Disney Classics

On April 5, 2018April 5, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

This was a fun puzzle, but more challenging than it looks! Either that or I’m slowly losing my puzzle mojo – oh dear. 😐

This was the second Kohl’s puzzle we’ve found at the thrift stores, and I have to say I’m quite impressed with the quality. The pieces are thick, the colors are bright with crisp lines, and the fit is excellent. I was pretty bummed that 3 pieces were missing, the kids at my daughter’s school would have really loved this one.

I love a puzzle that’s easy to sort and this was definitely one of them. We started with the thick blue lines separating each section and the nameplate in the middle. I sometimes find putting together outlines first to be a bit difficult, luckily these were thick lines with words and they went together pretty fast. This is a “look and find” puzzle, so the words on the lines give you things to look for in each of the sections. Lots of fun for the little ones!

Jungle Book and Lion King weren’t as easy to sort, so I just put those pieces all on one tray and worked both of those sections at the same time. 101 Dalmatians and Dumbo were relatively easy to sort and put together and I had much more fun with this assembly than I thought I would. I’m just a big old kid at heart. 😁

Joyful Blooms

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

This was much more difficult than I thought it would be, but it was only 300 pieces so it didn’t seem like too much of a commitment to keep going. I really need a break from flower puzzles, they keep faking me out!

The chipboard used for this puzzle is different than the other MasterPieces puzzles I’ve done, the backing is white and is thinner than usual but quite sturdy. They fit together very well and being random cut there were a very good variety of shapes. The image is fuzzy in some areas, but I believe that is the artwork itself and not the reproduction. Overall it’s a good quality puzzle that comes in a metal tin. It’s great for collecting, but not so great if you need the image to help with assembly, the picture on the lid is quite small and makes it difficult to see the detail.

It’s a pretty image, but it’s quite dark near the bottom and took a bit of concentration to get it done. Still, it’s nice to be in the moment and focusing only on the pieces and colors and how they fit together; that’s the stress relieving part of puzzling for me. I end up hyper-focused on the puzzle and turn off the part of my brain that’s thinking, planning, worrying, anxious, or stressing. It’s the closest I come to actually meditating, and it’s necessary to help keep me sane in this crazy world we’re living in. 🙂

Beach Bums

On April 2, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

You can usually tell a Wysocki image just by looking at it, but I didn’t realize this puzzle was his until I read it on the box. This is unusual and I absolutely love it.

I’m always a little surprised at how good the quality of the Hasbro 300 EZ grip pieces are. They’re super thick and sturdy and fit together extremely well. There are a very good variety of piece shapes and excellent image reproduction; just all around wonderful quality. I’ve worked several larger piece count puzzles by Hasbro/Milton Bradley and they are not the same quality-wise. I never hesitate to get one of their EZ grip puzzles though, they’ve always been excellent.

There’s something about this image that I can’t put my finger on, all I know is that when I look at it there’s a smile on my face. It makes for wonderful puzzling as well; it’s easy to sort and fun to assemble but it isn’t so easy as to be boring.

Can’t wait to see what other awesome puzzles mom finds on her next thrift store shopping spree!🛒

Hopetown Light

On March 31, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

I love this image with it’s bright colors and warm feeling, but it’s deceptively difficult and gave us a bit of a challenge. It’s beautiful to look at, but much harder to put together; the brush strokes are what put us to the test.

Mega Puzzles quality is fair, I’ve had some that were poor quality and some that have really impressed me – it’s a gamble, so this isn’t a brand we purchase new. The pieces are on the thin side and don’t always lie flat as well as having very little variety in piece shape. On the positive side, the image reproduction is very good, and the pieces fit together very well.

Mom and I are almost exclusively doing smaller piece count puzzles on our visit day, mostly because I haven’t been able to puzzle much lately and she’s helping me make sure I have puzzles to post here every day. We enjoy being able to do multiple puzzles in one day, there’s always something new and fun coming up next!

Backpack Kitty

On March 30, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

This was a fun puzzle that’s perfect for working with a friend, but sadly it didn’t hold up well to multiple assemblies. Still, isn’t that a cute kitty? 😻

This is a Bits and Pieces puzzle purchased at the thrift store. For me, their puzzles are hit or miss in the quality category and this seemed like more of a miss. I can’t say for sure how many times it’s been assembled, but this puzzle had some problems. There was image lift on several pieces, and many other were bent. The pieces seemed a bit thinner than usual for this brand, but on the plus side the fit was quite good and we loved the random piece shapes. All in all the quality was disappointing, but we still enjoyed putting it together.

I love when a puzzle seems made for working with more than one person – you take the green backpack and I’ll take the red and we’ll meet in the middle. I think that’s also part of the reason I love collages so much, they’re perfect for working with others as well as on your own. It’s easy to pull pieces for a section and work it by yourself, but you’re still working together. Mom is my favorite person to puzzle with and we have a great time no matter the image, but it’s even more fun when it’s so bright and charming and gives us our own little sections. Neither of us are “cat people”, but you can’t deny the adorable factor of the kitten in the backpack – so cute!

Even if the quality was less than premium we can still enjoy the puzzle itself as well as the time spent together. Thrift store puzzle that’s cute and fun to assemble – 99 cents. Time well spent with someone you love – PRICELESS.