Flutter & Bright Beauty

On August 25, 2023August 25, 2023 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles4 Comments

Flutter & Bright Beauty – Andrews & Blaine/Pintoo – 48 pieces each

It isn’t very often at all that one comes across a brand new type of jigsaw puzzle that they’ve never seen before – this is one of those rare times. Have you seen a “Double-Sided Brainteaser” jigsaw puzzle before? This was my first time.

My Dad found two of these puzzles in Mom’s things about a year after she passed, and although I started playing with them soon after he brought them to me, they inevitably got put aside. They were lost in the shuffle of my crazy life for a bit, and recently I took them out again. I finished the first one in July of this year.

Here’s the concept…

The box tells you that it’s easy to play anywhere since there is no tabletop required for laying out pieces – it’s all supposed to be handheld as there is only one piece out of the frame at a time.

The way to solve it is knowing when you take a piece out exactly where it belongs. Which leads to the next piece, etc. That isn’t the way I usually do it, and I couldn’t seem to get my set-in-her-ways-old-lady-brain to cooperate.

If I know where the first piece I take out belongs, that leads to me having to know where the piece that it’s replacing goes. I tried, believe me; but it just isn’t the way puzzles go together for me and it wasn’t something my brain seemed to want to help me with. I found it unbelievably frustrating. I felt stupid because I’m good at puzzles, so why couldn’t I just solve them in a different way?

At only 48 pieces I thought it would be quick and easy to assemble correctly, but my brain doesn’t work in the fashion required to solve this brainteaser puzzle the way it’s meant to be solved. Perhaps it’s old age, or OCD, or just years of assembling jigsaw puzzles differently – whatever the reason, I found that the best (or only) way for me to put this puzzle together was to take all the pieces out of the frame first. As I’m always telling you, whatever way works best for you is what’s best, right? 😉

In addition, unlike every other double-sided puzzle I’ve completed, when one side is correctly assembled the other side is not; there is no “cheating” and only finishing one side and getting two complete images. That’s a first for me too.

This seems to be a collaboration between Andrews & Blaine and Pintoo. The pieces are extremely thick plastic, and the fit is incredibly tight. It takes some work to push the pieces out of the frame, but it would have to be quite snug if you wanted the pieces to stay put at all. The pieces are all ballerinas (2 prong/2 hole) and all exactly the same shape. It’s a well made puzzle.

It’s quite small, very easy to throw into a backpack or a purse and take with you…

It’s quite the interesting concept, and even with my frustration I enjoyed trying out it even though it wasn’t made for the way my brain works. It seems as though these are no longer being manufactured, and the only place I was able to find them online was on eBay. Perhaps the price had something to do with the decision to stop making these – the box says it was originally $14.95 for one 48 piece puzzle!

I have one more of these yet to assemble, but it will definitely go faster now that I’ve realized the best way for me to put it together. The images are both photographs, this time of sea life. Nothing overly exciting, but it’ll still be fun. 🧩💚

What do you think? Is this something you’d want to try if you found one of them out in the wild? Is your brain wired so that you could assemble a puzzle this way?

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

On July 12, 2023July 12, 2023 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles4 Comments

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – Cardinal – 48 pieces

My youngest son decided it was time for me to put together one of my kids puzzles that have been hanging out at the bottom of my puzzle shelves way in the back – and of course he chose TMNT. He tells me this is from the 2012 version of the show, in case anyone was wondering. 🐢

*In case you were wondering if I was wondering – I wasn’t. But he loves to talk about the things he’s interested in, and I’m his mother, so I listen.*

In addition to providing all the information I learned about the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, he even helped out with the assembly right from the beginning! I’m sure the fact that it was only 48 pieces was a consideration, but he was genuinely excited about this puzzle and I was happy to have his assistance.

I was quite impressed with the quality of this puzzle, it came in a 6 pack of kids puzzles of varying piece counts (all from Nickelodeon shows) that I paid $1.49 for. I was expecting much lesser quality, but was happily surprised that the pieces were thick and fit together well, and the image reproduction was very good.

It was a bargain at even twice the price. Cowabunga dudes!

Review: Solar System

On February 21, 2020February 20, 2020 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews, Thrift Store Puzzles2 Comments

Now this is the kind of quality I love to see on a kids puzzle, extremely thick pieces, great fit, beautiful image reproduction, and a finish that you can clean off to keep the puzzle in good condition. An excellent puzzle all around, and even though it was only 48 pieces I had a great time putting it together.

Melissa & Doug puzzles are excellent quality, and even though all of their puzzles that I’ve assembled have been secondhand, I’ve always found them to be excellent quality. They take care to make puzzles that will withstand the rough and sometimes careless play of children; the chipboard is extremely thick and sturdy, and the finish is one that can be cleaned off if a messy or sticky hand is used to put pieces together. 🖐

Educational puzzles like this one always make me smile, and even if I know all the information they’re still fun. I’m a big proponent of giving children jigsaw puzzles, they’re so good for developing brains! They help teach problem solving, spatial awareness, hand/eye coordination, and many other skills that help young brains learn and grow.

Delightful puzzle with amazing quality – it is very highly recommended – I loved it!

Details:

Title: Solar System
Artist: Melissa & Doug
Brand: Melissa & Doug
Piece count: 48 pieces
Size: Approx. 36 x 24 in. (91 x 61 cm)
Purchased: Used, thrift store

Quality:

Board: Excellent
Cutting: Excellent
Image: Excellent
Box: Very good, sturdy
Fit: Very good
Puzzle Dust: None
Piece cut: Grid cut
Piece shapes: Very good variety
Finish: Slightly shiny finish, easy-clean surface, lays flat

Overall Rating: Excellent, very highly recommended

Mr. Potato Head

On May 10, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

This is a cute 48 piece puzzle of Mr. Potato Head that comes with 20 clings that you can mix and match to create different faces. And to think that in the early 1950’s when the toy was first produced it was just separate plastic body parts with pushpins that you used on a real potato! What?!

I think the idea for this puzzle is excellent, but I was pretty disappointed with the quality. I really wanted to like this one too! The pieces were thin and easily bent, what I consider to be not sturdy enough for repeated play. If the object is to assemble and play with this multiple times I don’t think the pieces will hold up well. As you can see in the image above, the puzzle also doesn’t lay completely flat – not great. The clings themselves seem like good enough quality, but to comment on them specifically I would want to spend more time with them. All in all I was hoping for better from this puzzle, we found it new and unopened at the thrift store.

I wanted to make at least 2 different faces to show some of the clings that come with the puzzle. I had a good time choosing and trying to make a funny face. 🤓

Perhaps if this puzzle is something your little one would really enjoy you could glue it once it was assembled to keep the pieces from bending and wearing out from repeated use? I don’t have an answer. It’s a great idea, but not as well executed as I’d hoped for. This puzzle is unfortunately not recommended.

Paw Patrol (3)

On March 26, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

This is the last of the 3 puzzles in one box we purchased at the thrift store. Beautiful Ravensburger puzzles that are cute, premium quality, and quite fun to assemble.

I always enjoy putting together a small piece count puzzle, whether it’s for children or adults makes no difference. It’s nice to be able to complete a puzzle from start to finish in one sitting, and it brightens up my mood. Fortunately my mother has a moderate thrift store shopping addiction and there is definitely no shortage of puzzles for me to choose from! She has gotten better though at being a little more choosy about the puzzles she buys, but she can still go a little crazy once in a while. 😉

If you read this blog regularly you already know that Ravensburger puzzles are my favorite brand, their quality is absolutely excellent. If you buy puzzles for children the brands I recommend most are Ravensburger, Cobble Hill, and Eurographics; although in my mind buying puzzles for kids is a fantastic idea whatever the brand.

You’ve heard it from me before, assembling jigsaw puzzles is good for your brain and especially for the developing brains of children. It promotes hand/eye coordination, spatial awareness, problem solving skills, patience, and perseverance along with many other benefits. Give a child a puzzle and you’re helping to grow a young mind, what better gift could you give?