Category: Thrift Store Puzzles

Review: Purses! Purses! Purses!

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews, Thrift Store Puzzles1 Comment
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Purses! Purses! Purses! – Springbok – 2000 pieces

This puzzle image is excellent and it made me want to get to assembling it immediately – the bright colors, fun backgrounds, a collage – yes please!

This was a thrift store purchase, and although the box was slightly banged up and dented, all pieces were present and accounted for. This giant of a puzzle almost filled my entire 4 ft x 3 ft puzzle board. You never can tell in pictures, unless there’s something to give perspective; this is a HUGE puzzle!

This puzzle was loads of fun and even though it took me a few days I loved every bit of it. It was easy to separate out pieces of background colors and patterns and work on a section at a time. I love when I can just grab a bunch of pieces and assemble them without any assistance from the image on the box or a poster. It’s just me and my brain figuring out what goes where; it’s very satisfying for me. The pieces fit together tightly, but not the super tight fit that some Springbok’s have – I didn’t have to smash them together with my thumb (which is a bonus in my book).

If you’re a fan of purses or collages, this puzzle is for you! The bright colors and the interesting purses will keep you entertained – but be forewarned – this beauty requires a very large work space. 🙂

Details:

  • Title:                  Purses! Purses! Purses!
  • Artist:                Allied Products Corp.
  • Brand:               Springbok
  • Piece count:     2000 pieces
  • Size:                  Approx. 34 x 43 in. (86 x 109 cm)
  • Purchased:      Used, thrift store

Quality:

  • Board:               Excellent
  • Cutting:             Very good
  • Image:               Very good
  • Box:                   Good, a little thin for such a large puzzle
  • Fit:                     Tight, not in the extreme like some Springboks
  • Puzzle Dust:     Small amount
  • Piece cut:          Random cut
  • Piece shapes:   Very good variety
  • Finish:               Somewhat shiny finish, lays flat

Overall Rating:      Very good,  recommended

 

Vibrant Puzzle Calendar Kit Puzzles 7 & 8

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles1 Comment
Aspens – 100 pieces
Heart – 100 pieces

This one brought back flashbacks of Winter Aspen. 😮 And you’d think that seeing that one of the sides was aspen trees I would have chosen to assemble the opposite side.  You’d be wrong. I think somewhere in my brain I wanted to show these aspens who’s the boss. I am! (when there are only 100 regular sized pieces, that is 😉 )

I like these 100 piece puzzles more than I thought I would. Even when the subject matter is a difficult image, there are only 100 pieces and it feels like you can accomplish it. When I’m working on a difficult puzzle or am feeling like I’m not making progress on my current puzzle it’s nice to grab a small piece count puzzle and spend a few minutes assembling it – it doesn’t matter if it’s easy or not. I feel like I’ve gotten something done and my mood lifts a bit.

There are two more puzzles (4 more images) to go. I’m sure they’ll be as satisfying as the previous ones have been. We have certainly gotten more than our 99 cents worth of entertainment from them!

Review: Cute Little Owls

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews, Thrift Store Puzzles7 Comments
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Cute Little Owls by Kerri Ambrosino – Clementoni – 500 pieces

Mom absolutely loved this puzzle, and I can definitely see why. The colors, the cuteness, the collage effect – excellent for puzzling!

This was the first Clementoni puzzle that I’ve done. I’m reserving judgment until I’m able to do at least one more, but I’m not thrilled with the fit; it was extremely loose. Now it was a thrift store purchase, so it may have been well loved before it was donated. That’s one reason why I try not to make snap judgments, I should at least do 2 or more before I decide on the brand in general. Other than the fit, I thought the quality was very good. Nicely cut pieces, a good thickness, excellent image reproduction – impressive!

I recently went to one of mom’s thrift stores with her when she was chauffeuring me around one day. 😮 Oh my goodness! I can’t believe she finds as many wonderful and complete puzzles as she does. Seeing the section where the puzzles are, the chaos everything is in – wow. She is definitely Queen of all things Thrift Store! I bow before you, your majesty!

Also, Happy National Jigsaw Day for any readers in the UK! I’m celebrating by doing puzzles today – what a change, huh? 😎

Details:

  • Title:                  Cute Little Owls
  • Artist:                Kerri Ambrosino
  • Brand:               Clementoni
  • Piece count:     500 pieces
  • Size:                  Approx. 19 x 14 in. (48 x 36 cm)
  • Purchased:      Used, thrift store

Quality:

  • Board:               Very good, sturdy
  • Cutting:             Excellent
  • Image:               Very good
  • Box:                   Very good, a bit large for a 500 piece puzzle
  • Fit:                     Quite loose
  • Puzzle Dust:     None
  • Piece cut:          Grid cut
  • Piece shapes:   Good variety
  • Finish:               Somewhat shiny finish, lays flat

Overall Rating:      Very Good,  recommended

Barn Sale

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment
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Barn Sale by Tracy Hall – Bits and Pieces – 750 pieces

I enjoyed this more than I thought I would, I think I was having flashbacks of the last Bits and Pieces shaped puzzle that I’d done. This one seemed to be much better quality, or perhaps a better cut? I’m not sure which, but it was much easier to deal with – the pieces all fit together!

I try not to be overly judgmental about certain brands, but I’m not always successful. Just because the last shaped puzzle from this company was a disappointment doesn’t mean they all will be. But when you’ve had a bad experience it sticks with you, at least it does for me. But sometimes one of the puzzles calls to me from the “to do” pile, and I just have to do that one next, even if it may be one with questionable quality.

I’m glad I decided to ignore my judgy brain and assemble this puzzle anyway. It really was much better quality than I’d assumed, and it was quite fun to assemble as well. I love a puzzle with quilts, so that was even more incentive for me; there’s something so entertaining for me in putting a jigsaw quilt together, I love it! All around I would say this was a very good quality puzzle that I would definitely recommend. 👍

Vibrant Puzzle Calendar Kit Puzzles 5 & 6

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

 

Gourds 100 pieces
Bird 100 pieces

The third of 6 double-sided puzzles in this box. The gourds make for a puzzle that looks perfect for this time of year. I love the fall! Too bad I live in Florida where we only have shades of summer, all year long. 😐

I really enjoy these small 100 piece puzzles; it’s nice to pick up a puzzle and not stop assembling until it’s done. And just because it’s only 100 pieces doesn’t make it any less enjoyable for me, if it’s a pretty picture and a fun puzzle it doesn’t matter if it’s 24 pieces or 2000. Although I must say I get that wonderful feeling of accomplishment much quicker with a 100 piece puzzle.  😉

They say that when you double the number of pieces the difficulty level goes up quadruple. So then a 200 piece puzzle is 4 times more difficult than a 100 piece; and a 400 piece puzzle is 16 times harder, I think. I tried to do the math to figure out how much more difficult a 2000 piece puzzle is but my brain got a charlie horse. Ow!