Tag: 1000 pieces

Review: The Christmas Library

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews7 Comments
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The Christmas Library by Aimee Stewart – Ravensburger – 1000 pieces

Aimee Stewart and Ravensburger, always a fantastic combination! Her artwork is beautiful and colorful and ever entertaining, and her puzzles have never disappointed. 🙂

The Christmas Library made for excellent puzzling – I enjoyed every single piece. Having words to assemble always makes me happy, and the style of the vintage books, ornaments, and images was absolutely gorgeous! The quality was excellent, as usual. It’s very rare that I have any quality issues with Ravensburger. The pieces look and feel like a premium puzzle, and fit together like one too. An all around fantastic Christmas image!

I’ve never really been a Christmas puzzle person, most holiday puzzles are so similar that they don’t interest me much. This year though, I’ve been lucky enough to find a few puzzles that are outside the norm, and they’ve been quite fun to assemble. I’m putting this one in that group, it’s more of a collage and that’s more to my liking then the standard Santa and the tree puzzles.

Stay tuned, the next 3 days will be all Christmas puzzles that I’ve assembled this season; I enjoyed every one. (I can hardly believe I just wrote that! 😮 )

Details:

  • Title:                  The Christmas Library
  • Artist:                Aimee Stewart
  • Brand:               Ravensburger
  • Piece count:     1000 pieces
  • Size:                   Approx. 27 x 20 in. (70 x 50 cm)
  • Purchased:       New

Quality:

  • Board:               Excellent
  • Cutting:             Very good
  • 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, recommended

Moulin Rouge

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment
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Moulin Rouge by Marilyn Dunlap – Remarks – 1000 pieces

This was an interesting thrift store purchase that mom and I assembled together. It looked more fun than it was; for me, anyway. I chose this one to assemble, but it didn’t meet my expectations for some reason. I’m not sure I can articulate why this was, I just know that it was.

The random cut was very interesting and kept us on our toes, and the pieces fit together well. The piece shape is very obvious in the finished puzzle, which isn’t ideal but doesn’t really affect the actual assembly. It does make it more difficult to make out some of the words though.

I’m not usually so “blah” about a puzzle, it’s mostly yay or nay; either really loved it or didn’t like it. I have no idea what I was expecting, but whatever it was didn’t materialize. For the most part this one just makes me shrug my shoulders. Eh. The quality was good, it just lacked something for me. If I’m going on quality I would recommend this puzzle, if the image is something you like go for it. 🙂

Chocolate Artistry

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment
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Chocolate Artistry – Springbok – 1000 pieces

Excellent thrift store find, it was so much fun! This one was unusual in that mom completed it first, and then I did; typically it’s the other way around. We both enjoyed it very much, it was absolutely worth the 99 cents we bought it for. 😎

The fit was tight, but not in the extreme which was good. Sometimes the Springbok puzzles are so tight the edges curl up! I’m not a fan of the super tight fit and was glad that wasn’t the case here. The image is perfect for puzzling, especially for someone who enjoys collages. I love being able to grab a bunch of pieces for a small section and put them together without having to look at the box image. I think that’s why I’m not a fan of the super busy images; I dislike having to stare at the box trying to figure out what I’m actually assembling or where it goes.

I had a very good time with this puzzle, it was hard to walk away from working on it and was completely entertaining. Excellent quality puzzle with an awesome image; if you come across one new or used I would definitely recommend it – 2 chocolate bars way up! 🍫🍫

Review: Harborside

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviewsLeave a comment
This post is sponsored by Puzzle Warehouse.
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Harborside – MasterPieces (Shutter Speed) – 1000 pieces

Harborside is a beautiful puzzle that was much more fun to do than I anticipated. It looked more difficult than it was and I enjoyed the assembly very much!

I’ve reviewed several MasterPieces puzzles this year, and I’ve had great quality puzzles every time. The chipboard they use is thick and sturdy and the fit is excellent – you’re never unsure whether or not a piece fits and when complete you can lift the entire puzzle without dislodging any pieces. The image reproduction on this puzzle is bright and crisp and absolutely beautiful. This puzzle is part of the Shutter Speed series which features some of the world’s most spectacular photographs – from big cities to small towns, carnivals, and more. MasterPieces puzzles are a great value as well, click the links to see the puzzles currently available at Puzzle Warehouse.

I started this puzzle with the sky and the water, and built up from there. There were different shades in both the water and sky which made those areas easier, and before I knew it I had the reflections on the water complete and was putting together the boats and buildings. The challenge level was just right, about medium difficulty. As usual it was great fun even though it isn’t the typical puzzle that I would choose to assemble.

If you’re a fan of boat/harbor puzzles, or are looking for a gift for someone who is I would definitely recommend this puzzle. It’s beautiful and entertaining and I had a great time assembling it for review. 👍

Details:

  • Title:                  Harborside
  • Artist:                Vibriant
  • Brand:               MasterPieces
  • Piece count:     1000 pieces
  • Size:                  Approx. 27 x 19 in. (68 x 49 cm)
  • Purchased:      n/a

Quality:

  • Board:               Very good
  • Cutting:             Good – some hanging bits of paper
  • Image:               Excellent
  • Box:                   Average
  • Fit:                     Excellent
  • Puzzle Dust:     Moderate amount
  • Piece cut:          Semi-random cut
  • Piece shapes:   Very good variety
  • Finish:               Slightly shiny finish, lays flat

Overall Rating:      Very good, recommended

 

I received this product at no cost in order to facilitate this review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are truthful and 100% my own.

Review: Golf Around the World

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviewsLeave a comment
This post is sponsored by Puzzle Warehouse.
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Golf Around the World – Eurographics – 1000 pieces

Collages really make me happy, and Golf Around the World was no different. I don’t even like golf! I enjoy the 4 hours or so I get to myself when my husband goes golfing, but golf just isn’t for me unless it’s in puzzle form. ⛳

Eurographics puzzles are good quality, and they have an excellent catalog of puzzles to choose from. They’ve got many beautiful collages, along with a great number of educational puzzles for both children and adults; I love the informational puzzles! From fine art to cartoons, there are plenty of interesting puzzles to choose from. Their pieces are thick and sturdy, and fit together well. The pieces of this puzzle were a bit snug, but it wasn’t extreme. The finish is slightly shiny, but otherwise crisp and clear with bright, beautiful colors. Eurographics puzzles have a random cut, which I find interesting, but not everyone enjoys the non-traditional piece shapes. Check out all their puzzles currently available at Puzzle Warehouse by clicking the link above.

This puzzle went together very quickly – collages usually do in my house. It’s hard to walk away, because finishing one small section leads to the next and so on. I loved all the colors in this image, there’s something really beautiful about the vintage posters. The illustrations are detailed and lovely, much more interesting than the posters and ads we have these days in my humble opinion. Collage puzzles are my favorite 🙂 , click to see the pages and pages of fun to assemble collages available at Puzzle Warehouse.

I’m not sure if this puzzle is going to be framed for hubby or not, we’ve already done several puzzles that have been glued and framed; we may be running out of wall space! This puzzle would be an excellent wall hanging for a golf lover, and as a bonus it’s a puzzle that’s a LOT of fun to assemble!

Details:

  • Title:                  Golf Around the World
  • Artist:                Eurographics
  • Brand:               Eurographics
  • Piece count:     1000 pieces
  • Size:                  Approx. 19 x 27 in. (49 x 68 cm)
  • Purchased:      n/a

Quality:

  • Board:               Very good
  • Cutting:             Very good
  • Image:               Excellent
  • Box:                   Average
  • Fit:                     Good, a bit tight
  • Puzzle Dust:     Moderate amount
  • Piece cut:          Random cut
  • Piece shapes:   Good variety
  • Finish:               Slightly shiny finish, lays flat

Overall Rating:      Very good, recommended

 

I received this product at no cost in order to facilitate this review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are truthful and 100% my own.