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. 😉

Life’s a Beach

On January 23, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

IMG_E4145 — Life’s a Beach – Red Farm Studio – 100 pieces

This was not an easy 100 piece puzzle – excellent timing, difficult is good when you’ve got lots of time to kill. New company that I’ve never heard of before, and it was in an interesting box as well with a handle and a flip up top. Very cool. 🙂

Mom went to the thrift store specifically to find smaller puzzles that would work for me on the small bedside table and she found a couple of really good ones. We always love trying out new companies, and there are so many out there!

I assembled this puzzle with mom’s help while she was visiting and we had to focus a little more than normal. The wood grain both made it difficult and also helped in the assembly. It’s really a pretty puzzle, and would look good framed even though it’s small. I’m not someone who frames many puzzles, sometimes I purchase them specifically for framing but normally they get taken apart. Some get sent to mom’s for her to assemble, some are donated to the school my daughter works for, and the others are donated to the local senior center.

The quality of this puzzle was good. They were a good thickness, perhaps only slightly thinner than normal and they fit together very well. The image reproduction was very nice, and the interesting box was an added bonus. A quick search online didn’t come up with many Red Farm Studio puzzles, perhaps they’re not still being produced – I’m not sure, and I’m not sure how to find out either. (My caffeine intake has been limited, so my poor gray cells are struggling to keep up!)

It’s always fun to try new brands and find puzzles with interesting images. Luckily, living in what seems like the thrift store capital of the world makes it relatively easy to find puzzles of all shapes and sizes. We still haven’t started the brand new, unopened 6000 piece Schmidt puzzle she found – for $1.99!

Vibrant Puzzle Calendar Kit Puzzles 11 & 12

On January 11, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles2 Comments

Potted Plants – 100 pieces

Cottage – 100 pieces

I’ve assembled all 6 puzzles (12 images), and I have to say I really enjoyed them, even much more than I thought I would! I think these two images are my favorite out of all of them, why did I save this one for last?

There’s not much left to say about these one coffee puzzles; I had a great time assembling them, and it’s so nice to sit down and work a puzzle from start to finish in just a few minutes. If you haven’t seen the rest of the images, follow the links below.

Puzzles 1 & 2 Flower shop & Butterflies

Puzzles 3 & 4 Bouquet & Window Box

Puzzles 5 & 6 Gourds & Bird

Puzzles 7 & 8 Aspens & Heart

Puzzles 9 & 10 Ladybug & Ivy

I’d love for us to find the other calendar kit they produced, because I loved this one. It’s going to mom’s house next, and I’m sure she’ll enjoy it as well. We absolutely got our 99 cents worth from this purchase! 🙂

Vibrant Puzzle Calendar Kit Puzzles 9 & 10

On January 9, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles1 Comment

Ladybug – 100 pieces

Ivy – 100 pieces

I wanted to start off the new year by keeping track of the number of puzzles and pieces assembled, so I started the year with a one coffee puzzle. There’s only one left after this one! Very pretty images, but I choose poorly – I hadn’t yet finished my first cup of coffee and both of the sides of this puzzle were a little bit of a challenge for my pre-caffeinated brain.

I assembled the edges on the ladybug side first, but seeing the pieces left I decided to flip the puzzle over to assemble it, my poor brain wasn’t awake enough yet to handle those red flowers! The other side was a little less difficult, but I have to say that it took me much longer than it should have. I’m going to say that the reason is not enough sleep – that’s my story and I’m sticking to it! 😉

I’ve really enjoyed these small piece count puzzles partly because they’re quick and fun to assemble, and partly because they’re not childish pictures. It’s nice to assemble a puzzle in just a few minutes and for it to be a more mature image. One more to go!