Scooby-Doo!

On May 24, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

The quality of this kids puzzle impressed me! I hadn’t heard of Pressman Toys puzzles before, perhaps because I don’t have children to buy toys for anymore. This image makes me smile, who doesn’t like Scooby-Doo?

The pieces were quite thick and you can see that the fit is excellent. There are a variety of piece shapes and they are squared off more than rounded which makes it a little more interesting. The colors are bright and fun, and the background has just enough going on so that it’s not bland. I enjoyed assembling this puzzle, and a time or two I had to stop and think, which is good! My feeling is it needs to be a little bit of a challenge or it will be too boring.

I enjoy working these 100 piece puzzles, it’s nice to sit for 5 minutes or so and work a puzzle from start to finish. And I’m not ashamed to say there have been one or two puzzles that were quite a bit of a challenge for me! This was an excellent quality puzzle, and if you have kids you’re buying puzzles for I would say the quality of Pressman Toys puzzles is very good. I’ve only worked this one, but what I’ve seen impressed me. 🙂

The Frozen Difference

On May 12, 2017May 18, 2023 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

This puzzle is called The Frozen Difference because the image on the box top and the image on the puzzle are different. There are nine small differences between the two, and there is a small poster of the puzzle in the box with the differences circled. How many more times do you think I can use a form of the word different differently?

As you can see by the picture, the pieces are somewhat warped and do not lay flat. I have never seen that in an adult Ravensburger puzzle, however I haven’t done any children’s puzzles from them and can’t say if it is typical or not. I believe from knowing the excellent quality that Ravensburger produces that the issue with this particular puzzle lies in the fact that it was a thrift store purchase and was most likely used plenty and/or perhaps not reboxed or stored properly. (This is Florida after all, and you wouldn’t believe the things that can become warped in the heat. Plastic, cardboard, minds, ideas, etc.)

I will admit that I have not seen Frozen. My kids are adults now and I don’t have to sit through their movies any more. I know the sisters are Anna and Elsa, I know the snowman is Olaf, I know the song Let It Go is burned into the brains of parents with young children, and I know that I’m thankful that I don’t have young children. 😉

The thickness of the pieces, especially compared to other children’s puzzles, is excellent! They feel sturdy in your hand, and the linen finish is top notch as well. There is a nice variety of piece shapes and they fit together well in spite of the slight warping. The quality overall is excellent, and I will always recommend Ravensburger puzzles. They’re top of the line in my book!

Ravensburger has been and continues to be my favorite jigsaw puzzle manufacturer. This puzzle has issues, but I cannot say for certain if it was a manufacturing problem, or just because the puzzle was purchased secondhand and was loved and used a lot.

Who does this?

On April 29, 2017May 18, 2023 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

Double Trouble – Unknown manufacturer – 100 pieces (actually there’s only 93!)

Why go to the trouble of donating a puzzle to a thrift store when there are so many missing pieces? While I honestly appreciate everyone who donates to thrift stores (it’s our main source of cool puzzles!) I don’t understand why they would donate a puzzle missing 7% of it’s pieces. When mom and I are done with a puzzle that we don’t want to keep we take it back to the thrift store – unless it’s missing pieces. We know how frustrating it is to work on a puzzle only to find out at the end that all the pieces aren’t there and we don’t want to knowingly do that to anyone else. I know that’s the risk we take buying a jigsaw puzzle used, a piece or two could have escaped while it was being re-boxed, things happen. Those don’t bother me as much as the ones that are obviously missing a LOT of pieces. If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be better to just put it in the recycling? This is why I’ve started assembling the smaller puzzles that we get for my “grandson”, I don’t want to give him a puzzle that can’t be completed. Alright, I’m climbing down off my high horse. 😉

Pretty good day of puzzling today, I’m working on the 1500 piece golf puzzle for hubby. It’s coming along quite well and I’m enjoying it immensely. From what I’ve been able to find online I don’t think this brand of puzzle is still being manufactured; the one I’m assembling is from 1993. There are Mandolin puzzles on Amazon and eBay, but I’m not finding a website or a place to purchase them from the manufacturer. Interesting.

Also, mom and I finished a 500 piece Springbok puzzle today that we started yesterday, and it was very cute! I haven’t written the post about that one yet, but it’ll be up on the blog eventually. It’s so nice to have time with mom where we can just sit and talk and do puzzles together, we always have such a good time. Even when the puzzle isn’t the best the fact that we’re working on it together is what matters. Puzzle buddies rock! 🙂

Sugar Plum Fairies

On March 25, 2017May 19, 2023 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles2 Comments

Yup another 100 piece puzzle! If I do them I might as well put them on the blog – puzzles are puzzles no matter the size!

This puzzle would be difficult for a young child I believe, because a couple of more “mature” ladies were laughing while trying to assemble this because we found it a bit taxing!!! Not kidding. 😮

Typical Ceaco puzzle, nothing new in the quality category. Image reproduction and piece shapes are good, but the pieces are a bit thin and the puzzle doesn’t always lie flat when completed.

I know this is a bit feminine for a boy, but why not give him a chance to assemble it? He may find the increased difficulty a fun challenge, you never know, right?

Seavilians

On March 15, 2017May 19, 2023 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

Another thrift store puzzle put together to be sure all the pieces are there before giving it to a child. This one wasn’t bad!

You can see from the picture that the pieces don’t lie completely flat and they are a bit thin, but otherwise this a good kid’s puzzle. The image reproduction is quite good and it was fun to assemble. The top blue part took some actual concentration, but it isn’t too difficult to for young child in my opinion. This one is definitely going to my “grandson”, he’s a puzzle geek just like me! 🙂