Tag: 100 pieces

Creators (Rebel Girls)

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles2 Comments

Creators by Sarah, Paola, Kylie, Sonia, and Marta* – MasterPieces – 100 pieces

This was a great puzzle that would be fabulous in a larger piece count – 250, 300, 500, 1000 – any of them would be great with this image. Apparently this is part of the Rebel Girl series by MasterPieces and Gibsons inspired by the Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls books. I’d love to do any of the others, they all look like such fun! Although I haven’t read any of the books, I’m guessing they’d be right up my alley – me being a rebel girl myself. 😎

Good quality MasterPieces, although this one had the “sharp” white backing that I’m not a fan of; luckily with only 100 pieces I didn’t have to put up with it for too long. Overall this was a good quality puzzle that made me very happy.

As for the artists, each woman shown in the image was illustrated by a different artist. I only put their first names above in the name of saving space, but each one deserves their credit, the artist’s name is first with the subject of the illustration in parentheses…

  • Sarah Wilkins (Millo Castro Zaldarriaga)
  • Paola Rollo (Violeta Parra)
  • Kylie Akia Erwin (Poly Styrene)
  • Sonia Lazo (Carmen Miranda)
  • Marta Signori (Maria Callas)

It is amazing to me how it works together to make such a great image that was so perfect for puzzling. The build was really enjoyable, but unfortunately the fun was over too soon. Hopefully the other puzzles in this series find their way onto my board soon so I can enjoy so more of these great collage images.

As usual I started with the words, and I was surprised that the puzzle seemed so close to being finished at that point. Putting together words is my happy place though I couldn’t tell you exactly why that is.

I stand with all Rebel Girls, so of course we had to get a “Stacey Stance” picture!😂 Some puzzles need to be REALLY curved at the bottom in order to stand up properly, but not this one. It almost could have stood straight up on it’s own.

This puzzle was so pleasant to put together; it was the right puzzle at the right time with the right image and the right quality. Exactly what I needed – just love it when that happens!

*This was puzzle number 100 for me this year. I didn’t plan it that way, but very cool that it was a 100 piece puzzle. 😁

Ghost Friends

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles2 Comments

Ghost Friends by Kathryn Selbert – Crocodile Creek – 100 pieces

You heard about this puzzle a month ago when I talked about Puzzle Chess and how I bought this puzzle expressly for the purpose of playing it with Penny when we finally met and got to puzzle together for the first time. It’s an adorable image by a new artist for me, and a new puzzle brand as well. It was a really enjoyable image to puzzle, and once Penny and I had finished our game of chess and just ended up puzzling together a great time was had by all. 🧩💚

I’d never heard of this brand before, Crocodile Creek. I was impressed with the quality of the puzzle, the pieces were thick and had a good hand feel, there were a great variety of shapes and they fit together well. The image reproduction was bright and clear and colorful with a slightly shiny finish that wasn’t too bad to work with. Overall I was impressed with this little one coffee puzzle!

The great fit made it possible to stand this little puzzle up, it’s the Stacey Stance – woooo hoooo! I don’t know why it makes me so happy to do this, it just does and I don’t apologize for it.

This puzzle was also a glow-in-the-dark image, so we put it outside while we had lunch and brought it in to see if the glow image was as fun as we’d hoped. Alas, it was a little disappointing in the GITD category, but it wasn’t too terrible. I have to keep reminding myself that they can’t all be as fabulous as the Secrets of the Deep puzzle that I assembled earlier this year. Still I got a pretty good picture of this one, it actually turned out better in the picture than it seemed in person.

It’s so adorably spoooooky! Penny and I enjoyed putting these Ghost Friends together, I’m so glad we got to try out puzzle chess, and we put this cutie together – together!

Beats for Bubba*

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw PuzzlesLeave a comment

Beats for Bubba* – Re-marks – 100 pieces

Come on! Look at that adorable face! How could you not want to put together this mini puzzle to see that sweet face looking up at you? I obviously couldn’t pass it by. Puppy pictures please the puzzle princess. 👑

I’m not really a princess, but the alliteration made me smile.

The quality was just good on this puzzle. The fit was a bit loose, the backing was that sharp, white stuff I don’t care for, and the finish was shiny and had me turning my head and holding the pieces at angles before I just gave in and turned off the lights altogether. Other than those things the puzzle was ok. The pieces were a good size, there were a good variety of shapes, and the image reproduction for very good. Three pros and three cons, you decide which ones are important to you.

It was one of the easier small puzzles I’ve done in a while. The colors around the edges made for easy assembly, then there were only a small number of pieces that were just fur and face to contend with. Overall it was a fun build though, and it’s such a cute puzzle I can’t say too much bad about it.

Sweet face, cute image, fun puzzle!

Distant Mountains

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles4 Comments

Distant Mountains by Bob Ross – Thunder Bay Press – 96 pieces

This is the first puzzle from my Happy Little Jigsaw Puzzle Book full of Bob Ross images that I bought in November of last year. At only 96 pieces this was a bit more difficult than I imagined it would be, but I still love the look of it and am pleased as punch that there are still so many more to do.

As I said in my first post about the puzzle books that my daughter and I found, the pieces are extremely thin – almost like cardstock – but the fit is exceptional. It has to be in order for them to stay in the book properly. Even though this puzzle was removed from the book to assemble, it still took a bit of effort to put it back in so that it would stay there without falling out. It’s back in place and the book can even be stood upright and the puzzle remains in place without danger of it coming out. Very cool!

The quality other than the thin cardboard was excellent. The image reproduction is GORGEOUS, there are a good variety of shapes and the fit is wonderful. I’m so glad my daughter and I found these books, and am really looking forward to assembling the remaining 17 puzzles. (Plus the nine images in the Game of Thrones book also come together to form a large map of the country/areas in which the show takes place🗺)

This is the page this puzzle comes from, the image is from Season 14, episode 1. Even though the show was on the air for only eleven years, there are 31 “seasons” of The Joy of Painting. He made 403 episodes of his show, that’s amazing!

I also learned from a little research that he created three versions of each painting. The first one was done before the show and was used as a template to paint the one he made on air. The second was painted live during the show, and the third he painted after the show was taped to add more details for use in his instructional books. All of the paintings were either donated to various public broadcasting stations, the Smithsonian Institution, or kept by Bob. With 403 episodes, that’s a lot of painting!

On the page opposite each puzzle is a little blurb about Bob Ross; his philosophy of painting, his life, and his thoughts about nature, etc. His works of art aren’t images I would normally choose for puzzling, but at less than 100 pieces they’re beautiful little one coffee puzzles that make me smile – happy little clouds and all!

Land and Sea*

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles2 Comments

Land and Sea* – Robert Frederick – 100 pieces

I was all set to be disappointed in this puzzle, but happily it surprised me with much better quality than the first Robert Frederick puzzle I completed, Woman with a Parasol, Facing Right.

Unlike that first puzzle, this didn’t have the bent pieces or the overly shiny finish. That means the cut, chipboard, variety in shape, fit, and finish were all very good. What a pleasant surprise!

Sadly, in my mind that doesn’t speak well of the company. If it can have very good quality but there is no consistency it wouldn’t be a brand I would be confident in purchasing retail. When there’s no guarantee it’ll be at least good quality it goes on my list of brands to only buy second hand. It’s annoying for me, knowing the potential for a good or great quality puzzle is there, but the standards aren’t always met. Although this particular puzzle was quite good, I find myself disappointed in the brand.

Thinking back to my shopping trip with my daughter, I cannot recall why in the world this puzzle was chosen. It is definitely not my pile of pieces, as far as the artwork goes. Why did I pick this one? Not a clue. It’s the mind/memory that goes first. Sigh. Old age ain’t for sissies. 👵

Still, at only 100 pieces it didn’t take too long, and it was a nice palate cleanser in between larger piece count puzzles.

*There was no title for this image, nor artist credited; I named it Land and Sea as I wasn’t feeling overly creative or inspired today.