Review: Vintage Posters (Paris)

On March 1, 2020March 1, 2020 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews2 Comments

Doesn’t this look like a great time? It was! I absolutely loved it, even though it seemed like it would be quite difficult I found it had the perfect amount of challenge, and wonderful quality.

Puzzler1909 (a fellow puzzle blogger) and I conducted an international puzzle swap so we could work brands that are difficult to get in our home countries. I sent an Artifact wooden puzzle and a Galison; and I received this D-Toys, a Grafika, and a bonus Art Puzzle. (It was one I really wanted, but was missing pieces, so I chose another puzzle. She sent it anyway, knowing how much I like the artist – how sweet was that?)

D-Toys can be purchased in the US, but this image was nowhere to be found at any of my usual puzzle dealers. I’ve found that some of their puzzles aren’t the best to work with, but if you get the “high quality” ones they’re absolutely lovely. The pieces are a good thickness with a nice fit and excellent hand feel, and they are altogether very very nice to work with. This puzzle was hands down the best quality D-Toys puzzle I’ve ever assembled. 🙂

There was a big party in Paris, four years after the Eiffel Tower was built, this is a poster advertising it and I think it’s gorgeous! Although I’m not sure what all the boxes on the left side are showing…

Paris 1

Will the party be so amazing that it blows you away? Is there a tornado coming? It’s very silly, but seriously, what is happening here?

Paris 2

Theater, clowns and music, this was one big bash wasn’t it? Apparently they knew how to throw at party back in the 19th century. 😉

Paris 3

I know this is meant to show that there will be acrobats at the Eiffel Tower, but to me it just looks as though they’re tossing women off head first! All kidding aside, you can see the excellent fit in all of these close up images – it was fantastic, and wonderful to work with.

This puzzle was a joy to assemble, and although I was a little nervous when I opened the box and started sorting it wasn’t nearly as difficult as I thought it would be. I was wondering if assembling words would be more difficult with a language I don’t speak or read, but it turns out it was no problem at all. (Although it might be a challenge with a language whose characters/alphabet are different than English) The quality, the fit, the image – they all made for a fantastic assembly and a really good time. Many, many thanks to Nicola at Puzzler1909 for swapping puzzles with me – I am so looking forward to assembling the other two!

If you can find this puzzle and the image appeals to you, it is very highly recommended! 👍🗼

Details:

Title: Vintage Posters (Paris)
Artist: Unknown
Brand: D-Toys
Piece count: 1000 pieces
Size: Approx. 27 x 19 in. (68 x 47 cm)
Purchased: Used

Quality:

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

Overall Rating: Excellent, highly recommended

Vintage Tin Toys In Progress

On February 26, 2020February 26, 2020 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw PuzzlesLeave a comment

Vintage Tin Toys IP — Vintage Tin Toys by Lewis T. Johnson – Milton Bradley – 1000 pieces

I didn’t actually start assembling this puzzle until yesterday, it was been sitting on my board waiting to be sorted for more than a day. Finally got my lazy butt in gear and started working on it!

It’s much more difficult than I thought it would be, but I find that I’m not at all frustrated with it. Finding the right shape or the right color is still relaxing and peaceful, even if the rate of assembly is a little slower than normal. My daughter chose an awesome puzzle for me, she’s the sweetest❣

My one frustration with this puzzle is that the image on the front of the box is, of course, covered in one area by a banner with information that could have been put elsewhere. There is an image of the artwork on the back of the box with no obstructions, but it’s smaller than the image on the front! So annoying! Seriously, do they think that’s something we puzzlers are looking for?

My eyesight is declining as I get older, and a smaller image isn’t what I’m looking for. If you can’t give me an unobstructed view of the artwork on the front of the box, give me a poster to work from. I realize that it may cost you a few more cents in production, but trust me, you’ll make the consumers very happy and more inclined to purchase your product. Duh! Is this really something you need to be told?!

Sorry for the rant guys, guess I just needed to get that off my chest.

Happy puzzling today! 😎🧩

Bedtime Stories

On February 24, 2020February 24, 2020 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles4 Comments

Bedtime Stories was so much fun, the bright and colorful covers made for a truly entertaining assembly. There were a few books I’d never heard of, although to be fair it’s been a long, long, time since my children were young enough to read books like these.

It was a great quality puzzle too, which makes an entertaining image even more fun to put together. The pieces were a good thickness with an excellent fit, and the image reproduction was bright and colorful. The only drawback was a little bit of a shiny finish which sometimes made the darker pieces hard to see with the glare.

Bedtime 1

The Tom Sawyer cover was a little challenging to put together, but I adore the look of it; I’ve never seen that cover before. The Alice in Wonderful cover was lovely, and I think this puzzle would be fantastic in a larger piece count – 1500 or 2000 pieces would be extremely entertaining!

Bedtime 2

These are books I remember from my childhood, though I admit that James and the Giant Peach wasn’t on my radar until I had kids of my own. I LOVED Pippi Longstocking books when I was young – she was bold and brash and didn’t care what anyone thought, and I wanted to be just like her. In many ways I think I’ve succeeded; bold is a word that’s been used more than a few times to describe me, and I honestly don’t give a bleep what anyone thinks of me – just like Pippi! 🙂

The Jungle Book was my absolute favorite movie, though I didn’t read the book until I was a bit older. Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel was a book I hadn’t thought about in years and years, but I remember it very fondly. I loved it as a child, and just looking at the cover makes me smile. Anyone else remember Mike Mulligan and his steam shovel named Mary Anne and the problem they dug themselves into?

I have such good memories of books and time spent reading from when I was a child; I was a voracious reader with an imagination that was capable of many, many flights of fancy. I’ve raised three children who also love to read, and that makes me unbelievably happy and proud. 📚

Wysocki In Progress

On February 23, 2020 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles8 Comments

Mansfield IP — Mansfield Air Spectacular by Charles Wysocki – Buffalo – 1000 pieces

After not touching any puzzles pieces for two days the withdrawal symptoms were too much to take, so I sorted and began this one yesterday. As you can see all that’s left is sky and clouds, so it shouldn’t be too much longer and it will be finished! Once I put all the clouds together I don’t think doing the rest of the all blue pieces will take much time at all.

I got this puzzle with my Christmas gift certificate to Barnes and Noble (along with about 9 other puzzles), and I love that it isn’t the typical Wysocki image. It’s been great putting it together so far, the pieces were so easy to sort – I love that – and have made for a quick assembly.

The quick assembly part is great, because my daughter brought me a new puzzle yesterday, and I love it so much that I can’t wait to start working on it! I even told her that I was a little bummed that I had a puzzle on my board because I wanted to stop everything and work on the new one! 😍

The new puzzle happiness had my PADS flaring up and I went the teensiest little bit crazy and ordered 5 new puzzles online, I haven’t done that in quite a long time! I’ve ordered one or two puzzles here and there, but never a bigger order from one place – it’s been well over a year and a half I think, maybe even longer.

In my defense, I was left unsupervised with a credit card and a computer and I cannot be held responsible for my actions. 😇

Game Pieces

On February 18, 2020February 18, 2020 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles6 Comments

My last puzzle completed in January was a thrift store find that was lots of fun and went very quickly; I started at 4 am and finished just after noon (that includes some running errands too). I’m no puzzle dynamo though, collages go together much more quickly than a single image, and when an image draws me in like this one did I find it terribly difficult to stop. It’s an affliction!

It’s easier puzzling in the wee hours of the morning; there are no distractions and no interruptions – just a peaceful, quiet house and the only thing I have to think about is does this blue look the same as the blue I’m trying to match? And do I need a piece with 3 tabs or 4?

Better than typical White Mountain quality made it very nice to work with; the pieces fit together extremely well and the fantastic collage image was completely engrossing. There was no image lift at all which is surprising for a secondhand puzzle, and the image reproduction was bright and colorful with no fuzzy or blurry areas. Very good quality all around!

Anybody know what game that butterfly card is for? I don’t ever remember seeing it before. How about the Pig card, anyone know what game that is from? There were a lot of games I didn’t know, ever heard of Flinch? If you have heard of or played any of these games, please let me know. I could probably look these things up online, but to be honest I’d rather have a conversation in the comments with a fellow member of the PADS posse. 😉

Game Pieces 2

Oh my! Did I love the dice bubble from the Trouble game when I was young! I would sit and just pop it/roll the die over and over – it just felt really cool! (Can you tell I am from the pre-internet generation? LOL) Just looking at it makes me smile. Was it just me, or did anyone else love to play with it too?

Even though there was a missing piece I wasn’t disappointed at all, it was still tons of fun. It was just what I needed after a puzzle that was pretty much all one color and all kinds of YAWN – I wanted bright colors and fun, and this puzzle definitely delivered. If you come across a copy I highly recommend it. Loved it! 🎲 👍😍