Shopping Trip

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzling, Miscellaneous8 Comments

I had to leave the house yesterday, and found myself at the bookstore looking at jigsaw puzzles, I even ended up buying a few – who woulda thunk it???

Before leaving home I was sorting my next puzzle, but now that I’ve got these new ones the one I was preparing to assemble seems so boring! Plus, if I get Frankenstein and the horror books done quickly they can be posted this month for Halloween.🎃

Interestingly, after my jaunt to the store I now have a shopping tip for you, if you shop in person. The World of Frankenstein is a Laurence King brand puzzle, and if I were you and wanted good quality I would only purchase this brand if you can be sure where it was manufactured.

In the store today there were plenty of puzzles by this brand, including The World of Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, Agatha Christie, etc. – but they were all manufactured in China. The World of Frankenstein was one of only two images by this brand in the store today that was manufactured in the Netherlands. There is a big difference in quality between the two, and after seeing the difference in person and talking with a fellow puzzle blogger in Europe about this brand I wouldn’t purchase a Laurence King puzzle if it was made in China. If you’re spending your hard-earned puzzle budget on a new LK puzzle, please be certain where it was manufactured.

I’ve never recommended a brand specifically depending on where it was made, but there’s a first time for everything. So, if you find a Laurence King puzzle that was manufactured in the Netherlands I highly recommend them. I just completed one of their puzzles and it was excellent quality (I adored it!). If you find the same brand but it was made in China, be wary. Just a friendly suggestion of course. 😊

Anyway, now that these three puzzles are sitting on my board, my fickle menopausal brain (currently being slowly boiled from the inside by hot flashes) has decided that I’m going to assemble the horror books collage. I haven’t started it yet, but I’m very much looking forward to it!

Happy puzzling today my friends!

Most Everyone is Mad

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles6 Comments

Most Everyone is Mad by Dean MacAdam – Ravensburger – 1000 pieces

This puzzle was even more enjoyable than I’d anticipated, which is always a fun revelation. There’s something about Dean MacAdam’s artwork, it makes for such fantastic puzzling – I haven’t been disappointed yet. 😍

The quality was excellent, my only issue was the amount of puzzle dust. I emptied the pieces out into my colander to start sorting, folded up the bag they came in to throw it away and got a HUGE poof of dust right in the face. Not only that, the amount of dust that ended up in the box after sorting was crazy; not the usual amount for a Ravensburger in my experience. I joked about snorting puzzle dust a couple of years ago, let me tell you – it ain’t fun!

I’m not sure why, but the look of these flowers made me very happy and they were the first characters I put together.

The Mad Hatter here was more difficult to find and assemble than I thought he would be. Most of the pieces for him had such small bits that it was hard to know what I was looking at. (Except the sparkly purple hat, that was pretty easy to locate)

I didn’t even notice until the entire puzzle was assembled that there were symbols for each suit in a deck of card carved into the tree around the Cheshire Cat. The heart at the top was noticeable, but I didn’t register that the others were suits until the whole picture was finished. *I’ve lightened up the color a bit so it’s easier to see the suits*

This puzzle was a joy to assemble, it is highly recommended. 👍🐛👍

My Favorite Color

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles10 Comments

My Favorite Color by Velvet Spectrum – Buffalo – 300 pieces

Boy, was I wrong about this puzzle – it was much easier than I anticipated, but not so easy as to be boring. It was such a good time! I started in the morning and was finished pretty quickly before midday. Great quality, beautiful image with such striking color – I absolutely loved it.💜

Started with the solid (ish) colors around the edges and worked in toward the center with the words. It wasn’t even close to as hard as I thought it would be. But it kept me absorbed and focused, and I ended up with this gorgeous image to share with you all. 💟

I can’t think of much else to tell you other than if you think you might enjoy this puzzle you should go for it. It was lots of fun and it’s so darn pretty!

Africa Map In Progress…

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzling8 Comments

Africa Map by Liv Wan – Artifact – 441 pieces

I’m REALLY enjoying this assembly, though it’s taking much longer than usual for a puzzle with this number of pieces. It doesn’t matter though, the enjoyment is the point – not speed or comparing myself to how long it “should” take.

This image isn’t one I would normally go for, but it was another puzzle I bought for 50% off earlier in the year when Artifact was having a sale. Honestly, I felt like buying just one puzzle for $18, Medicine Teepee, didn’t really warrant the free shipping that was offered. I know, if they offer free shipping I can buy however many or few puzzles I want; truth be told I wanted some cool wooden puzzles and getting only one at half price just wasn’t enough for me. The PADS took over and I make no apologies.

So I bought this one, and even though it isn’t an image I would normally go for, nor the piece shape I prefer in wooden puzzles, I’m loving it. 💕

When I work a wooden puzzle I do not look at the box image, it makes the puzzle last longer. Slowing down and having to pay attention to each shape, each color, each texture makes for more immersive puzzling – for lack of a better word. I become completely engrossed in how things fit together and the time spent puzzling is so relaxing and enjoyable.

If I were more familiar with the geography of Africa I might be quicker at putting this together, as the interior of the continent is crammed full of images from the many countries; food, people, destinations, animals, buildings, etc. Hopefully though, I’m learning and absorbing the geography as I go. (I did know where Madagascar was, so that little island wasn’t difficult to place!)

I’m having a great time puzzling today, how about you?

Choose Joy

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles12 Comments

Choose Joy – MicroPuzzles – 150 pieces

Is this not an adorable image? It’s just too cute! The middle bit went together pretty quickly and easily, but the blue background and the edges themselves were much more difficult than anticipated. Still, challenging puzzles can be highly entertaining – and this one was.

This image is part of the Puzzle Pandas Kindness Collection from MicroPuzzles; you are encouraged to pay it forward and share this puzzle with someone else when you have completed it. Puzzle Pandas was started during the pandemic as a way to show kindness by sharing puzzles in your community. It’s a way to upcycle your puzzles and give someone an unexpected pick me up in the form of a free puzzle. You can check out the Puzzle Pandas website by clicking the link.

Rather than leaving this little test tube somewhere in my community, I’ve decided to give it away here on the blog, where I know whomever receives it will (hopefully) enjoy it. I know these small puzzles aren’t for everyone, but I hope there’s someone among my readership who will enjoy assembling this adorable little puzzle and perhaps pass it along in their community once they’ve completed it to keep the joy going.

So, if this looks like something you might want to assemble, you can enter the drawing by leaving a comment on this post. Each comment will be numbered and the random number generator will pick the winner on October 11, 2023. It doesn’t matter where in the world you live, you can enter the drawing.

Good luck! Happy puzzling my friends!