The Wedding

On April 23, 2019 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles5 Comments

Got my hands on another old wooden puzzle, are you surprised? It’s a lovely image, but there were so many missing pieces! I went into this knowing there were only 499 pieces, but I mistakenly assumed that meant there was only one missing piece. I was wrong of course. This puzzle apparently started out with 510 pieces, not 500. Still, mom and I had a good time putting it together and that’s what counts. The Wedding 1

There is such beautiful detail in the artwork, the hands seem almost photo quality. It was a beautiful puzzle and mom and I enjoyed it even with the many missing pieces.

The Wedding 2

EBL 1920 – I wish I knew if that was in reference to the date the puzzle was cut or if it’s when the image was painted. It could be both, actually.

I’ve got one more old puzzle yet to assemble and one more in the queue, but unless I find something amazing I’m done with the vintage/antique puzzles. Not because this one had lots of missing pieces, but because either fortunately or unfortunately (I’m not sure which), the municipal building puzzle was so amazing, and such fantastic quality that I feel that everything else is a bit of a letdown. Even if it’s great quality it still isn’t as good. I was so lucky to find that puzzle; it’s a one of a kind, exceptionally well made, and mom and I enjoyed the journey of putting it together so much – it just can’t be matched or duplicated. Nothing even really comes close.

I’ve told hubby to stop sneakily buying these old puzzles on eBay. He purchased a few for me as a surprise, it’s very sweet but I’d prefer it if he didn’t do that anymore. I think I’d rather be happy we had the experience and fun of assembling a very rare and wonderful antique than be let down by the not up to snuff quality of lesser (but still lovely) puzzles.

Many Travel Bags

On March 21, 2019March 20, 2019 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles10 Comments

My apologies for the cockeyed photo – I can usually do better than that. 😐 I like the alternative title for this puzzle shown on the box, “Valises a Gogo”. Sounds much more fun, doesn’t it?

The 300 piece Milton Bradley puzzle I posted yesterday was much better quality than this one, unfortunately. This 500 piece puzzle from the same brand had a very loose fit that was a difficult to work with early on in the assembly. The edges barely stayed together, and it wasn’t until quite a bit of the interior was done before I could trust that the pieces would stay connected if accidentally bumped. On the plus side it had very nice image reproduction, even if it was a tiny bit darker than the box showed.

I don’t know that I would have picked this puzzle out for myself, but it was more fun to put together than it looked. If you come across “Valises a Gogo” or “Many Travel Bags” it’s a fun picture to assemble, but I would recommend it from perhaps a different company if you’re not a fan of an extremely loose fit.

Americana Town

On March 17, 2019March 17, 2019 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles2 Comments

It certainly wasn’t my plan to do two puzzles by the same artist one right after the other, but that’s just how it worked out. This one was very busy and fun to do.

It must be a very old scene, the sign that says “and soon the telegraph” tells us that the technology is out there somewhere, it just just hasn’t made it to this small town yet. And for some reason I love the look of the tin peddler’s tent.

Doggie Heaven

On March 15, 2019March 15, 2019 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles4 Comments

This puzzle was bright, fun, and almost had too much cuteness! My son and I counted 45 dogs in this image (yup, he helped me finish it ❤).

I love the pooches being pampered under the hair dryers, and the dogs seem to love the kennel corn.

I really enjoyed this one! The pieces were actually thicker than other TCG puzzles I’ve done, and there were a variety of piece shapes as well. Much better quality than most other puzzles from this brand that I’ve worked.

Afternoon at the Park

On February 28, 2019 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles8 Comments

Such an adorable puzzle! It’s also an image with hidden animals, some you can see in the image as it is, and some you can only see when you look at the glow in the dark image. Most of the glow was no longer visible, even after sitting it outside in the sun for about 20 minutes there was almost no glow at all. It doesn’t really matter though, it was still a cute puzzle that was entertaining to assemble.

The quality was quite good, it had an offset grid cut and pieces that were a good thickness and fit together very well. It was a bit shiny, but the image reproduction was otherwise very good. I had a great time with the assembly. 🙂

Afternoon at the Park 1

I started with the easiest pieces to find, and the gorgeous puppy.

Afternoon at the Park 2

I’m getting close to the end here, and it was a bit more difficult than I’d assumed. Difficult doesn’t mean it wasn’t enjoyable though, I like having to concentrate and focus all my attention; it’s part of what’s great about puzzling for me. It turns off my brain to almost all other thoughts and I’m only thinking about shapes and colors and what goes where. It’s almost like meditation.

Afternoon at the Park 3