Category: Thrift Store Puzzles

Teal Lake

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles11 Comments

Teal Lake by Andy Russell – Milton Bradley (Big Ben) – 500 pieces

I love the image of this puzzle, and I liked that even though it was only 500 pieces it was still a bit challenging. It made for some fun puzzling!

This is a thrift store puzzle, and other than quite a loose fit it was pretty good quality. The image reproduction is lovely, there are a good variety of shapes and the chipboard was a nice thickness. The finish is matte and feels soft to the touch; the loose fitting pieces made for some frustrating moments trying to move pieces around, but otherwise I was happy with it.

Teal Lake In Progress…

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzling, Thrift Store Puzzles2 Comments

Teal Lake by Andy Russell – Milton Bradley (Big Ben) – 500 pieces

Although I started this puzzle yesterday afternoon, every time I sat down to work on it later in the day someone or something interrupted. It was just one of those days apparently.

This was a thrift store purchase, and other than a slightly loose fit I’ve been quite happy with the quality so far. The finish is matte so there hasn’t been any glare issues under the lights, and the hand feel is soft and very nice.

Andy Russell is a new artist for me, and his work reminds me a bit of Eric Dowdle; the rounded but almost symmetrical and precise shapes made me think of his artwork immediately when I saw it. It will be interesting to see if this is as difficult as I sometimes find puzzles with a Dowdle image.

Garden Shed*

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles2 Comments

Garden Shed* – Hua Cao Shu Mu – 300 pieces

Sorry to do this to you two days in a row, but I’ve got no puzzles left in my queue, and I did these two puzzles one right after the other. Wanna guess about the quality? Did you guess that it needed a very big straw? You are correct!

  • Image reproduction – horrible and blurry.
  • Fit – loose, pieces sometimes fit where they don’t belong
  • Piece shape – only one shape – BORING
  • Chipboard – thin with a tendency to peel apart
  • Backing – sharp white backing with letters on it to assist in assembly

I did not enjoy the assembly, it was just one I wanted to get it done to get this box of puzzles out of my sight.

If you see a puzzle box with the name Hua Cao Shu Mu on it, set it down and walk away. It isn’t worth the frustration.

Puzzler’s Desk

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

Puzzler’s Desk by Steve Read – Hua Cao Shu Mu – 300 pieces

Ugh. This puzzle sucked. I would enjoy doing this image put onto a quality puzzle, but on this crap-tastic thing wasn’t any fun at all.

I have a bad attitude about it, admittedly. But it is what it is, this is my blog and I’m expressing my feelings. Here they are – if you see puzzles that are so friggin’ cheap that you can hardly believe it, there’s a reason and you should run away. I didn’t purchase this new, it was bought second-hand at a thrift store, so at least this company didn’t get any of my hard-earned money, but it still ticks me off.

Also, I know for a fact that these companies steal these images and the artists get no compensation at all, which makes me even more upset. It shouldn’t be easy to get away with theft like this, but unfortunately it is. It’s depressing.

This puzzle sucked. End of story.

Garden Shed* In Progress…

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzling, Thrift Store Puzzles2 Comments

Garden Shed* – Hua Cao Shu Mu – 300 pieces

Can you believe it? The third of the three puzzles in one box from a company that makes crappy puzzles – yep, I went there.

Like I explained a few days ago, these things are stinking up my puzzle room with the stench of low quality puzzles that feature stolen artwork and I want them gone as soon as possible.

I can say with some certainty that this will be finished today. Then perhaps we’ll hold a small funeral ceremony in the backyard with a cremation immediately following the service so as not to inflict these puzzles on anyone else.

*They’ll most likely end up in the recycle bin, but it has put a HUGE smile on my face thinking about lighting these pieces of trash on fire while I dance around the flames making rude gestures. 😈