Fruits of a Morning Walk/Summer Blooms

On November 2, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles4 Comments

Fruits of a Morning Walk (Summer Blooms) – gorgeous puzzle! I knew this puzzle would be a bit more difficult than usual for a 300 piece puzzle, but it was just too pretty to pass up. As you know I’m not normally one for pastels, but there’s something about the combination of colors used…it’s stunning!

Why was the name of the artwork not on the box? I have no idea, but I find it frustrating; at least the artist’s name was there, that’s something. I had to look up the artist online and find this image to come up with the name. Once I found the image and it’s name, I found that this puzzle is not named for the artwork, it is called Summer Blooms. Huh. If they were going to change the name, why not put that new name on the damn box!? With all the space available on puzzle boxes, shouldn’t the artist and artwork be named somewhere? Being the stubborn old broad that I am, I’m still calling it the much more poetic name (but I’ve added the retail name too in case anyone wants to purchase it).

I found the quality of this Ceaco puzzle to be very good; the pieces were thick and fit together very well. You can see from the picture that the image reproduction is beautiful. It’s a little brighter than the original artwork, but still lovely. As with many brands, I find that the 300 piece puzzles seem to have better quality chipboard. Perhaps because many people who choose this piece count have dexterity or vision issues and the better board makes for easier puzzling. Whatever the reason, I am grateful for the improved all around quality.

Mom came over to hang out and puzzle with me, and we worked on and finished this beauty together. It’s amazing how it looks so unassuming and fun when you see the completed puzzle, but when it’s just pieces on the board it is definitely not so easy. It seems to me that it’s much more entertaining to work on a difficult puzzle with someone else. At least that’s the case with me; I get a little less frustrated. Then there’s the added bonus of spending time with someone you care about – without distractions – it’s time extremely well spent. 💗

Kittens in the Kitchen

On October 22, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles7 Comments

To be honest, I didn’t even notice there were cats in this puzzle until I started assembling it! I only saw the kitchen as a whole when I looked at the box, the kittens didn’t even register – of course I didn’t see the name of the puzzle either – Kittens in the Kitchen. I guess I don’t get the Captain Observation award for the day, huh?

I love the sign, I only wish I had a dining room to put it in. The view out the window is very pretty and was lots of fun to put together. 🙂 Unfortunately there were 2 missing pieces, but that didn’t make it any less fun to put together – at least not for me.

This was a thrift store puzzle, and seems to have been well loved before it was donated. Some of the pieces were bent and the finished puzzle didn’t lay completely flat. It’s difficult to say whether this is because it was pre-owned, or whether it’s a manufacturing defect; nevertheless it was an entertaining puzzle that made for a lovely afternoon.

Kitten Surprise

On October 19, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles2 Comments

Kittens aren’t my cup of tea, but this is quite a cute puzzle and it was fun to put together. The baskets were easy to sort and assemble, but the rest of the puzzle was trickier than I thought it would be.

The balloons themselves weren’t too difficult, but all the hanging ribbons weren’t easy. I knew the kittens would be a bit more work, though every puzzle is easier when your puzzle posse comes to help out. 😎

300 pieces are my favorite size for Buffalo puzzles. There’s something about the larger piece counts (1000 and over) that seem so cookie cutter – the pieces are all essentially the same size and I don’t always want that when I’m working on a puzzle. Maybe it doesn’t seem as noticeable or annoying when the pieces are larger. Who can tell how my weird brain works and why a person likes some things and not others? All I know is that I prefer the larger pieces when working with Buffalo.

Retro Cats

On October 10, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles2 Comments

This was such a fun puzzle, I had the best time putting it together! I don’t always say this about 300 piece puzzles, but this one would be even better at 1000 pieces. Each of the sections was fun and interesting to assemble, I wish there had been more pieces so I could have spent more time with each one. (The picture is a bit fuzzy, my apologies 😕)

Cats aren’t really my thing, I’m more a pooch person; but these cats are too cute to resist and the entire puzzle was completely entertaining. I did the Retro Dogs puzzle last year, it was a Christmas present from my son, and my daughter helped me with the assembly. They’re both fun collages with very good quality pieces – what more could you ask for?

These cats show 3 different sides of me, sweet, sassy, and completely weird – that’s pretty much me in a nutshell!

Review: Queen Anne’s Revenge

On October 8, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Puzzle reviews6 Comments

This post is sponsored by CubicFun.

While not technically a jigsaw puzzle, Queen Anne’s Revenge (Blackbeard’s ship) is a 3D puzzle/model. It was unbelievably challenging for me (being new to this type of puzzling), but I’m super proud that hubby and I were able to complete it together, and my son is thrilled that he’s going to be able to keep it in his room. It was fun, sometimes frustrating, but completely worth it – it’s GORGEOUS!

CubicFun contacted me asking if I’d be interested in reviewing one of their 3D puzzles, and I was more than happy to give it a try. I love all things “puzzle”! I’ve completed puzzle balls, but this would be my first 3D puzzle that wasn’t an orb. I probably should have chosen one that was a little easier on the difficulty scale, like a building, skyline, or even one of their smaller ships; but the pirate ship just spoke to me when I saw it. It’s the one that looked like the most fun to me – good thing it was! They have many 3D puzzles in their catalog, from very easy to very complex. Click the link above to see their store at Amazon and all the puzzles they carry. (CubicFun is a Chinese company specializing in 3D puzzles)

Since this puzzle has only 340 pieces, I assumed it would be no problem at all to assemble it – I was very wrong. Apparently the puzzle I chose was an 8 on the complexity scale. Oh my. My frustrations with this puzzle had nothing to do with it’s quality, only with my brain and my ability to understand and process the instructions (new meds had me feeling fuzzy and unable to think until I got used to the side effects). The quality of the pieces is excellent, most especially the quality of the sails; they’re some sort paper, but softer and much sturdier. The pieces themselves are made of EPS foam board (no tools are required) , and are much stronger than I thought they would be. From my novice standpoint, the quality is excellent.

Hubby suggested that the tabs be a bit longer (in places where it wouldn’t affect the aesthetics), and my suggestion is to be a little more clear about the order of the assembly. Of course, I am new to models and their instructions and chose one of much higher difficulty; perhaps if I’d assembled more of them and was more up to the task it wouldn’t have been so frustrating for me.

This ship is one of their LED enhanced puzzles; it’s beautiful in the light and breathtaking in the dark! I kept turning the lights on and off once I finished to take in the effect – I’m so in love with this ship and so proud that I got it done! (with a little help from the hubby) It’s harder to capture the effect well in a picture, but I did my best…

The little details are amazing, with even the smallest pieces being accurate; the decorative accents make for a lovely finished image. Check out the front and back of the ship…

It also comes with a stand and nameplate that you build for it, they both make it seem even more beautiful and authentic in my opinion…

And what self-respecting pirate ship would be complete without a Jolly Roger? It’s one of my favorite parts of this puzzle/model. There are also lighted stairs, cannons in each of the gun ports on the sides, and even a tiny little bench near the helm for weary pirates to rest their tired feet when they’re steering the ship!

The puzzle also came with a gift of a small 3D puzzle of the Empire State Building. Look for that post in the next couple of weeks!

This puzzle was complex, interesting, frustrating, and engaging; and I couldn’t be happier with the results. If you’re a fan of models or 3D puzzles, and you’re a little more experienced with them than I am and think you’re up to the challenge – Queen Anne’s Revenge is definitely recommended.

Are ye brave enough? Arrr! ☠💀☠

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