Paris

On October 24, 2019October 24, 2019 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles2 Comments

I didn’t realize when I was assembling it that this artwork was by Ciro Marchetti – no wonder I loved the image so much, now it makes perfect sense! There are two other images in this series, New York and London. Hopefully these aren’t exclusive to Ceaco, I’d love to find them by another brand with better quality.

I was very disappointed by the quality of this puzzle. The pieces weren’t completely cut through, some so much so that I couldn’t separate them without damaging them. There was an abundance of puzzle dust that got everywhere, the fit was terrible and loose, and the pieces were thin and very easily bent. It’s been my experience that Ceaco puzzles of 750 pieces or less are better quality than their puzzles of 1000 pieces or more. I certainly won’t be assembling any more of their puzzles over 750 pieces if I can help it.

Paris 1

The fireworks and the word Paris were so much fun to assemble, I didn’t find them overly challenging. Many puzzlers say that assembling fireworks is frustrating and difficult, though I didn’t find that to be the case with this puzzle. I absolutely loved it!

Paris 2

This statue/light post was the most challenging part of the puzzle in my opinion. It was the last bit to be assembled, but I love the look of it – it’s very Parisian.

Paris is a beautiful image, but unfortunately the puzzle it was attached to was of poor quality. I can’t recommend this puzzle, but if you find the image made by another brand it is highly recommended. Even with the awful quality I found the actual assembly of the artwork to be extremely entertaining.

Vintage Games

On October 15, 2019 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles6 Comments

I’ve had an odd relationship with this puzzle, it’s been in my home for well over 2 years I think and I’ve started to assemble it several times and ended up putting it away. I’m not sure why this time was a go, but I’m glad I finally got to it – it was very entertaining!

The worst part for me is the very beginning when you see all the pieces you have to sort through. Since my method is to lay the pieces out on trays, I try to decide on several areas to pull pieces for while I’m sorting and traying. I pull the pieces for quite a few different sections for a couple of reasons; 1) to reduce the number of pieces I have to lay out, and 2) to be able to start assembling something right away. Once I have the edge assembled it makes me happy to be able to grab a container of sorted pieces and start to work.

In the case of this puzzle the sections I pulled out were the 4 game boards in the corners, the pieces with words on them, the chinese checkerboard, and the dominoes. The game boards were the MOST fun to put together, the colors are bright and the patterns are interesting. There were many words strewn all around the inside of the puzzle image, and many were hard to complete because they weren’t always easy to find.

Vintage Games 1

I was intrigued by the playing cards with the cats. They all had different phrases on them; The Future, The Past, Love Matters, The Present – what game was this? Does anyone have a clue? Almost all of the vintage games were slightly self explanatory, board games, cards, word games, bingo, etc. The cards with the cats confused me though, were they some kind of kitty cat tarot cards? 🤨

Vintage Games 2

Scrabble tiles, they make me smile. I love playing Scrabble, though no one will play with me around here. I’m pretty good at it and it gets frustrating, apparently, for my family to constantly lose to me. I understand the feeling though, I won’t play strategy games with my husband because he consistently kicks my a** at them. We each have our strengths I suppose. 😉

I’m glad I finally took the plunge and assembled this puzzle. It was fun, the right amount of challenging, and had beautiful colors. I enjoyed it very much, and it is definitely recommended. The quality was excellent, although the fit was a little looser than normal for a Ravensburger; though the image was so compelling and fun that I didn’t mind too much about the fit.

Celebrity Chief Chef!

On October 10, 2019 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles1 Comment

I haven’t done a Wasgij for a while, and I forgot how much fun they are. As usual I am not showing the full image, no spoilers allowed! I only show the person (or thing) shown on the box as a hint. I don’t think the hints are overly helpful though, at least they aren’t for me.

Jumbo puzzles are excellent quality, although I do realize that sometimes there can be a problem with pieces fitting where they don’t belong. It usually isn’t a problem with the Wasgij puzzles though, the images are usually full of bright colors and busyness. There are so many Wasgij puzzles here to do, but sometimes I forget about the giant stack of them in my closet.

For the most part the Wasgij images aren’t hard to figure out, you normally know what the people are wearing and can start with that. Also, as you’re sorting you can find blocks of color or something with which to begin. It’s just a matter of figuring out what the perspective is, or what you’re supposed to be deciphering. They’re always entertaining!

Beaches of South Walton

On October 5, 2019 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles4 Comments

Interesting puzzle from a company I’ve never heard of before. I couldn’t find anything online about them either; they may not be in business still, I’m not sure.

Unfortunately it had a terribly mushy fit, but otherwise I found the quality of the pieces quite good. They were thick and had a good hand feel. The image seemed a little blurry, but I believe that was the nature of the artwork.

South Walton 1

Apparently Bow Wow Meow is a pet supply store in South Walton; I just loved the name, very cute. 😉

South Walton 2

The map portion of this puzzle was one of the most fun sections to assemble, although surprisingly I found the green section quite entertaining as well.

Overall the mushy fit was disappointing and did not make for a great first impression. I had high hopes for this puzzle because the chipboard used was very good, but the fit of the pieces made for a sometimes frustrating assembly.

The Sewing Shed

On September 26, 2019September 26, 2019 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles6 Comments

This puzzle had my mom all over it, every piece and every section reminded me of her. It was a sweet, somewhat sad assembly, but in the end it makes me smile. It’s a beautiful image, a great quality puzzle, and brings up many lovely memories for me. 💗

Usually Ravensburger puzzles don’t have such prominent piece shapes in the finished image, but otherwise I can’t fault the quality. The pieces have that fantastic hand feel, and the fit was wonderful. As I’m going along with the assembly, and especially once I’m finished there is a lot of running my hands over the puzzle – no other puzzle feels like a Ravensburger! And for this one I found myself doing even more of that than usual. It feels so nice I can’t seem to stop myself.

One of the first things I noticed when sorting pieces was this little heart…

The Sewing Shed 2

I didn’t call her “mum”, but she certainly was my bestie! How sweet is that? I love it!

This assembly was so nice that I kept telling myself to slow down because I didn’t want it to be over too quickly. I couldn’t help it for the most part though, I have almost no self control. 😉

The Sewing Shed 1

This sewing box looks almost exactly like one my mom set up for me when she taught me cross-stitch. I loved cross-stitching, and carried my sewing box everywhere until the handle broke off! I’ve traded my needle and floss for jigsaw puzzles (they’re much easier on my poor aging eyes), but I have wonderful memories of crafting with mom.

Great puzzle, beautiful image, entertaining assembly, and mom – what a fantastic combination!