Pulitzer Prize

On September 10, 2019 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles6 Comments

I was a little disappointed with this puzzle – not only did I lose a piece (I seem to be very good at that lately), but there was serious problem with the image reproduction. You can see at the top of the puzzle it looks as if someone has poured a dark stain over it.

You can see on the left the puzzle itself, and on the right is the poster that came with the puzzle – there’s a huge difference. I contacted the company to let them know about the problem, and to their credit they got in touch with me the same day.

They wanted to see pictures of the problem, so that they could speak to their manufacturers – and that was the main reason I got in touch with them. All I’m looking for are great puzzles to do, and when I feel there’s something they need to hear about that could help them improve quality, I always want to let them know.

They also offered to send me a free puzzle, but I didn’t take them up on it. Even though there was a problem with the printing, it was only a small part of the puzzle; and even with the stain across the top I still enjoyed assembling the puzzle. In that way, I feel I got my money’s worth and don’t feel that I need to be reimbursed with a new puzzle. I love their collage puzzles, and this one problem won’t keep me from buying more in the future.

The piece shape is very obvious, which it seems to be in most of their puzzles. It doesn’t detract from the assembly for me, but it would matter if you planned on displaying it. The pieces are a good thickness and fit together well, and other than the image reproduction issue the quality was very good.

The assembly was entertaining and engrossing, and it went together very quickly for a 1000 piece. It was interesting to see which of the books I’ve read and to see all the ones I’ve never even heard of. I thought I was well read, but of all the Pulitzer Prize winning books shown I’ve only read seven of them. I guess I’m not as well read as I thought! Oh well, my family loves me and thinks I’m pretty awesome, that’s what truly matters.

Review: Lip Smackin’ Sweets

On August 28, 2019 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews2 Comments

Lip Smackin’ Sweets was difficult, but in a good way. Even though the quality was less than optimal it was still entertaining and completely absorbing.

Lafayette Puzzle Factory has good/fair quality; though I have noticed that the smaller piece count puzzles seem to be better quality. This 1000 piece had thinner pieces, a loose fit, lots of puzzle dust, and didn’t lay completely flat. On the good side there were a nice variety of shapes and the image reproduction is crisp, which is many times not true of photographic collages.

Lip Smackin' 1

The plate above was my favorite part; the bright yellow was easy to find as were the Nerds. I’m not sure I know exactly why this part was my favorite, but it was. Perhaps I just liked the look of it.

Lip Smackin' 2

The little blue “Satellite Wafers” were one of the first things I assembled. The pale blue was easy to find, and there were quite a few of them. I had a good time figuring out which satellite went where – I enjoyed the challenge. I never did like these candies though, it felt like eating tasteless styrofoam. Blech!

Some puzzlers don’t mind a less than premium puzzle, and for those people I’m recommending Lip Smackin’ Sweets. Even though the pieces were thin and the fit was loose I still enjoyed this puzzle. It doesn’t have to be perfection for me (or anyone really) to be entertained – and in the end, it’s a beautiful finished puzzle. This is a pretty image, with bright, fun colors and it kept me absorbed and wanting to be at my board for several days. That’s truly what it’s about.

Details:

Title: Lip Smackin’ Sweets
Artist: Karen Romanko
Brand: Lafayette Puzzle Factory
Piece count: 1000 pieces
Size: Approx. 27 x 20 in. (69 x 51 cm)
Purchased: New

Quality:

Board: Good, but thin
Cutting: Good
Image: Very good
Box: Average
Fit: Fair, quite loose
Puzzle Dust: Moderate amount
Piece cut: Grid cut
Piece shapes: Very good variety
Finish: Slightly shiny finish, does not lay flat

Overall Rating: Good, recommended

Romance Collage

On August 23, 2019August 23, 2019 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles2 Comments

Another puzzle my darling daughter insisted that I purchase. It was much more difficult than I thought it would be, but I think I needed something difficult at the time. It gave me a little of my confidence back, and the look of it makes me very happy.

Romance 1

This is one my of favorite vignettes in this collage, so sweet! It reminds me of when my kids were little. Sigh. I’m feeling old these days.

Romance 2

I’m not sure why, but this is another favorite. I think it would make a great puzzle all by itself.

It’s such a nice image, it’s too bad the piece shapes are so prominent. Gluing it might help with that, but otherwise it wouldn’t make a good wall hanging.

The random cut was nice, I haven’t put together a randomly cut puzzle in a while. It took a while for my brain to get back in the right space, but once it did the assembly was quite entertaining.

Ready for a Drive

On August 20, 2019 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles2 Comments

Despite this being a thrift store puzzle with slightly poor quality that had obviously been assembled several times, I still had a good time putting it together. 🙂

There were a lot of bent tabs with image lift, and the image was more challenging than I’d assumed. Those are the chances you take with used puzzle, but most of time even with a poorer quality puzzle I still enjoy the assembly. White Mountain puzzles can be hit or miss; and even though this puzzle seemed slightly the worse for wear, it wasn’t too bad to work with.

Mom and I both really liked the image when we first got this puzzle (quite some time ago), but I’m not sure why it took me so long to get to assembling it. Sometimes I have to be in the right mood for a particular puzzle; but I’m glad I finally got to it.

It took longer than expected to complete, but I kept at it and eventually got it finished. It could be in part that this puzzle makes me think of mom. Perhaps I didn’t want to be done with it, because when I look at it I think of her. Not because anything in the image reminds me of her, but because of the image as a whole and how much we both loved it and thought it would be an entertaining puzzle. It was, and I’m sad that we didn’t get to work on it together.

Ready for a Drive 1

I think the little girl in the blue dress is my favorite person in this image – she reminds me of myself – a little cranky, in an adorable way. Mom called me cute all the time, but she was probably a bit biased.

Review: Canvas

On August 16, 2019August 16, 2019 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews4 Comments

It was no surprise to me that I absolutely loved this puzzle, the image is so different from the “normal” puzzle pictures that you usually see of countrysides, cats, and collages. I love that it’s unusual and colorful, and it made for a challenging but thoroughly entertaining assembly. (My apologies for the slightly wonky picture – I am obviously not Ansel Adams!)

Cloudberries is a newer puzzle company with a small catalog of interesting images, and I have found the quality to be excellent. The pieces are a good thickness, with a good variety of shapes, and fit together well. The image reproduction is stellar, with bright colors, sharp lines, and no areas with fuzzy or blurred images.

There are more ballerinas (2 prong/2 hole) than anything other shape, but that’s usually the case with most puzzle companies. It was a bit of a pain when I got to the all white pieces, but didn’t bother me with the colored areas at all.

Canvas 1

The color wheel was the first thing I assembled and I really love the look of it (that it had words was a bonus!)

Canvas 2

The darker of the two globes had me spinning my wheels for a bit, but I got it done in the end. I work under artificial light and it was hard to distinguish the right pieces and where the lines were. It looks pretty darned cool though! I absolutely loved this image; it’s so unusual and colorful, and much more interesting to assemble than a landscape. (At least it was for me.)

Canvas 3

You can see in the upper right corner where it looks “dirty” for lack of a better word. It’s part of the image, but was a little confusing at first. I thought the box was a little dirty in places too, but it’s part of the “Canvas” image. On the plus side, it did make it easier with the white pieces. 😉

I adored this puzzle; the assembly was entertaining and interesting, with just the right amount of challenge. I definitely recommend you give Cloudberries puzzles a try if you have the chance. They have some fantastic images in their catalog, and they make a great puzzle! 🌦🍒👍

Details: