White Duck Inn

On February 1, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

Another small piece count puzzle to get me back into the groove after being stuck at the hospital doing small puzzles to fit on my bedside table. This one was fun and fast and the image makes me smile, doesn’t that look like a lovely place to spend the weekend?

I love the extremely random cut of MasterPieces puzzles, it makes for a fun and interesting assembly. Their EZ Grip 300 piece puzzles have large, easy to handle pieces that are great for hands with dexterity problems, or just someone who enjoys large pieces from time to time. Like me!

The finish was a little bit shiny, but not too terrible to work with under artificial lights. I was able to assemble it resting in bed on my white board without too much difficulty from the overhead lights; and it was easy, which was what I was looking for. I’d love to able to get back to 500 and 1000 piece puzzles soon. Hopefully by the time I get this posted I’ll have a larger piece count on my board and be back to puzzling sitting up. Fingers crossed! 🤞

The Seabuglers

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

This was the first puzzle I did when I got home from “vacation”. There was a partially assembled 500 piece puzzle that had been on my board the whole time, but I wasn’t feeling as though I could sit at the board for any length of time and work on it. So I got out my white board and grabbed the easiest looking 300 piece puzzle I could find, here it is!

For some reason in my head it seems that a puzzle by Hasbro wouldn’t be good quality. They’re the company that made games when I was young (many, many moons ago) and I don’t remember them being overly sturdy or well-made. Luckily, all that nonsense is just in my head because the Hasbro puzzles I’ve done have all been exceptionally well made; they’re sturdy, wonderfully thick, and fit together amazingly well. I’ve only ever done 300 piece Hasbro puzzles so I have no frame of reference for any other piece count, but the their EZ Grip puzzles are wonderful!

As I’ve said before, I very much enjoy the Wysocki puzzles that aren’t the norm, like this one. Most of his puzzles are lovely Americana/folk art images of towns with many buildings; while they are all beautiful images, for me they can seem too similar. I’m a bit of a rebel and enjoy things that are different from the usual, so my favorite Wysockis are the ones that really stand out. Although this image itself isn’t really odd, it’s different from most of his other works which makes it more special to me.

Although it took longer than usual for me to assemble this puzzle, I was pretty darn proud when I got it finished. It was mostly assembled while I was in bed, but I was able to take it in the puzzle room and put the white board on my puzzle table and work on it there for little bits of time. I guess I have to get my butt back into puzzling shape! 😉

Vegetable Garden

On January 20, 2018January 20, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

I really love the artwork in this puzzle, and as a bonus there are quilts – nice! I’ve been doing 300 piece puzzles a lot these past few weeks, and enjoying them greatly. 🙂

MasterPieces large piece puzzles are excellent quality with extra-thick pieces that fit together very well. I appreciate the quality of these EZ Grip pieces, and love that it makes it easier for both the older and the younger to puzzle. While I’m recovering from my illness I’m finding it quite difficult to sit and puzzle for even a few minutes. 300 piece puzzles can be done on my white board while in bed, and are giving me that injection in the puzzle vein so I don’t go through withdrawal. 💉

A friend of my mother has given us about 10-12 300 piece puzzles to do and then donate – the timing could not have been more perfect! They’re all I seem to be able to do at the moment, and if I didn’t have any puzzles to do I would be even crankier than I already am (I’m kinda whiny and bitchy when I don’t feel well, if you add not being able to puzzle – YIKES). That’s just the truth of it. I make no excuses, I am who I am; those who love me have accepted it already. 🙂

If you’re one of those people who say “I only do 1000 piece puzzles, or more” I get it. I used to say the exact same thing. But in my humble opinion there is enjoyment to be had in puzzles of many sizes. I even enjoy kids puzzles down to 24 pieces; a puzzle is a puzzle. They may go quickly and be over too soon, but if you think about it you may realize that it’s the assembly that makes you happy, and you can enjoy assembling the little ones too. Well, I do anyway.

Maybe if you’re thrift store shopping and find a really interesting looking 300 piece puzzle – give it a try. They’re great when you don’t have a lot of time, when you’re having someone younger or older help you, or just when you want to relax a little more and finish your puzzle more quickly. Give it a shot, you may surprise yourself! 😉

Retro Dogs

On January 16, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles3 Comments

Isn’t this an adorable puzzle? Look at all the cute puppies! My oldest son gave this to me for Christmas, and my daughter helped me put it together on Christmas Day while waiting for Christmas dinner. A super fun puzzle that was made even better because I got to work on it with my baby girl.

Easy to sort, easy to assemble, adorable dogs and a great finished image. Re-marks makes some great collages. There were lots of words to assemble, which is always fun for me, and I also loved that my dog’s breed is represented there too (a cute little Boston Terrier, second from the left in the bottom row).

I’ve really been having a good time with the 300 piece puzzles lately, and glad that one of my Christmas present puzzles was 300 pieces too! I still enjoy larger piece counts, but there’s nothing quite like a smaller puzzle that’s still a little bit of a challenge that can be finished in one day. So fun!

The quality was pretty good; thick, sturdy pieces that fit together well. I enjoy the larger size of the 300 piece puzzles, and I enjoy being able to finish them quickly. This one was quick, fun, and cute as a barrel of puppies! Definitely recommended. 🐶

Cardinals and Birch

On January 14, 2018January 14, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

Mom and I assembled this puzzle together just before Christmas. It was relatively quick and fun, and an excellent quality puzzle. It makes me smile when I look at it, because Mrs. Cardinal up there looks a little cranky to me! I wonder if hubby did something to tick her off. 🙂

I enjoy the Buffalo puzzles, especially the 300 piece ones. The size of the pieces is nice, makes for a good size finished puzzle and they fit together extremely well. They’re thick and sturdy and the image reproduction is really lovely. The tree bark made this puzzle a little bit of a challenge, but it’s nothing for me and my puzzle buddy – we made short work of it. We enjoy the challenge as long as it’s not too frustrating, and work together really well.

Cardinals seem to be a very popular subject for jigsaw puzzles, a quick search at Puzzle Warehouse brings up 43 puzzles with cardinals, and an additional 31 cardinal puzzles that are out of stock at the moment. Holy Songbird Batman! That’s a lot of cardinals! 🐦

They’re a beautiful bird, and it’s fitting that they’re in so many puzzles. If you’re a fan of cardinals and you come across this puzzle I highly recommend it – we had a great time assembling it.