Review: Butterflies * Vintage Stamps

On March 29, 2020March 29, 2020 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews12 Comments

This is where I would usually show you a picture of the completed puzzle, but as you can see I’ve taken a picture of the box instead. Why? Because this puzzle had terrible quality, and once I’d put together six pieces of the edge that was all I needed. Life is too short to waste on crappy puzzles.

The entire time I was sorting my brain was telling me to really think about whether or not this was a puzzle I wanted to assemble. There were MANY pieces still attached, not because they just didn’t get broken up, but because they weren’t cut all the way through – not even close to all the way through. There were groups of 2, 3, and even 4 pieces still together, and to separate them without damaging them would have required a sharp craft knife and lots of time. 😐

The thinness of the pieces was a concern as well, I don’t ever remember a Eurographics puzzle having such thin, bendable pieces before – and there have been many a puzzle from this brand on my table through the years. If I hadn’t purchased it new myself, the quality would lead me to believe this was a dollar store puzzle.

Once I started putting the edge together I knew this puzzle was going to be horrid to assemble and that it just wasn’t worth it. The looseness of the fit was crazy, there was way too much play in the pieces.

Butterflies 1

This is the pieces pushed together tightly.

Butterflies 2

This is how much play there is within the fit. You couldn’t lift two assembled pieces.

I’m not sure exactly when Eurographics quality went downhill, but the last few puzzles of theirs that I’ve assembled have been quite disappointing. They used to have nice, thick pieces with a random cut that made for an interesting assembly. The newer puzzles I’ve assembled have had thinner pieces with only one piece shape. This puzzle just put them on my naughty list, because I absolutely cannot recommend this brand anymore.

It may seem odd to review a puzzle I haven’t completely assembled, but there were so many quality issues that I felt a responsibility to let my readers know – a review seemed to be the best way to do that. It isn’t coming as a shock, I’ve expressed disappointment with the last few Eurographics puzzles that I’ve assembled; but this was by far the worst quality puzzle of theirs I’ve ever seen.

Once I decided to review this puzzle I gathered the pieces for the two yellow butterflies and put them together to be sure about the quality of the whole puzzle. Absolutely awful. Perhaps my puzzle was just one from the very end of the run when the die is dullest, but when you put this disappointing quality together with the problems of the previous ones it all adds up to a brand that has major problems, in my opinion.

Please remember, all reviews are only one person’s opinion. I do my best to be objective, but in the end this review is only about my puzzle and my experience; take it with a grain of salt. Far be it from me to tell you what to buy or not to buy; but for myself I know there won’t be any more Eurographics puzzles in my shopping cart anytime soon. It’s such a shame too, they used to be such nice puzzles. 😥

Details:

Title: Butterflies * Vintage Stamps
Artist: Unknown
Brand: Eurographics
Piece count: 500 pieces
Size: Approx. 19 x 13 in. (48 x 33 cm)
Purchased: New

Quality:

Board: Poor, very thin
Cutting: Poor
Image: Very good
Box: Average
Fit: Poor, very loose
Puzzle Dust: Moderate amount
Piece cut: Grid cut
Piece shapes: No variety, all one shape
Finish: Slightly shiny finish

Overall Rating: Poor quality, not recommended

Air Mail In Progress

On March 28, 2020March 27, 2020 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzling10 Comments

Air Mail IP — Air Mail – Re-marks – 500 pieces

On what was most likely my last puzzle shopping trip for quite some time I got myself a few collages. Collage puzzles are my happy place, and what I need right now are puzzles that make me happy. 💖

This collage of stamps is this first one I’ve picked to assemble, and it looks like it’s going to be great fun! Once the edge was assembled the first stamp I saw that I wanted to put together was Rosie the Riveter. She makes me smile, and also makes me think of the times we’re living in right now.

When called upon, the greatest generation did what needed to be done; men enlisted, women went to work in the factories, they rationed food, they limited their travel to save on resources for our troops, and much more. With Covid-19 running rampant across the globe, we all have to pitch in where we can – even if all we can do is stay at home when we are asked to, to help stop the spread of the virus.

As a disabled person who also has underlying conditions that make me more vulnerable, all I am really able do to pitch in and help out my community is to stay at home. All that’s being asked of me right now is to plant myself inside and stay there; I can absolutely do that without complaint.

In this unique situation in the world today everyone can help out in some way, even if the only way for us to help is to do nothing (or do puzzles) in our homes.

Just like Rosie, We Can Do It! 💪

Stained Glass Songbirds

On March 26, 2020March 26, 2020 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles7 Comments

This was a gorgeous puzzle that sadly was over too soon. The picture doesn’t do it justice, the colors are spectacular! Great quality thrift store puzzle that makes my heart and eyes very happy.

This was another puzzle where I wasn’t aware of the artist until I was finished and writing up the post – it’s Ciro Marchetti. He’s another digital artist whose work I greatly admire, and this one definitely didn’t disappoint. The colors are AMAZING!

Buffalo has to be given some props here for their exceptional image reproduction in addition to the great quality of the pieces and the fit. This puzzle is an example of one of the reasons why I love thrift store shopping. You can find a puzzle like this, of fantastic quality, for a small fraction of what you would pay retail. Yes, sometimes you run the risk of missing pieces, but it’s worth it in my book. Even a puzzle with missing pieces can be entertaining to assemble – at least it is for me. As my friend Nicola says, “The job is to put all the pieces together until there aren’t any more”. You can complete that task even with an incomplete puzzle. 🙂

Songbirds 1

The colors of the flowers and stained glass were just beautiful. I did not manipulate this image other than to crop it, these are the true colors!

Songbirds 2

The red and yellow birds were the first ones I put together, one bird led to another and before I knew it the puzzle was complete. I think this image would be excellent in a larger piece count, it was just too much fun to be over so quickly.

Songbirds 3

The colors, the puzzle, the quality – just fabulous!

Rainy Day Sketch In Progress

On March 23, 2020March 23, 2020 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles8 Comments

Rainy Day Sketch IP — Rainy Day Sketch by Tricia Reilly-Matthews – Sunsout – 500 pieces

I just started working on this puzzle early this morning – up at 4 am – yay. I finished my Stacey & Ruth puzzle yesterday, and picked this one out, but didn’t touch it at all until this morning.

Picking out puzzles is sometimes a bit crazy for me. I seem to forget the previous negative experiences I’ve had with a certain brand unless they were over the top terrible, and I want to think that this next time is going to be amazing (a bit like having kids 😉 ). Sunsout has provided me with some amazing puzzling experiences, and some that weren’t so great. When I see an image I really like from a certain brand it overrides the negative and I only seem to remember the good ones.

I found two really adorable Sunsout puzzles on my last shopping trip before we were all told to stay home and socially isolate ourselves. My desire for a few new puzzles and the cute images on the boxes completely wiped out most of the negative Sunsout experiences I’ve had previously. Needless to say, I bought two new puzzles from this brand; now that I’ve started working with this one I remember why this isn’t a brand I usually purchase. 😐

The fit isn’t great, and even though I’m not even a third of the way through this puzzle there have been many, many pieces that seem to fit where they do not belong, and when they do fit it feels “mushy”. You can’t really be certain you’ve got it right unless or until it connects to other pieces around it. I. Am. Not. A. Fan. Of. This.

Oh well. Lesson learned. For now.

Bread Baking

On March 11, 2020 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles12 Comments

This image would make for a lovely wall hanging in someone’s kitchen. But it made for a challenging jigsaw puzzle – at least for me. The color palette is so pale and sometimes indistinct; and for someone who loves bright colors (me), it made the assembly a little more difficult to get through.

It was a gift though, and even if the colors aren’t to my choosing or the image isn’t one I’d pick out I thoroughly appreciate the thought that went into it. Someone took the time to select this puzzle for me because they thought I would like it, that is what’s really important – not the image, the quality, or the size. Even though it isn’t a puzzle that I would have chosen for myself I love it for who gave it to me, and the thought it represents. 💝

Bread Baking 1

I loved the red oven – not only would I love to have a red oven because it’s my favorite color, I loved this one because the pieces were easy to pick out. There really wasn’t anything else red in this image besides the rug. It was a good place to start. 🙂

Bread Baking 2

So many cats! There must be cat hair all over that kitchen! I’m not sure I’d want them hanging around sticky bread dough being shaped and proved.

I’ve never had any major quality issues with these smaller piece count Milton Bradley puzzles. The fit on this one was a bit loose, but not too much so. Otherwise it was good quality; thick board, nice variety of shapes, and very nice image reproduction. For me they’ve always been a good quality puzzle that I never hesitate to purchase when I find them.

The colors and brush strokes made this assembly a challenge for me, but I conquered it anyway – like the Goddess of Puzzles that I am. 👑