Barnyard Dreams

On October 24, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

Another in the Childhood Dreams Collection, and I absolutely love them! The images are nostalgic and sweet, and they make for excellent puzzling.

This one really reminds me of my youth. We lived out in “the boonies” and my dad had a John Deere tractor that he absolutely loved. He would use it to split wood, mow the lawn, drive the kids around the property teaching us how to drive it, and pull city people out of the ditch. (They had no idea how to drive on the back roads in winter!) This puzzle brings back fond memories for me. *sigh*

Mom and I worked on this puzzle together, although I think she did much more of the work than I did. We started it together, but it wasn’t complete when I left so she finished it by herself. Great job mom!

Besides the finish being a little too shiny, the quality of these puzzles has been very good. They fit together very well and are a good thickness, and you can see that the image reproduction is beautiful – very crisp and detailed. We have several of these Childhood Dreams puzzles yet to do, and I’m looking forward to every single one of them.

If these are your kind of puzzle images, I highly recommend them. They’re wonderful to work on, and they make me smile. 🙂 🙂

Prima Ballerina

On October 22, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

This was the first puzzle I assembled after my attempt at Winter Aspen. Even though there was a piece missing it was still very nice for me. The feel of the regular sized pieces, the way they fit together, and the fact that the image was so much less difficult made this an excellent assembly. 🙂

Ravensburger puzzles have such great quality that it’s always nice to work with them; but even more so after working with a puzzle that was difficult for me in any way. When I’ve done a puzzle that was dark, or difficult, or one that just felt tedious I always try to make sure I do a Ravensburger next. It always makes me feel better, and gets me back in my “puzzle groove”.

After failing to complete Winter Aspen I wasn’t feeling like the Supreme Puzzle Goddess that I am, so I needed a Ravensburger fix to lift my spirits. This puzzle was healing balm on my wounded ego, and made me feel so much better! 😊

It didn’t matter that it’s not an image I would normally choose, it didn’t matter that the colors were muted instead of bright, and it didn’t even matter that a piece was missing. What mattered was that I enjoyed this puzzle; it didn’t feel like work or a chore, it was relaxing, fun, and helped me get my mojo back!

This puzzle would be great to frame for the little ballerina in your life, or someone who just loves to dance – it’s so pretty!

Troll Hair Puzzle

On October 21, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles1 Comment

This was a weird little puzzle. I like the shaped edge, but I’m stumped regarding the reason that one of the trolls has hair. I suppose it could be to make the puzzle more attractive to young children, but in my opinion it obscures the shape of the piece and it isn’t easy to fit into the puzzle. I’m probably just being a cranky old lady, right? You kids get off my lawn!! 👵

Otherwise this is a cute kid’s puzzle that only took a few minutes to assemble. I haven’t seen the movie, so I don’t know who is who in this image, but I think they’re cute. The pieces are moderately thick and sturdy and fit together very well. There are a few spots where the tabs are sticking up a bit from the puzzle, but I think that’s due to it being a thrift store puzzle that’s been loved rather than from the manufacturing.

I’m enjoying all these kid’s puzzles even if it only takes a few minutes to assemble. It’s interesting to me the broad range of quality that kids puzzles have, not to mention so many manufacturers! I’m always intrigued when we find a new manufacturer and I love to check out their quality.

This was a well-made, cute, simple puzzle….that needs a hairbrush! 😉

Review: It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

On October 20, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews, Thrift Store Puzzles2 Comments

It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown by Charles Schulz – USAopoly – 500 pieces

Super fun! The first Halloween puzzle I’ve done this season, and I enjoyed it very much. I’ve come around to shaped puzzles, I never really wanted to do them before. Now that I’ve got quite a few under my belt, I appreciate the nice change of pace that they offer. Their shapes make them very interesting to assemble.

I didn’t start with the edge of this one, although I normally try to find all the edges of shaped puzzles to see how much I can assemble. I started with Linus and Sally, they were the easiest to pick out. Then I worked on Snoopy’s silhouette and the moon. The pumpkins were easier than I thought they’d be! I enjoyed the challenge of this one, it wasn’t too easy. I had a great time with the entire puzzle; easy parts were quick and satisfying, challenging parts kept me entertained and focused.

I love the fall and Halloween. I don’t have too many Halloween puzzles, but I’m enjoying the ones I do have. Here’s hoping the thrift stores have some more after the holiday! 😉

Details:

Title: It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
Artist: Charles Schulz
Brand: USAopoly
Piece count: 500 pieces
Size: Approx. 19 x 19 in. (48 x 48 cm)
Purchased: Used, thrift store

Quality:

Board: Thin but sturdy
Cutting: Good – fully separated, some hanging paper
Image: Very good
Box: Collectible tin
Fit: Normal/Average
Puzzle Dust: None
Piece cut: Random
Piece shapes: Very good variety
Finish: Shiny finish, lays flat

Overall Rating: Good, recommended

Colorful Animal World Map

On October 19, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

This was a fun 100 piece puzzle that had a little bit of challenge to it. There’s lots of ocean and it wasn’t always easy to see what piece goes next. It doesn’t lay completely flat as you can see in the picture above, but it is a thrift store purchase so perhaps it was well loved before donation. Still, it is a very good quality kid’s puzzle that also glows in the dark! Check it out….

It doesn’t just glow in the dark, it glows in 3 different colors; red (hardest to see), green, and blue. I’m not always able to get a good glow picture, so I was pleased that this one turned out so well showing all 3 colors. How cool is that? Very!

I enjoyed putting this one together, I like it when a kid’s puzzle has a little bit of challenge to it. I think that’s good for kids too, if all their puzzles are too easy they get bored. It feels like a little more of an accomplishment if you had to work at it a little bit. Of course, that’s just my own personal puzzle addict’s opinion. 😉