Review & Giveaway: Browsing & Butterflies on 5th Avenue

On December 9, 2019March 15, 2020 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews12 Comments

Browsing & Butterflies on 5th Avenue is part of the new Art Gallery puzzle collection from TCG Toys’ Sure-Lox brand. I was happily surprised at the quality of this puzzle, and enjoyed it much more than anticipated. This is the first puzzle I’ve assembled with artwork by Charles Fazzino, and I loved the 3D Pop Art style – it made for a wonderfully entertaining assembly!

Sure-Lox puzzles haven’t also been on the nice list here at My Jigsaw Journal, but in the past few months I’ve assembled a couple of their puzzles in the newer packaging and was pleasantly surprised by the good quality. The chipboard is thicker, the fit is exceptional, and the image reproduction is excellent. It’s rare that a puzzle company makes significant improvement to their quality, but Sure-Lox seems to have done it. 5th Avenue makes the third Sure-Lox puzzle from the newer line that I’ve assembled, and they have all been very good quality. Well done Sure-Lox!

I was so impressed by the thicker pieces that I decided to compare them to Ravensburger to see how it held up …

5th Avenue 3

The Ravensburger piece is on the top, and you can see that the chipboard of the Sure-Lox puzzle is almost the same thickness. It may not be as well compressed, but all in all I was thoroughly impressed. The pieces feel good in your hand, and the fit is excellent. You can lift and hold up the finished puzzle with no problem at all. I picked mine up and handed it to my son (who wasn’t too keen on being photographed, but oh well)….

5th Avenue 4

Pretty darn nice fit if you ask me. Perhaps it could even be framed without having to use glue – not too shabby! Wonderful quality all around, and I am well and truly impressed by the new Sure-Lox line of puzzles.

The only criticism I have is that there is only one piece shape. With an image like this it isn’t too much of a problem, most of the puzzle is busy and the only large area of color is the sky. Luckily it’s broken up by quite a few butterflies, but there are a few sections where it can be somewhat tedious. But honestly, I was almost done with the assembly by then, and I was so excited to be finishing that I didn’t find it overly tiresome. Many puzzle companies are using just the one piece shape these days, and I find that I’m slowly getting used to it even if my preference is a puzzle with a variety of piece shapes.

The artwork is incredibly detailed and interesting, and the New York cityscape made for a fun assembly. I think I may be a new Charles Fazzino fan, and will definitely be looking for some more puzzles of his art. 🎨

Rockefeller Center

New York Public Library

Overall I was very happy with the quality of this puzzle – the image kept me entertained and smiling, and it’s one that is definitely recommended – instead of thumbs I’m giving it two Lady Liberties with their torches way up! 🗽🗽

Details:

Title: Browsing & Butterflies on 5th Avenue
Artist: Charles Fazzino
Brand: Sure-Lox
Piece count: 2000 pieces
Size: Approx. 39 x 27 in. (99 x 69 cm)
Purchased: N/A, sent for review

Quality:

Board: Very good
Cutting: Very good
Image: Excellent
Box: Good
Fit: Excellent
Puzzle Dust: Moderate amount
Piece cut: Grid cut
Piece shapes: No variety, only one shape
Finish: Slightly shiny finish, lays flat

Overall Rating: Very good, highly recommended

*I’m going to do something I’ve never done before. Since this is the season of giving I’d like to lift someone’s spirits for the holidays; I wanted to give away my very gently used, autographed copy of Browsing & Butterflies on 5th Avenue to one of my readers. Since many of my readers are thrift store shopping puzzlers, I was sure they wouldn’t mind a secondhand puzzle. I when I contacted the company to inform them of my intent to hold a giveaway, they graciously offered to send a brand new autographed puzzle to the winner instead!

If you’d like this puzzle, signed by the artist, please leave a comment on this post to be entered in the giveaway. I will use a random number generator to decide on the winner, and will post the results one week from today – December 16, 2019. Good luck!

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

Cake Bake

On September 29, 2019September 29, 2019 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles6 Comments

My first 2000 piece puzzle in almost two years. Yay me! The image was so fun that I had to put aside all the anxiety-inducing thoughts and buy this one – and then I got the gumption up to start assembling it – I’m super proud of myself!

The sorting was the worst part for me; not only because there were so many pieces to go through, but also because seeing some of the pieces I really just wanted to get to the assembly. But the sorting does help tremendously when you finally do get to the assembly, and I’m not someone who can just scrabble through the box to find pieces, my OCD won’t allow it! 😏 I need all the pieces laid out or separated in some way, I just can’t help it.

I’ve never done a Big Ben puzzle with such a large piece count, and I was a little disappointed when I started sorting. The pieces are on the thin side, and small. But then again I had just finished a 300 piece Buffalo with very large pieces, so the comparison wasn’t very fair. Once I started working with it, the pieces didn’t seem so bad after all. The fit was good, if a little loose, and the pieces weren’t that small – it is a large 2000 piece puzzle after all – they can’t be huge or the finished puzzle wouldn’t fit on my board!

I loved this small section in the lower left corner, handwriting like this reminds me of my grandmother’s writing. When they used to teach penmanship in schools back in the day all the handwriting seemed similar, and my grandma’s writing looked like this. It makes me smile…

Cake Bake 1

It was a little difficult to assemble as you can’t read the words very well, but I still enjoyed putting it together. I really do love assembling words. 🙂

I was talking with a puzzle friend recently about how when you initially sort a puzzle the pieces all seem so indistinct because you aren’t as familiar with them; but once you start working the puzzle you become more comfortable with them and start recognizing what certain colors are and then you feel more confident in sorting them into sections. That was certainly the case with this puzzle. There were a LOT of pieces that I had no idea where they would go – they seemed so dark and blotchy and I had no idea where they’d fit in. Once I got going and putting together the easier sections I got used to the puzzle and was able to sort it even more carefully. And I had a great time!

Cake Bake 2

This section was one of the first that I put together. The colors are beautiful and it was very easy to sort these pieces out; plus it was quite entertaining. Believe it or not, the chocolate treats on the tray looked almost blue while I was sorting. It’s interesting how when you break a picture down into very small pieces how the colors seem so different than you’d think. It’s fun to figure out what everything is and where it belongs – that’s what we puzzlers love!

2000 Piece Update

On February 13, 2019 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzling8 Comments

2000 Update

This one is going quite slowly, but it’s a combination of things that’s making it take so very long. It has nothing to do with the quality or the amount of fun I’m having with the assembly; it’s mostly about how I’ve been feeling and the location of the board I’m working on.

Since it’s 2000 pieces it has to be done on a larger board, and my 3 x 4 foot puzzle board is currently occupied with the Mystery Puzzle. I borrowed mom’s board of the same size but it’s on the floor in my bedroom and that’s really the only place I can work on it. It’s not easy for me to get down on the floor to work on it (and getting up is no picnic either), so the time I can spend on this puzzle is limited at best.

If someone’s around to help, I could lift it onto my bed and work on it there; but even then I have to work sitting up with no support for my back and hips and the amount of time I can do that is pretty restrictive.

I’m 9 days into this assembly, still dealing with a cold/virus that doesn’t seem to want to go away, and a place to puzzle that isn’t very conducive to quick or efficient progress. Oh well. I make it a point to place a few pieces every day – no matter what. So although it may take me quite a while to finish it, I will definitely be completing it at some point in time. 🙂

I’ve gotten all the words together, and almost all the lines between the scenes done, so now it’s up to sorting and assembling each section. I love the look of it, the fantastic Ravensburger quality, and in general am having a great time! ❤

Review: Purses! Purses! Purses!

On November 6, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews, Thrift Store Puzzles1 Comment

Purses! Purses! Purses! – Springbok – 2000 pieces

This puzzle image is excellent and it made me want to get to assembling it immediately – the bright colors, fun backgrounds, a collage – yes please!

This was a thrift store purchase, and although the box was slightly banged up and dented, all pieces were present and accounted for. This giant of a puzzle almost filled my entire 4 ft x 3 ft puzzle board. You never can tell in pictures, unless there’s something to give perspective; this is a HUGE puzzle!

This puzzle was loads of fun and even though it took me a few days I loved every bit of it. It was easy to separate out pieces of background colors and patterns and work on a section at a time. I love when I can just grab a bunch of pieces and assemble them without any assistance from the image on the box or a poster. It’s just me and my brain figuring out what goes where; it’s very satisfying for me. The pieces fit together tightly, but not the super tight fit that some Springbok’s have – I didn’t have to smash them together with my thumb (which is a bonus in my book).

If you’re a fan of purses or collages, this puzzle is for you! The bright colors and the interesting purses will keep you entertained – but be forewarned – this beauty requires a very large work space. 🙂

Details:

Title: Purses! Purses! Purses!
Artist: Allied Products Corp.
Brand: Springbok
Piece count: 2000 pieces
Size: Approx. 34 x 43 in. (86 x 109 cm)
Purchased: Used, thrift store

Quality:

Board: Excellent
Cutting: Very good
Image: Very good
Box: Good, a little thin for such a large puzzle
Fit: Tight, not in the extreme like some Springboks
Puzzle Dust: Small amount
Piece cut: Random cut
Piece shapes: Very good variety
Finish: Somewhat shiny finish, lays flat

Overall Rating: Very good, recommended

Review: Castle of Horror

On October 31, 2017October 31, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviewsLeave a comment

Castle of Horror by Jean-Jacques Loup – Heye – 2000 pieces

This puzzle has been calling me for some time, so I decided I might as well get on it since Halloween is here! 🎃

I’ve been having difficulty puzzling lately and am not able to spend as much time as I’d like enjoying my puzzles. In addition, this gorgeous puzzle was very large and I had to assemble it sideways on my smaller board. I wasn’t feeling well enough to get out the larger board by myself, so I worked with the smaller one. It was difficult for me working a puzzle sideways, even more difficult than I anticipated. I guess my little old lady brain couldn’t get accustomed to the odd vantage point. Because of these things it took me an entire week to complete this puzzle!

The artwork of Jean-Jacques Loup makes me smile, he had an irreverent sense of humor and for me that is part of what makes his puzzles so much fun to assemble. The naughty bits put a little smirk on my face, and I’m always wanting to show them to my hubby to make him smile as well. There were plenty of naughty bits in this puzzle, so I wouldn’t recommend it for anyone underage, or anyone who has children that like to assist. 😈

This puzzle had the usual great Heye quality, with one exception – the fit was looser than I’ve had with any of their other puzzles. It wasn’t horribly loose, but you could easily upset a large section with your arm or sleeve if you weren’t careful. A bit disappointing, but otherwise the quality was very good.

There are so many fun things to discover in this image, it was a treat to put together. It’s full of Halloween spookiness – including witches, ghosts, bats, vampires, demons, and much more. It’s a great puzzle for the holiday – Happy Halloween! 🎃🎃

Details: