Loose Change

On March 19, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles1 Comment

This was one of the more challenging puzzles mom and I have done lately. It’s also the first 550 piece White Mountain that I’ve assembled. Looking at it now, I’m completely surprised at myself for suggesting that we do it – it was really difficult!

Luckily the border was relatively easy to assemble, although it took about an hour to assemble it wasn’t that bad. If it hadn’t been for the border we probably wouldn’t have kept going; but we’d already invested some time and didn’t want to lose all that work.

The majority of the coins were pennies, but there were some gold and silver coins mixed in there that helped get things going. First we separated out the bright gold coins, put them together and placed them approximately where they belonged; we did the same with the silver coins. Then we had many places to work off of, it made it a little less daunting with all those pennies!

The quality was really good, sometimes White Mountain quality can be hit or miss but this puzzle was very good. All pieces were separated, with no fuzziness or hanging bits of paper. The pieces were thick and fit together well, although there were a few pieces with some image lift. Overall it was very good quality. I’m looking forward to finding another 550 piece White Mountain puzzle to compare the quality.

I’m proud of us for sticking with it and getting it done, but it’s definitely not an image I would pick for myself. It sure was fun putting in those last few pieces though!

Diary of a Wimpy Kid Book Two

On March 15, 2018March 15, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

This is the second of these puzzles I’ve done, and they’re quite difficult! The line drawings and lack of color add to the challenge – you really have to pay attention to every piece.

Like the first one I assembled, the quality was very good but the finished puzzle doesn’t lie flat. This could be because we live in Florida and there’s a lot of humidity, if you don’t store a puzzle properly it could warp with all the moisture in the air. It could be that it’s been a well loved puzzle that’s been assembled many times. It’s hard to make judgments on quality when you’ve purchased second-hand; you have to rely on your prior knowledge of the brand as well as taking into account the amount of use the puzzle could have had.

This image is not one I would purchase new, monochromatic images aren’t ones that interest me. Still, it was an entertaining assembly and luckily it was only 200 pieces. With stick figures, line drawings, and no colors it takes plenty of concentration to get all the pieces placed properly.

It’s always interesting to assemble an image that isn’t your style, but most of the time I end up really having fun. That’s one of the great things about thrift stores, the price makes it difficult to pass up the puzzles and gives me to opportunity to work puzzles that I wouldn’t normally assemble. Give an unusual image a try, you just might like it!

Unicorns

On March 13, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

If the first puzzle ball we found at the thrift store hadn’t been complete I don’t think we’d have bought anymore. That first globe we assembled was lots of fun for us and all the pieces were there, now mom can’t seem to pass up a puzzle ball if she finds any at the thrift stores. 🙂

5 missing pieces from a 96 piece puzzle is a lot, and it makes assembling a ball quite difficult. Fortunately we were able to get a pretty picture without having to show the glaring holes. This was our first time putting together a kid’s puzzle ball, and the fit seemed a bit odd. The pieces didn’t seem to want to click or stay together as well as the other ones we’ve assembled, the finished image isn’t as smooth as you’d want a ball to be. I don’t know if that’s the puzzle itself or the fact that it’s been assembled before (perhaps many times); those are the chances you take purchasing from thrift stores I guess.

Other than the fit, the quality was excellent. The pieces are thick and plastic and are numbered on the back to assist with assembly. There is an arrow underneath the number to tell you in which direction the next piece will be placed, this is extremely helpful when you’re assembling it by the numbers. You don’t have to use them though, you can put it together using the image just like any other puzzle – it’s completely up to you.

I hate saying that the quality was good “other than the fit”, fit is pretty darned important with a puzzle! Although those of us who are hard core puzzle practitioners will sometimes put up with a lot to be able to get a fix of that sweet, sweet puzzle magic. At least I would. I’ve got a full-blown addiction going on here!

Snow Leopard

On March 8, 2018March 8, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles1 Comment

Here’s the last of the kid’s puzzles from the big assembly day I had a while ago. It’s an interesting picture, isn’t it?

This wasn’t an overly easy 100 piece puzzle, but I think that’s a good thing. Kid’s puzzles should have a little challenge to them; in my opinion if they’re too easy they become boring. Snow Leopard definitely wasn’t boring. In fact, I thought I was assembling a tiger the whole time! The title of the image was nowhere to be found on the box and I had to go searching around online to find the name. It can’t be that difficult to find a small amount of space on the box to give credit to the artist and the name of the work, can it?

This is a Ceaco puzzle, so the pieces were on the thin side. The box was my least favorite type, with a pull tap to open the top edge and tabs that fit into each other to re-close it (like a cereal box). That’s a great design for making sure pieces end up missing, thank goodness all the pieces were accounted for!

The pieces fit together well, and I think the image reproduction was very good. Normally I don’t care for Ceaco, but we do tend to buy their “special” puzzles at the thrift stores because they are usually a little better quality. This is a “Glow Zone” puzzle, and we thought it was a tiger, which is the reason for the purchase. My oldest son LOVES tigers. It was a relatively quick assembly, and I got a great glow picture too!

Fawn and Flowers

On March 6, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles2 Comments

I assembled this puzzle while I was working on yesterday’s review, Ruby Red – I needed a win in the middle of all those black pieces! This image was pretty, only 300 pieces, and exactly what I needed. 🙂

Buffalo 300 piece puzzles are great quality, with nice, thick pieces that feel good in your hands. They fit together extremely well and have lovely images to choose from. I’m not always in the mood for larger piece Buffalo puzzles, but I’m always happy to put together a 300 piece – they’re perfect for a quick, fun assembly.

Wildlife, nature and landscapes aren’t my usual choices; I prefer collages and bright colors for the most part. But purchasing puzzles at thrift stores has been quite the learning experience for me, puzzles I wouldn’t necessarily choose for myself I assemble because they’re available. I end up loving almost every one of them, and am usually surprised at how fun they are! I suppose it shows my age that I’m still surprised by this. 👵

Give a different image a try, you might end up loving it❣