Tag: 500 pieces

The Missing Will

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles2 Comments

The Missing Will (Murder Most Puzzling) – Chronicle Books – 500 pieces

So this is another mystery puzzle where you don’t have the complete image until you assemble it (or if you wanna “cheat” there’s a picture of it in the clue envelope that comes with the puzzle – but honestly there isn’t a way to cheat a puzzle, whatever works for you is best). Therefore, I am only showing you the small image featured on the box, not the entire finished puzzle. I don’t want to spoil it for anyone.

I have no idea what possessed me to start this puzzle, it has been my experience that “murder mystery” puzzles are usually not the best quality. HOWEVER, this one was a pleasant surprise! The pieces were a good thickness, very sturdy, and the fit was lovely. A group of 10 or 15 assembled pieces could be picked up and moved with no problems, nothing fell apart. For the most part the image was bright and easy to pick out words, sections, etc. This puzzle made me very happy. 😁

Usually a company that doesn’t normally make jigsaw puzzles isn’t the best in the quality department. I was happy to find that for at least this puzzle it was a pleasure to assemble. To be honest I don’t even remember where I got this puzzle, but it was loads of fun to put together and I found myself wanting to get back into the puzzle room (even when I was resting in bed and feeling horrible); there were more sections to assemble and connections to make and I wanted to see the finished image.

With this mystery you learn that Uncle Gregory has died and no one can find his will; basically the number combination to the safe is in plain sight in the room, and you have to figure it out. I’m going to show you the answer, because in my mind it’s extremely clever. But here’s a warning, spoiler ahead. If you have this puzzle and don’t want it to be spoiled for you, stop reading now and have a great day.

If you want to see the answer, scroll down a bit…

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If you read these words aloud, you’ll have the combination…04790423. Admittedly I didn’t figure it out myself and had to open up the clue envelope, but I thought it was so clever that I had to share it.

Squish Summer

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles1 Comment

Squish Summer – Buffalo (Foil) – 300 pieces

*This puzzle was completed in 2024, and I honestly have NO memory of it at all. Luckily I did write a bit about it back then, so at least this is accurate. Perhaps it’s ridiculous to post a puzzle that was done so long ago, but I figure it’ll help get me back in the swing of things, so to speak.*

After putting together all of the pieces with color I was left with approximately 40 pieces that were basically all silver. There are “blue” blocks in the water, but under artificial light they all just looked completely silver with the reflected light so it was difficult for these old eyes to see the patterns.

I ended up having to separate by shape and use brute force to finish the last few pieces. Luckily I’ve been doing puzzles for a while and am good at seeing the shape I’m looking for when brute force is called for – so it didn’t take as long as it might have otherwise.

Two of the cutest little squishmallows, in my opinion.

Excellent quality all around, but I’ve learned my lesson and have decided I really really don’t care for foil puzzles and will NOT be getting another. Still, the fit was good enough for my favorite puzzle picture….

Enjoy your squish summer everyone, it should be coming up soon!

Cardinal Glass

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

Cardinal Glass by Cynthie Fisher – Big Ben (Luxe) – 500 pieces

This puzzle had an extremely loose fit which made this frustrating and difficult to work with. I liked the image, but all that green was a b*tch to deal with as well as the crappy fit.

Big Ben puzzles have been hit and miss in the quality department for me; sometimes I’m amazed at the good quality and sometimes I want to stomp on the pieces while screaming and throwing a tantrum like a two year old. Hit or miss.

For me, puzzle brands whose quality isn’t something you can be sure of are brands that I no longer buy new. I refuse to pay retail for a puzzle with quality that may contribute to my regression to an angry toddler. Big Ben is one of those brands I usually only get second hand at the thrift store.

If the price is only a few dollars it doesn’t frustrate me as much because I know going in that the pieces may not be all there or it may not be the best quality. That’s my twisted logic anyway.

Teal Lake

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

Teal Lake by Andy Russell – Milton Bradley (Big Ben) – 500 pieces

I love the image of this puzzle, and I liked that even though it was only 500 pieces it was still a bit challenging. It made for some fun puzzling!

This is a thrift store puzzle, and other than quite a loose fit it was pretty good quality. The image reproduction is lovely, there are a good variety of shapes and the chipboard was a nice thickness. The finish is matte and feels soft to the touch; the loose fitting pieces made for some frustrating moments trying to move pieces around, but otherwise I was happy with it.

Main Street – Day 6

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles2 Comments

Main Street by Joseph Holodook – Cra-Z-Art – approx. 83/500 pieces

And now we’re at the end of this set of Main Street puzzles, the last two buildings. They were all entertaining to assemble, and the Americana theme made for twelve beautiful shaped mini puzzles. I loved them all!

The quality was quite good for one of these sets with a good fit, beautiful image reproduction, an excellent variety of shapes and chipboard of a nice thickness. The buildings were all different shapes and sizes so there wasn’t any repetition and each one was a nice little puzzle to be solved. There have been a couple of sets that were disappointing, but this wasn’t one of them.

I’m very much looking forward to getting the three other puzzles that I haven’t yet done. (One may be a bit boring as they’re all the same shape, but I’m certain they’ll still be fun to put together.)

According to the sign Doc Ritter can cure your critter – large or small, there’s care for all. I love the look of this one, it actually reminds me of images by Wysocki and Jane Wooster Scott; it has such a homey feel to it. 💖

This one is another one that looks like fall to me, both the pumpkins in the front and the colors too. Raven’s Perch Pies – that seems awfully specific doesn’t it? At first I thought that it was just a place that made fish pies, then it finally clicked with me that it’s just a pie shop called Raven’s Perch – not a place that makes Perch pies run by a person named Raven. Duh!

I’m not too proud to tell you that it took me WAY longer than it should have to figure that out. I used to be smart! LOL

I enjoyed this set more than other sets of buildings for some reason, but again I don’t seem to be able to put into words exactly why that is. Even though I can’t seem tell you why, all that really matters is that they were fun to do – at least that’s what matters to me.

Happy puzzling today my friends, I hope you enjoy whatever puzzle you’re working on as much as I enjoyed these!