun with the puzzle, it’s only about finding the right piece. What is next? Where does this go? Do these colors match? Do I need a rounded knob or one that’s upturned slightly? It’s about completion, period. There aren’t many times when this happens to me, but this was one of them.

Normally I know (relatively) what puzzles and images will be enjoyable; I know the good brands, the artists whose work is enjoyable, and how many pieces make a fun assembly for me. Sometimes though, I run into a puzzle that puts me in the “must finish it” mode – usually they are gifts.

That being said, whether or not the assembly is enjoyable – every single puzzle that is gifted to me is appreciated – no matter the brand, condition, or image. If someone cares enough to think of me when they see a puzzle and they get it for me, I love that and am truly grateful. This puzzle wasn’t great, but I’m still thankful for the friend who gave it to me, and that she cared enough to give it to me in the first place. 💖