Seeing Double

On June 9, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

This is an interesting kid’s puzzle with a twist, you’re seeing double as one side of the attic looks like a mirror image of the other. But there are 14 differences between the two sides. Your job is to assemble the puzzle and then find what’s different.

The quality of this puzzle is very good. The pieces are a nice thickness and they fit together very well with a good variety of piece shapes. The image reproduction is good, but the finish is slightly shiny which caused a bit of glare and made working the top portion of the puzzle difficult under artificial lights.

This puzzle seems like it’s a bit old, but I wasn’t able to find any information about it online. Great American Puzzle Factory does have a series of these “puzzles within a puzzle”; some finding hidden images or like this one, finding differences.

My brain wasn’t firing on all cylinders when I put this one together, so unfortunately I wasn’t able to find all the differences on my own. I did find one of them right away, while assembling the edge, it’s right underneath the wording….

There’s a mustache on the man on the left, but not on the mirror image on the right. Basically it’s really the only difference I was able to find on my own, for the rest I just used the answer sheet.

It was a little difficult for a children’s puzzle, the top was quite dark which made it harder to see and put together. I think it’s a good thing when kids puzzles are a little challenging though, if they’re too easy they can become boring. The missing piece was a bummer, but it was still a good quality puzzle and a fun assembly.

Review: Ladybugs

On May 7, 2018May 7, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviewsLeave a comment

This post is sponsored by Puzzle Warehouse.

Ladybugs by Michael Searle – MasterPieces – 100 pieces

Ladybugs is a bright, beautiful puzzle that’s fun to assemble but not too easy. It would be a great challenge for a young one in your life, or even for you if you’re so inclined. 🙂

MasterPieces puzzles can be hit or miss quality sometimes, but for the most part I find them to be quite good. They have a varied catalog of beautiful images and interesting series to choose from, and great prices too. The pieces are a good thickness and fit together very well. There are a nice variety of piece shapes, and the image reproduction is absolutely gorgeous! Click to see all the MasterPieces puzzles currently in stock at Puzzle Warehouse.

I love a good glow in the dark image, but you have to deal with the somewhat grainy feel of the pieces that glow. Whatever they use to add the phosphors (luminescent material) feels like very, very find sand. If you have tactile issues, be warned – glow puzzles may not be for you.

I’m a big supporter of giving children puzzles, they’re excellent for helping develop essential skills every child needs. Problem solving, spatial awareness, fine motor skills, reasoning, sequencing and many other skills are developed when solving jigsaw puzzles – and as an added bonus they’re really fun and great for family bonding! I have wonderful memories of assembling jigsaw puzzles with my grandma, my mom, my husband, and my children. Even in this crazy world of 24/7 information and electronics, having time to sit and talk and work on a puzzle together is a must for me – it’s so much nicer than staring at your phone or the television!

Ladybugs was a fun assembly, but wasn’t as quick as the average 100 piece puzzle. The greenery in the background added to the challenge, and the sheer number of ladybugs kept me on my toes. Having different shapes helped in finding the right pieces, the bright colors helped as well. Even though it was a small piece count I found it to be the right amount of difficulty; it’s definitely recommended.

Check out all the kids puzzles available at Puzzle Warehouse – they’ve got tray puzzles, block puzzles, floor puzzles, and many more to choose from. From 3 pieces all the way up to 1000 or more, there are tons of puzzles for kids or for the kid in you. 😎

Details:

Title: Ladybugs
Artist: Michael Searle
Brand: MasterPieces
Piece count: 100 pieces
Size: Approx. 15 x 12 in. (39 x 29 cm)
Purchased: N/A, sent for review

Quality:

Board: Very good
Cutting: Very good
Image: Excellent
Box: Average
Fit: Very good
Puzzle Dust: Small amount
Piece cut: Grid cut
Piece shapes: Very good variety
Finish: Slightly shiny finish, somewhat grainy feel, lays flat

Overall Rating: Very good, recommended

I received this product at no cost in order to facilitate this review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are truthful and 100% my own.

Frozen

On April 30, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

This was the first Clementoni puzzle for children that I’ve assembled and I was pretty impressed with the quality – very nice!

The pieces were thick and fit together very well, and the image reproduction was absolutely beautiful. I love the companies that make excellent quality kids puzzles, and Clementoni is one of them. What a let down that a piece was missing and it can’t be passed along so that other kids could appreciate it.

I enjoy putting together kids puzzles. Although I am checking to be sure all the pieces are there before passing it on, I actually look forward to working with them too. It’s nice to start and finish a puzzle in one “sitting”, and the images are usually fun and brightly colored. A puzzle is a puzzle in my book, whether there are 24 or 24,000 pieces. I’m not too grown up to admit I have a good time assembling them and I don’t feel that working them is beneath me or too boring. I’m just a big kid anyway!

One of these days I’m going to have to see this movie; I must have done 5 or 6 Frozen puzzles in the last year and I’m wondering why it’s so popular. All my children are in their mid to late 20’s and I haven’t seen a kids movie in a while. Although I must admit that even though I enjoy kids puzzles I’m not that much of a movie buff and have to be in exactly the right mood to watch them. For now I’ll just stick with the puzzles. 😁

Fancy Nancy

On April 21, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles3 Comments

When mom showed me this puzzle from her latest thrift store finds I was excited to assemble it, even though it’s a kids puzzle. I absolutely love the image, that little girl is so me!

This was my second Briarpatch puzzle, and the quality of this one was completely different than the first. They were both thrift store purchases, so you have to take into account that they’ve been assembled before – possibly many times. My first puzzle from this brand was an I Spy puzzle, mom and I were impressed with the quality of the pieces; they were thin but very sturdy and fit together quite well. This puzzle also had thinner pieces, but they were easily bent, didn’t fit together well and the finished puzzle didn’t lie flat. A bit of a disappointment for such a fun image. 😦

Four missing pieces was quite a bummer. Not only because I wouldn’t be able to pass this puzzle along to the school my daughter works for, but because I liked the image so much and would love to have seen the entire puzzle assembled. That’s the gamble with used puzzles though. Wait – does that mean my sweet little old lady mom and I who love buying thrift store puzzles are degenerate gamblers? Nice!

I’ve never read the Fancy Nancy books, but she looks like a little girl who’s slightly weird (not a negative if you ask me) and loves who she is even if that’s different than everyone else. That’s the impression I get from this image, and it makes me smile every time I look at that adorable face. We weird girls have to stick together and be ourselves no matter what – you go girl!

Fascinating Underwater World

On April 13, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

I love a good puzzle, even if it’s only 100 pieces and made for kids. All the better for me at the moment because I get that completion satisfaction without having to spend several days working for only a few minutes at a time and making very little progress. Kids puzzles are great for my fragile puzzling ego! 😎

Ravensburger puzzles are excellent quality and their kids puzzles are no exception. It’s almost more apparent in their puzzles for children; the wonderfully thick, large pieces and the soft click as they fit together is first-rate. I’ve said it many times before, puzzles for children need to be more sturdy and able to withstand multiple assemblies and rougher handling – Ravensburger definitely meets those standards.

My adopted grandson has a LOT of puzzles; he absolutely loves them and I always bring him one or two when I visit – I’m the puzzle grandma. His favorite brand is Ravensburger (a kid after my own heart!), and he even continues to re-assemble the ones with missing pieces over and over because he loves the way they feel and fit together. This puzzle is destined for him and I know he’s going to enjoy the picture and pieces and it will definitely be well loved at his house.