Tag: 500 pieces

Clever Women are Dangerous Too

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles6 Comments

Clever Women are Dangerous Too by Joe de Mers – Clementoni – 500 pieces

I know it’s only January, but this is the winner for best puzzle title so far this year – love the title and the puzzle. What a fun assembly, and even with all that black it isn’t as difficult as you might think.

The fit was loose, but otherwise it’s a great quality puzzle. I don’t get to do many Clementoni puzzles, I find that the 500 piece puzzles are just about right for this brand; other than the slightly loose fit the quality was excellent. 💗

I have an in process picture because I texted it to a friend while I was working on it; I don’t usually take them. I absolutely adored this image, it’s quite different than the usual subject matter – and it’s pretty darn cool too. 😎

Fantastically great puzzle!

Geometric

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles12 Comments

Geometric by Josie Lewis – Buffalo – 500 pieces

Unfortunately I did not enjoy this puzzle as much as I’d hoped. The image was difficult; I knew it would be, but it was just not entertaining for me at all. I think because it was one of the first puzzles back after dealing with a serious medical issue and being stuck in bed most of the day for almost two weeks. My brain just couldn’t seem to get in gear and I felt stupid and slow trying to assemble it.

There was absolutely nothing wrong with the quality, the quality was excellent.

I started with the reds/pinks…

Then the purple/blue pieces…

Greens and yellows were last.

I should have known better, but I got sucked into the pretty picture. I need to remember this puzzle the next time a beautiful gradient image catches my eye. Gradient puzzles are so interesting and gorgeous to me, but many times they’re much more difficult than they look.

Or it could be that I’m losing my touch.

Animal Selfies

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles8 Comments

Animal Selfies by Howard Robinson – Cra-Z-Art – 500 pieces

Normally I would post these puzzles in groups of three or four over multiple days, but I just wasn’t feeling it this time. There’s nothing wrong with the puzzles or the images, it just wasn’t in the cards for me right now. Don’t worry though, there are plenty more sets to be assembled and many more silly names and backstories to be shared.

If you’ve been here for a while you know how much I adore these sets of mini puzzles from Cra-Z-Art. With the colored backing you can separate them first and make each one it’s own little puzzle from start to finish. Or if you want to challenge yourself you can keep them all mixed up and assemble it as a 500 piece puzzle – the choice is yours. They’re good quality puzzles and I enjoy working with them every time.

I started these the day after Christmas, and was just completely worn out by the holiday, which is probably why I decided to do these as one post. Then a few days before the New Year I developed a serious infection (not the plague) that I am still not fully recovered from yet; all I can think of is getting back into bed and sleeping for another whole day – or seven. 💤🛌💤

Review: Mandala Delight

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles9 Comments

Mandala Delight – Page Publications – 500 pieces

I pride myself on not making snap judgements about a brand after only working one of their puzzles. That ends now. Sssssnap! This brand is TERRIBLE, please do not waste any of your precious puzzle budget on any Page Publications puzzles.

Trying new brands always gets me excited, in the back of my brain I’m always hoping for a great quality puzzle that would add to the list of brands I can confidently buy any puzzle from. This was such a colossal disappointment – there aren’t enough words in the English language to tell you exactly how much.

Let me list the problems….

  • Extremely thin pieces
  • Flimsy chipboard that is easily bent and split
  • Fuzzy backing with a ton of puzzle dust
  • Too shiny finish that creates glare
  • No variety in shape at all, every piece fits everywhere
  • Horrid, extremely loose and spongy fit – even worse than Norman Rockwell
  • Doesn’t lay flat -not even close

My regular readers know that I normally try to find something positive about every puzzle. That just isn’t possible with this one; there’s nothing here that’s good in my opinion.

There have been quite a few new brands pop up in the last two years to take advantage of the increased demand for puzzles during the pandemic. This one is new, and from the looks of the puzzle I just assembled Page Publications doesn’t seem to be at all concerned about the quality of their product.

Look at how this puzzle lays; the fit is so bad that the pieces don’t really connect and lay flat together. Absolutely atrocious.

As with the Norman Rockwell puzzle, I got a bee in my bonnet about finishing this even with the ghastly quality. Perhaps it’s because I knew I would be giving it an awful review, and wanted to show you a finished puzzle. Perhaps it’s because Stacey is stubborn as a mule. Mostly, it’s just because my weird brain is in charge; sometimes I have to finish and I’m not sure why.

Please, if you love jigsaw puzzles do NOT purchase any of this brand. Ever. If you come across people handing out free Page Publications puzzles – eyes forward and keep walking, while chanting LIFE IS TOO SHORT FOR CRAPPY PUZZLES!

We deserve better. So much better.

Details:

  • Title:                  Mandala Delight
  • Artist:                Unknown
  • Brand:               Page Publications
  • Piece count:     500 pieces
  • Size:                  Approx. 20 x 25 in. (51 x 64 cm)
  • Purchased:      New

Quality:

  • Board:               Poor
  • Cutting:             Poor
  • Image:               Fair
  • Box:                   Average
  • Fit:                     Poor
  • Puzzle Dust:     Large amount
  • Piece cut:          Grid cut
  • Piece shapes:   No variety, pieces fit everywhere
  • Finish:               Shiny finish, does not lay flat

Overall Rating:      Very poor quality, not recommended

Happy New Year Puzzle Giveaway

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzling, Miscellaneous33 Comments

Fantasy Palace by Ciro Marchetti – Wentworth – 500 pieces

It’s been quite a while since I held a puzzle giveaway, so I’m starting 2022 by giving away some puzzle joy in the form of this beautiful, gently used 500 piece wooden puzzle from Wentworth. It’s a gorgeous image isn’t it? It could be yours!

It’s been nearly four years since I assembled this puzzle (you can click here to check out my original post) and there always seem to be new ones to do, so it’s only been assembled once. It was truly a pleasure to put together, and I’m feeling the need to share the wealth by sending it on to someone else who will enjoy it at least as much as I did.

To enter, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post (if you need something to say, I’d love to hear if you have any puzzle goals for 2022). Each comment will be given a number and I will use a random number generator to determine the winner one week from today; Wednesday, January 19, 2022. This giveaway is open to all puzzle lovers, no matter where in the world you live.

Good luck everyone, and here’s to another year of happy puzzling!