Children’s Globe

On March 29, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles3 Comments

Mom found another puzzle ball for children, as usual she couldn’t help herself even though the last two puzzle balls we’ve gotten had pieces missing. Always the optimist! Luckily for us not only were all the pieces there, we liked the image much more than the last one and it was a lot of fun to assemble.

The quality of these 3D puzzles is very good and I find them quite entertaining. The pieces are made of thick plastic and fit together very snugly so that they stay together without glue. All the pieces are also numbered on the back with an arrow underneath the number pointing in the direction that the next number should go. You can assemble the puzzle using only the numbers, only the image, or a combination of the two.

I like to separate the pieces by the numbers in groups of ten, then flip them over and use the image to put them together. We’ve put them together only using the numbers before, and it’s just not as satisfying for us. But puzzles are supposed to be fun, and whichever way makes you happy is the way you should do it.

Ravensburger has puzzle balls from 54 to 540 pieces, and I think they’re a lot of fun. If you come across one in a thrift store give it a try, you just might have a great time!

Unicorns

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

If the first puzzle ball we found at the thrift store hadn’t been complete I don’t think we’d have bought anymore. That first globe we assembled was lots of fun for us and all the pieces were there, now mom can’t seem to pass up a puzzle ball if she finds any at the thrift stores. 🙂

5 missing pieces from a 96 piece puzzle is a lot, and it makes assembling a ball quite difficult. Fortunately we were able to get a pretty picture without having to show the glaring holes. This was our first time putting together a kid’s puzzle ball, and the fit seemed a bit odd. The pieces didn’t seem to want to click or stay together as well as the other ones we’ve assembled, the finished image isn’t as smooth as you’d want a ball to be. I don’t know if that’s the puzzle itself or the fact that it’s been assembled before (perhaps many times); those are the chances you take purchasing from thrift stores I guess.

Other than the fit, the quality was excellent. The pieces are thick and plastic and are numbered on the back to assist with assembly. There is an arrow underneath the number to tell you in which direction the next piece will be placed, this is extremely helpful when you’re assembling it by the numbers. You don’t have to use them though, you can put it together using the image just like any other puzzle – it’s completely up to you.

I hate saying that the quality was good “other than the fit”, fit is pretty darned important with a puzzle! Although those of us who are hard core puzzle practitioners will sometimes put up with a lot to be able to get a fix of that sweet, sweet puzzle magic. At least I would. I’ve got a full-blown addiction going on here!

Monarch Butterfly Tree

On March 11, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles2 Comments

Usually when you see a 100 piece puzzle they are made for children, these are not kids puzzles! Pomegranate has a whole line of 100 piece puzzles with images by Charley Harper, Edward Gorey, Henri Rousseau and many more. They are beautiful little puzzles that come in a metal tin that’s perfect for traveling. Pomegranate knows how to do it right!

The pieces don’t exactly feel the same as their larger piece count puzzles, but they’re still thick and fit together very well. The finish is a little shiny, but the image reproduction is beautiful and bright with clean lines. I love their images, such beautiful works of art!

I find Paul Huessenstamm’s work is lovely to look at, as well as fun and challenging to assemble, I highly recommend trying a puzzle with his artwork. I reviewed his Mandala Fruit Tree last year and thoroughly enjoyed it.

It’s a small little puzzle, and doesn’t take much time. It’s perfect for travel in a very thin and portable metal tin. There are quite a few of these mini puzzles available, all with beautiful artwork; you should check them out!

Snow Leopard

On March 8, 2018March 8, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles1 Comment

Here’s the last of the kid’s puzzles from the big assembly day I had a while ago. It’s an interesting picture, isn’t it?

This wasn’t an overly easy 100 piece puzzle, but I think that’s a good thing. Kid’s puzzles should have a little challenge to them; in my opinion if they’re too easy they become boring. Snow Leopard definitely wasn’t boring. In fact, I thought I was assembling a tiger the whole time! The title of the image was nowhere to be found on the box and I had to go searching around online to find the name. It can’t be that difficult to find a small amount of space on the box to give credit to the artist and the name of the work, can it?

This is a Ceaco puzzle, so the pieces were on the thin side. The box was my least favorite type, with a pull tap to open the top edge and tabs that fit into each other to re-close it (like a cereal box). That’s a great design for making sure pieces end up missing, thank goodness all the pieces were accounted for!

The pieces fit together well, and I think the image reproduction was very good. Normally I don’t care for Ceaco, but we do tend to buy their “special” puzzles at the thrift stores because they are usually a little better quality. This is a “Glow Zone” puzzle, and we thought it was a tiger, which is the reason for the purchase. My oldest son LOVES tigers. It was a relatively quick assembly, and I got a great glow picture too!

Ballet Lesson (2)

On March 3, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles2 Comments

Ballet Lesson – Ravensburger – 100 pieces

This is the second Ravensburger puzzle with this title I’ve assembled, the first was only 35 pieces and not nearly as beautiful as this one. This puzzle is a lovely image enhanced with glitter – I loves me some glitter! How disappointing that it was missing a piece. 😦

The colors in this image are so pretty, and with the added fun of glitter it’s just an all around beautiful puzzle. Absent piece aside, the quality was excellent and to my surprise there wasn’t a ton of glitter loose in the box. A lot of times with a glitter puzzle much of it comes off and ends up in a pile underneath the pieces, not so with this puzzle. Yet another reason Ravensburger puzzles are my absolute favorite. I was hoping it would be complete so we could pass it on, but it’s glaringly obvious that a piece has escaped.

Missing pieces are the chance you take when you purchase puzzles used. I would say probably 90-95% of the puzzles we get from thrift stores are complete, and that’s a pretty good average. Sure, it’s a little disappointing when you find a missing piece, but you still got to assemble a puzzle. Well, most of it anyway. 😉