Beer Caps

On March 17, 2017May 19, 2023 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

Mom and I finished this in an afternoon while visiting. She didn’t think she was going to like it, but once we got going she was enjoying it. After a while we were doing the same stuff we always do when we’re working on a puzzle together and cracking each other up. Fun puzzle (although neither of us are beer drinkers) – and perfect for St. Patrick’s Day! 🙂

This was the first 550 piece White Mountain puzzle I’ve done, and I was surprised that the pieces were random cut instead of grid cut. I don’t have anything to compare it to so I’m not sure if that is usual for the smaller piece count puzzles or not. It made the puzzle a little more of a challenge, but it was still very entertaining.

My only problem with this puzzle was that the image on the box wasn’t correct. It was just a small deviation, but one that confused us at first. The second beer cap in the bottom row is red in the actual puzzle, but black on the box. It was baffling for a minute before we figured out what was wrong.

Otherwise the quality of the puzzle was quite good, I’ve never had a problem with a White Mountain product. This one was no exception, and was great fun – White Mountain has the best collage puzzles!

Seavilians

On March 15, 2017May 19, 2023 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

Another thrift store puzzle put together to be sure all the pieces are there before giving it to a child. This one wasn’t bad!

You can see from the picture that the pieces don’t lie completely flat and they are a bit thin, but otherwise this a good kid’s puzzle. The image reproduction is quite good and it was fun to assemble. The top blue part took some actual concentration, but it isn’t too difficult to for young child in my opinion. This one is definitely going to my “grandson”, he’s a puzzle geek just like me! 🙂

Eastern Bluebird II

On March 14, 2017May 19, 2023 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

Another thrift store puzzle, it was only 500 pieces so I thought mom and I should work on it one day while we were visiting. We got it done in no time, but alas, 2 missing pieces. 😦 I can’t get too upset though, we’ve been quite lucky lately with our thrift store puzzles. So if every once in a while we get one with missing pieces, it’s just par for the course AND we just saved someone else from buying a puzzle with missing pieces. 🙂

We still had a good time with this puzzle, excellent Buffalo quality and the colors were absolutely gorgeous. The pieces fit together really well, even more than usual for a Buffalo puzzle.

It’s so nice to be able to sit and talk and work on a puzzle with someone. I forget sometimes as I’ve been mostly working alone on the giant Disney puzzle. I told mom that she has to come over at least once a week and sit and work on puzzles with me, I need a little chit chat sometimes!

An Afternoon Remembered

On March 12, 2017May 19, 2023 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles1 Comment

Another very interesting thrift store find. This puzzle has velvet on the back of the pieces!

This image seems lovely and bright but the pieces all looked extremely dark and it was difficult to find the right piece at times. Once we got the lower area assembled we looked at it and were shocked at how light it looks. I like the image, but boy was this a challenge! Full disclosure – I attempted to assemble this puzzle last year, but it was too difficult for me at the time. I think it’s better to do the more challenging puzzles with someone. Mom and I worked this puzzle together and it was still tough, but it’s not so bad when there’s someone with you to talk to and laugh with. Also, the sense of accomplishment when you’re done is even bigger with a more difficult puzzle. You did it! Way to go! 😉

Ceaco has some very interesting puzzles. I’m not a big fan of their regular puzzles, the pieces are too thin for my taste – but they also have some special puzzles that are much better quality in my opinion. We found a puzzle backed with cork (click here for my post about the cork backed puzzle – so much fun!) and now this puzzle backed with velvet – very chic!

The pieces are thicker than normal for a Ceaco puzzle, and then the velvet adds even more thickness. The fit was tight and there was no problem lifting up a completed section to move it. I wish Ceaco would put the extra effort into quality for all their puzzles, because the ones I’ve found that are outside the norm are really exceptional quality. Wouldn’t that be great all the time?

If you can find a Ceaco puzzle that is a special edition, definitely go for it. The special puzzles we’ve done are really unique and fun! If you’re in my area check out the thrift stores, this puzzle is going back – it might be your next fun afternoon! (Bring a friend though, it makes it way more fun!)

The Talking Jigsaw Puzzle – The Hospital

On March 11, 2017May 19, 2023 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles3 Comments

The Talking Jigsaw – The Hospital – Buffalo Games – 560 pieces

We found another talking jigsaw at the thrift store! That makes 3 we’ve found, I’m hoping we can find some more. I know there are still a few we don’t have – The Beach, City Hall, and I think a few others. I purposely didn’t take a great picture of this one, as I don’t want to give away the answer 🙂

Anyway, I think this puzzle has been done a LOT, because the fit seemed quite loose, much more than is normal for a Buffalo puzzle. But it was still a lot of fun! First you assemble each window (4 pieces), and then you use the clues in each window to decide where it goes in the puzzle. In some windows you can see a room number on the door, and in others they may tell you what is happening next door to them or on another floor. It’s a logic problem within a jigsaw puzzle!

On the back of the puzzle is the word “congratulations” over and over in several different fonts, you can use these to help you be sure you’ve placed a window correctly. This puzzle would be perfect to do on a glass top table 😉

If you like a little extra puzzling in your jigsaw puzzles and you can find one, I definitely recommend the talking jigsaws, they are a blast!