Tag: 1000 pieces

Rabbit Hole Town

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles11 Comments

Rabbit Hole Town – HUADADA – 1000 pieces

Sigh. I’ve done it again. Without realizing it I purchased another crap-tastic puzzle made in China that steals artwork and does not properly license it or credit the artist on the box. My sincere apologies. Another awful puzzle with letters on the back, a bad fit, no artist credit, and missing pieces.

After it happened the first time I vowed to take more care when buying thrift store puzzles, and I thought I had this time. When I looked at the box, it had an address in Madrid, Spain on the side and I – wrongly – assumed that meant it wasn’t one of those puzzles. I should have been more diligent and read the entire box, and will do that from now on. My only happy thought around this is that this company got exactly zero of my dollars, and what I spent went to a Goodwill store that helps out in my community.

There are three edge pieces missing, all together on one side. Normally I always choose to be positive about things like missing pieces. Not going to happen today. Today I am blaming the company, I bet this thing was missing pieces when it was brand new. I have no actual proof of that, but whatever.

Yep, I’ve got an attitude. Deal with it.

This puzzle was so tall that I decided to actually use the letters on the back to sort the puzzle and to do each half separately so I didn’t have to stand up or lean way over to reach the top and cause more pain. I’ve never done this with a puzzle before; once with a 2000 piece puzzle I laid the image sideways on my board and worked it that way but I’ve not separated a puzzle in half before.

The posted included with this puzzle is RIDICULOUSLY large. It’s exactly the size of the completed puzzle – and that’s too big to be helpful honestly. The only way to use it effectively would be to hang it up on the wall, but not everyone puzzles in a place where that’s a viable option.

The artwork is absolutely adorable, and if I knew how to find who the artist is I would give them credit. It is nowhere on the box, obviously, they can’t really advertise that they stole someone’s work and put it on their sh*t puzzle. If you know who the original artist is, please let me know in the comments so that I can at the very least credit them here on my tiny little blog.

These companies that popped up during the pandemic to take advantage of the puzzle craze that was happening don’t seem to be going anywhere, and there are more of them than ever. I would never knowingly give any of these companies my hard-earned money. It disgusts me that they steal from artists, it ticks me off that their puzzles are so popular these days and that many puzzlers think they are good quality and have no problems at all buying their products. In general it is depressing, frustrating, and enraging.

I can’t tell you what puzzles to buy, it’s really none of my business. But I can tell you how I feel about this disturbing trend and let you see it from hopefully more than one side. I understand both sides, or at least I think I do. I know that I’m lucky to be able to afford the puzzles I buy, and I also know that not everyone is able to spend as much and does their best to get as much bang for their buck as they can. I really do understand, that was me in my younger days when I didn’t have extra to spend on anything. But spending money on these puzzles keeps these trashy places in business, places that steal artwork to make a quick buck. And if the artists whose work we enjoy can’t make enough money licensing their artwork to legitimate puzzle companies then it may end up that we won’t have their work any more. If they can’t make a living at it, why continue to do it; especially when others are profiting from your creations but you aren’t.

This company needs a VERY BIG STRAW. Cause it sucks.

Musicals

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles10 Comments

Musicals – Re-marks – 1000 pieces

Musicals went together VERY quickly, even after I tried to slow myself down a bit by taking more breaks; but in the end it was just too entertaining and was finished the day I started it. Oh well, having fun was the point, right? (If you answered yes to that question, go and get yourself a treat – that was the correct answer!)

This was an excellent quality Re-marks puzzle, the fit was very good, the image reproduction was lovely and everything “worked” the way it should. The only thing that was a drawback was the shiny finish, when I was working on the darker sections I had to turn my overhead light off so that I could see what was what. I’ve only got two more Re-marks collages here in the to-do pile, perhaps a shopping trip is in order sometime soon.😇

With these types of collages I usually let you know how many of the books or movies shown I have read or seen, this one was an impressive 24/50! My parents loved music and musicals so I grew up on those wonderful old movies, plus there are quite a few I’ve watched with my kids. Anyone feel like reminiscing?

This is the first musical that I can ever remember seeing. My parents loved this movie and whenever it was showing as a matinee somewhere they would pile us all into the car and off we’d go to see the movie – again. My father, who was and is a big softie, would always cry when they sang Edelweiss, and it took me a long time to understand why. Now I know, and if I saw the movie again now I would probably cry at that scene as well.

Grease was an excellent movie and I have seen it many, many, many times. I also had the double album of the soundtrack, on vinyl of course, and could still sing every song without missing a word, and also tell you which song comes next. I wasn’t in love with John Travolta as many girls were at the time; I identified with Rizzo played by Stockard Channing, she was my favorite character in the movie. She looked a little like me, we both had freckles, and I thought she was the coolest of the cool even if she was a little mean sometimes. I still love this movie, hubby even bought me a 40th anniversary edition of the dvd that came with a little leather jacket for the dvd case.

Grease came out in theaters when I was 10 years old. Oh my gosh, how in the world is this movie 48 years old? Oh my gosh, how in the world is this woman in the mirror almost 58 years old? 👵

Prince was one of my favorite musicians back in the day, his music got me through some tough angsty teenage years. I watched this movie a lot back then, but mostly fast-forwarded to the musical parts (we had a copy on VHS). A few years ago my husband wanted to do something nice for me so he got me a copy of this movie because I was looking for it on the streaming services and I couldn’t find it. Isn’t that sweet of him? Well, it had been some time since I’d last seen the movie, so I watched it from beginning to end – then I remembered how I used to fast-forward through most of it, because the movie is TERRIBLE! The music is great, don’t get me wrong, and Prince Rogers Nelson was a musical genius, but that movie was just awful. It makes me laugh to think of it now; I knew back when I was only a stupid teenager with wildly fluctuating hormones and a not-yet-fully-formed brain that this movie was bad and the only parts worth watching were the songs.😂

So there it is, singing nuns and Austrian families, greasers and female “gangs”, and a horrid movie with great songs. What a collection, huh?

A Very Merry Holiday!

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles10 Comments

A Very Merry Holiday! by Neil Easton – Jumbo (Wasgij Original) – 1000 pieces

Suddenly a few days ago I remembered all the Wasgij puzzles I have here to do, and I also remembered how exceptional the quality is and how much fun they are. Of course it was time to grab one of them and put it together. This was the first one I got my hands on, and it looked perfect for this time of year – lots of sun and sand and people at the beach.â›±

If you’re new to Wasgij puzzles (jigsaw spelled backwards), you do not puzzle the image shown on the box, in the original series of puzzles you are shown a character on the box image and told to puzzle what that person/character sees. There are a few hints, you can see people or things in front of them and for the rest you have to just go where the puzzle takes you. It isn’t as difficult as it sounds, you will find colors or patterns when sorting or laying out the pieces – just grab some pieces and get puzzling!

Another hint is that there is one person or character shown on the box that will be in the finished image. That is the only part of the completed puzzle that I show here, I never want to spoil the fun for anyone – it’s more fun to figure it out yourself. At least I think it is.

I had the best time with this puzzle; in fact I told both Penny and my hubby that it was dangerous. It was so enjoyable for me that I couldn’t stop myself from working on it and sat in front of the board for WAY too long. I should have taken many more breaks to give my poor hip a rest, but I just didn’t want to stop! Even after I went to bed, when I didn’t fall asleep right away I got myself out of bed and had to put more pieces in. Maybe it was just me, but if that isn’t the case I feel it’s my duty to warn you that assembling this puzzle may be addictive.

If a Wasgij puzzle seems like something you might want to try, this one is most definitely recommended. 😎

Sherlock Holmes

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles10 Comments

Sherlock Holmes – Gibsons (Book Club Series) – 1000 pieces

Well, you won’t be surprised to hear that one day my impetuousness took over and on a whim I decided that puzzle shopping was the order of the day. Of course thrift store puzzles wasn’t what was wanted, it needed to be new ones. I needed to see and feel the boxes, turn them over and read them, and see whole shelves full of bright, shiny, new puzzles to decide which ones were coming home with me.

This Sherlock Holmes puzzle found it’s way into my hands and of course there was no letting it go. It’s a collage, but an interesting one and I absolutely love the look of it. Apparently Gibsons has a series of puzzles based on literature and treasured stories, and they all look like so much fun to do! They only had this puzzle at the store, but my online detective work has uncovered others in the series and they all look amazing to my eye; I’ve found Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Gothic Novels, and a very cute image of book covers. If I hadn’t already spent way too much of my puzzle budget this week they would all be on their way to my home right now.

My blog tells me the last time I assembled a Gibsons puzzle was in 2018, so it’s been a while; but that was a children’s puzzle of only 150 pieces, the last time I assembled an adult Gibsons was in April of 2017! They aren’t a brand I normally buy, but the two puzzles I just referenced were apparently quite good quality, so I’m not sure when or why I stopped buying them. Perhaps it’s just because they’re a puzzle company in the UK and I don’t normally buy cardboard puzzles from there. Honestly, I’m just not sure.

Words were the first thing I assembled after the border, and this little map was part of that. There’s something about the look of it that makes me smile.

I just love the look of this crest, that’s my only reason for showing it to you. Did you know Great Scotland Yard is the name of a street in Westminster, London? I certainly didn’t. There is also a Great Scotland Yard Hotel, which is what this crest is apparently a symbol for.

These little sections are what most people think of when they hear Sherlock Holmes; a deerstalker cap and the quote “Elementary my dear Watson”. Having never read the books or short stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, my only references are television shows and movies. If you said Sherlock Holmes to me it would conjure up images of Jonny Lee Miller as the detective and Lucy Liu as Dr. Joan Watson. 📺🔎

I had a great time with this puzzle. It was good quality and had an excellent image for puzzling – which are basically the things that are most important to me. If you think this might be a puzzle you’d like I highly recommend it.

Life is an Open Book – Paris

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles4 Comments

Life is an Open Book – Paris by Aimee Stewart – Buffalo – 1000 pieces

What a stunningly beautiful image, I had the best time with this puzzle! Of course we know that Aimee Stewart is my favorite puzzle artist, her images make for the most interesting, challenging, wonderful assembly experiences. I absolutely adore them, and this was even more fabulous than expected.

The Life is an Open Book series of puzzles has been out in the world for many years now, but I just got my hands on one of them very recently. What on Earth I was thinking waiting so long to try these out I have no idea – I can’t have been thinking very much at all. I want every single city in this series. Immediately! The quality was excellent, the image was fantastic, and the assembly was so challenging and relaxing at the same time. My little old lady’s puzzling heart is going pitter patter at the thought of collecting the remaining three cities. 💓

When I first saw this tiny little section of the puzzle, it made me smile. Of course I remember the horrible Chat Noir puzzle that mom and I put together – it was not much fun at all; but seeing this tiny representation of it made me think of her, which is lovely. We HATED this puzzle, and after assembling it we vowed to be more discerning before jumping in feet first whenever there was an image we loved; because they don’t all make for fun puzzling. Still, I have the memory of this puzzle intertwined with memories of mom and I working on it together, cussing and laughing and cheering each other on – of course it brings a smile to my face.

Fine Art puzzles are not really images I enjoy putting together, so this is most likely the last time you’ll see Ms. Lisa here on the blog. Still, I can now honestly say that I assembled an image of the Mona Lisa. 🖼

All the books, posters, and knick-knacks made for such entertaining assembling; lots of words, beautiful colors, many small things to discover and place in the image.

This artwork shows off the best of Aimee Stewart in my very humble opinion. You’ve got her shelves, lots of books, posters, bright colors, a collection of many disparate objects that all seem to work together perfectly to make a stunning piece of art. And it all fits together on a beautiful puzzle that is a joy to assemble – I couldn’t ask for more.

Other than the remaining cities in this series, of course.😉