Things I Ate as a Kid

On September 8, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

I love collages, images by Charlie Girard, and bright, fun colors on a puzzle. This puzzle has all of those things, but for some reason I didn’t enjoy this puzzle as much as I’d hoped I would. I can’t put my finger on why that was, but you can’t fall in love with every puzzle I guess.

There was nothing wrong with the puzzle itself, even with it being a thrift store purchase it still had very good quality. There isn’t anything wrong with the image either, when I saw the box I was very excited to start assembling it. Doesn’t it look like fun to you?

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It sure looked like fun to me, but for some reason I can’t quite put into words I didn’t have as much fun as I’d hoped.

Perhaps I just wasn’t in the right mood, or perhaps I just wasn’t feeling well. I think the problem was definitely with me, and not with the puzzle itself. We can’t love every puzzle, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give this one a try if you have the chance. It was good quality, and perhaps you’ll be in the exact right mood to enjoy this one to the fullest. 🙂

Neon Signs

On September 5, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw PuzzlesLeave a comment

Here’s another puzzle from several years ago, and I distinctly remember this one. It wasn’t that difficult in my opinion (other than the edges), and is a GORGEOUS finished image! Thankfully this picture isn’t too horrible, at least compared to some of the others I’ve been posting. 😎

White Mountain 1000 piece puzzles are larger than most, and I find that I enjoy working with the larger pieces. The finished puzzle seems almost like more of an accomplishment too, it’s an impressive size. Sometimes there can be a problem with image lift or many still connected pieces, but usually I find them to be a good quality puzzle.

The edges were super difficult and took a lot of time, but the rest of the puzzle was a joy. It’s listed on the page of “challenging” puzzles on the White Mountain website, but other than the edges I didn’t find it to be very difficult at all. I love the look of the neon against the black background, and working on each of the signs was great fun – hubby even wanted to help! The fit was beautiful, and the finished puzzle would look great framed.

Mom wanted to put this together too, so when I finished I numbered the edge pieces starting in the bottom left corner and going around – to give mom a leg up when she assembled it. She was very appreciative, and even did the same for me when she worked a puzzle with a difficult edge. Every little bit helps. 😉

This puzzle is still in production, so if you like the look of it – I say go for it! It’s not as difficult as you may think. I found it to be entertaining and relaxing; so much so that I still fondly remember the assembly of it more than 2 years later. ❤

Vintage Candy Shop

On September 3, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

I see a recurring theme, I didn’t post these puzzles because the pictures are so awful. On a positive note, we’re about halfway through the old puzzles so it shouldn’t be too much longer. I must have been having balance issues when I was taking these pictures; it looks like I was falling and on my way to the floor when I snapped this picture!

I think I should start including an image of what the puzzle looks like straight on for my readers, you should know what it’s supposed to look like…

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I love an Aimee Stewart image, and this one was pretty darn fun to put together even though the quality was less than optimal. There was some splitting of the chipboard, and a few pieces with image lift. The pieces were a bit thinner than I’d like, but they weren’t too bad and the fit was excellent. Ceaco puzzles seem to fit together very well no matter the quality of the board, and a good fit is something many puzzlers appreciate, myself included.

The cash register was my favorite part to assemble, the number keys and the wording on the front of the drawer were fun to put together. The drawer itself was a little more challenging, but still completely entertaining. The different candies were so bright and interesting – Aimee Stewart’s use of colors and the way she puts them together makes for added difficulty, and added pleasure. I’ve done many of her puzzles and they’re always a challenge, but always beautiful and a good time.

Fun puzzle, with fair/good quality, if you like the image and you find a copy of this one I definitely recommend it. 👍

Swing Your Partner

On September 1, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles2 Comments

I really have gotten tons better at photographing my puzzles – these pictures from several years ago are terrible. The angle is absolutely awful! This is what the image looks like straight on…

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This one was lots of fun, and the image was great for puzzling. I’ve done several puzzles by Jane Wooster Scott and have enjoyed them all, her pictures make for entertaining puzzles. 🙂 It’s a great image; the bright colors, straight lines, and symmetry of trees, etc., made for a wonderful assembly. Her artwork reminds me of Charles Wysocki in some ways, and for me they’re both artists whose work makes for excellent puzzling.

The quality of this Ceaco puzzle was good/tolerable. Sometimes the chipboard used is quite thin, but this one wasn’t too bad. There wasn’t much splitting of the board or image lift, and the fit was excellent. The image reproduction is very nice as well; the finish is a bit shiny, but thankfully not too much. Overall, a good quality puzzle that was entertaining to put together. That’s all I’m looking for!

Who Left the Cage Door Open

On August 31, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw PuzzlesLeave a comment

I’m surprised how many Bits and Pieces puzzles I haven’t posted – it’s been over 2 years since I assembled these! It could be that it’s just because the pictures were so terrible; I don’t recall making a conscious decision to omit this brand. Again, in my defense, at the time I was taking these pictures it was only to send them by text to family members to show that I had finished a puzzle – I didn’t know I’d be starting a puzzle blog. 🙂

The image itself is excellent for puzzling, especially when working on the puzzle with someone else. There are plenty of items to assemble separately, so it was easy to pick out a section for each person to work on.

I’ve found Bits and Pieces puzzles to have fluctuating quality – some puzzles are excellent, and some are extremely lacking. The pieces are a good thickness, but the fit has sometimes been very poor. The image reproduction has always been stellar in my opinion, though with a slightly shiny finish. The random cut makes for a somewhat more challenging assembly, which I enjoy (but not everyone cares for). This is a brand that we only purchase second-hand now, we try not to pay retail for a puzzle that may or may not have good quality.

I remember being disappointed by this puzzle in particular, the piece shape is very obvious in the finished image, and the fit was quite loose. That said, the image was still entertaining to assemble – mom and I enjoyed the time we spent putting it together!