Love this series, especially the haughty look on that man’s face. So entertaining! I’m certainly looking forward to finding and assembling the last one in this series. 🙂
Locally Grown
Tag: 300 pieces
Review: Mary’s General Store
Ravensburger’s 300 piece puzzles make me very happy; their wonderful, thick pieces were a joy to hold in my hand, and the beautiful image made for an entertaining assembly with just the right amount of difficulty.
The all around quality of Ravensburger puzzles has (almost) never disappointed me. There’s the odd manufacturing snafu that happens, but I try to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. On the whole, they’re one of the best puzzle brands around in my opinion. The pieces are thick, have a good variety of shapes, and fit together well. The image reproduction is crisp and clean with beautiful colors and a finish that isn’t too shiny and feels good in your hands.
I’ve assembled a few puzzles by this artist, and it seems he’s always able to convey a certain warmth and feeling into the artwork even when the images are vastly different. This image has a small town homey feeling to it, it seems very welcoming to me; plus it was lovely to put together.
It looks as though this puzzle is no longer in production, but if you come across one at a thrift store or yard sale, it’s highly recommended – loved it!
Details:
- Title:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Mary’s General Store
- Artist:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Joseph Burgess
- Brand:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Ravensburger
- Piece count:Â Â Â 300 pieces
- Size:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Approx. 27 x 20 in. (69 x 51 cm)
- Purchased:Â Â Â Used
Quality:
- Board:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Excellent
- Cutting:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Excellent
- Image:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Excellent
- Box:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Very good, quite large for a 300 piece puzzle
- Fit:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Very good
- Puzzle Dust:Â Â Â Small amount
- Piece cut:Â Â Â Â Â Grid cut
- Piece shapes:Â Â Very good variety
- Finish:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Slightly shiny finish, lays flat
Overall Rating:Â Â Â Excellent, highly recommended
Paradise Found
This was a quick and fun puzzle; not my normal image choice but I’ll give pretty much anything that’s a small piece count a try. 🙂
I don’t normally recommend Mega Puzzles for larger piece count puzzles, but the smaller counts are pretty darn good quality. The board is much thicker than I’ve found their 1000 piece puzzles to be, and there is more variety in piece shape as well. Many companies seem to go the extra mile for their 300 piece puzzles – perhaps because many seniors choose them because of the easier to handle pieces – and most people (erroneously) think that puzzling is mostly for old people.
It isn’t, of course, it’s for everyone – from the very young to the very old we can all benefit from the stress-reduction, peaceful meditative state, and many other wonderful health advantages that puzzling brings.
Review: Farmer’s Market
This is an adorable image that I’ve seen before but had never come across. I finally acquired two of the three in the series, and am so looking forward to finding the third – I had as much fun assembling it as I thought I would!
Ceaco puzzles seem to be hit or miss in the quality department. I’ve worked some really nice puzzles of theirs and some absolutely terrible ones. It’s not a brand I will normally buy retail, we usually get them second hand. This particular puzzle was one of those I bought in a lot of 26 from Facebook Marketplace and I couldn’t be happier with my purchase. The quality of this one was good, with an excellent fit and wonderful image.
This was assembled in one sitting, at night when the sandman skipped over my house and I couldn’t sleep at all. I stole off quietly to the puzzle room and before I knew it – bam! – it was done. This was one of those rare puzzles where my expectations of how entertaining the assembly would be was spot on. It was thoroughly enjoyable!
Ceaco puzzles aren’t always up to snuff for me, but this one absolutely was. From the first piece to the last it was a great time. Images that make you happy usually make for wonderful puzzling! 🙂
Details:
- Title:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Farmer’s Market
- Artist:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Tracy Flickinger
- Brand:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Ceaco
- Piece count:Â Â Â 300 pieces
- Size:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Approx. 19 x 19 in. (48 x 48 cm)
- Purchased:Â Â Â Used
Quality:
- Board:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Good
- Cutting:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Good
- Image:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Very good
- Box:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Average
- Fit:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Very good
- Puzzle Dust:Â Â Â Moderate amount
- Piece cut:Â Â Â Â Â Grid cut
- Piece shapes:Â Â Good variety
- Finish:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Slightly shiny finish, lays flat
Overall Rating:Â Â Â Good, recommended
Fluffy Mardi Gras
Our fluffy friend showed a lot of fur yesterday during Mardi Gras; she lost a bit of her memory (see missing edge piece) and ended up with dazed look on her face and a LOT of beads! 😉
Cat puzzles aren’t really my thing, but I had to get this one from the thrift store because it’s just too funny. How can you not smile when you see this image? I love it!
*I bet kitty wasn’t too happy to be dressed up in all of that crap for the picture though.*
