Tag: 500+ pieces

Review: Apple Pie Kitchen

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviewsLeave a comment
This post is sponsored by Cobble Hill Puzzles.
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Apple Pie Kitchen by Kip Richmond – Cobble Hill – 500 pieces

Apple Pie Kitchen is a gorgeous image, and was a fun puzzle to assemble. I love an old country kitchen, I think I may have been born too late to enjoy them though; I was raised in the age of hideous avocado colored refrigerators and enormous microwave ovens.

Cobble Hill Puzzles are excellent quality, and this puzzle was no exception. The pieces are a good thickness with a linen finish, the image reproduction is very good with beautiful colors and crisp lines. The cut is random, which I find makes for a fun and interesting assembly although some puzzlers find working with them more difficult; and the fit was excellent. Their catalog is varied, with plenty of different styles to choose from, and their new puzzles come with a poster to help with assembly. Click the link above to see all the Cobble Hill puzzles currently available at one of their preferred online retailers, Puzzle Warehouse.

This puzzle was a joy to assemble; I love the warm, homey feeling of the image. The random cut of the pieces kept me on my toes and completing each small section gave me a great sense of satisfaction. This puzzle is definitely recommended!

Details:

  • Title:                  Apple Pie Kitchen
  • Artist:                Kip Richmond
  • Brand:               Cobble Hill Puzzles
  • Piece count:     500 pieces
  • Size:                  Approx. 26 x 19 in. (69 x 48 cm)
  • Purchased:      N/A, sent for review

Quality:

  • Board:               Very good
  • Cutting:             Very good
  • Image:               Excellent
  • Box:                   Very good, poster included
  • Fit:                     Very good
  • Puzzle Dust:     Minimal amount
  • Piece cut:          Random cut
  • Piece shapes:   Very good variety
  • Finish:               Matte finish, lays flat

Overall Rating:      Very good, recommended

 

I received this product at no cost in order to facilitate this review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are truthful and 100% my own.

Review: In Full Bloom

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews2 Comments
This post is sponsored by Puzzle Warehouse.
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In Full Bloom by McKenna Ryan – Cobble Hill – 500 pieces

In Full Bloom is an absolutely gorgeous puzzle, but it’s a little harder than it looks! The image is an actual quilt which makes it a little more challenging; still it’s great fun, and would make a beautiful wall hanging.

Cobble Hill puzzles are excellent quality, and this puzzle was no different. Thick pieces with a linen finished image full of bright, beautiful colors. The fit was a little loose and a few of the pieces were still attached by small bits of paper, but not so much as to be a major annoyance. I find that when an image is one I really like that I tend to forgive quality issues a little more readily. A slightly loose fit doesn’t lessen the enjoyment of the assembly, I just have to be sure that I’m paying more attention when moving small sections. Click the link above to see all the Cobble Hill puzzles currently available at Puzzle Warehouse.

The picture above doesn’t do the puzzle justice, the colors are deep and rich and the entire image is beautiful. It takes my breath away! It was harder than I anticipated but the colors and overall image made it worth the challenge. The artist, McKenna Ryan, has three 500 piece puzzles currently with Cobble Hill; in addition to In Full Bloom, there are Back on the Farm and Dog Park. Click the links to check them out, they’re adorable!

I definitely recommend this puzzle, especially if you’re a fan of quilt puzzles like I am, or if you just like a beautiful puzzle of good quality. I had a great time with this assembly, and hope you do too!

Details:

  • Title:                  In Full Bloom
  • Artist:                McKenna Ryan
  • Brand:               Cobble Hill
  • Piece count:     500 pieces
  • Size:                  Approx. 18 x 24 in. (46 x 61 cm)
  • Purchased:      N/A

Quality:

  • Board:               Very good
  • Cutting:             Good, some attached pieces
  • Image:               Excellent
  • Box:                   Average
  • Fit:                     Very good
  • Puzzle Dust:     Moderate amount
  • Piece cut:          Random cut
  • Piece shapes:   Very good variety
  • Finish:               Matte finish, lays flat

Overall Rating:      Very good, recommended

 

I received this product at no cost in order to facilitate this review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are truthful and 100% my own.

Simple Pleasures

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles3 Comments
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Simple Pleasures by Susan Winget – Ceaco (Cork backed) – 500 pieces

Another very interesting puzzle from the thrift store. The box opens like a book, and inside are two compartments with one puzzle in each from the same artist – with cork backing! This one was really fun, and the other I’m saving for Christmas in July on the blog. 🎄

Ceaco puzzles aren’t great quality in my opinion, but it seems they put a little more effort into their unusual puzzles. The “different” puzzles I’ve worked have been much better quality than their regular ones. This one was very good quality, the pieces are thick (with a cork backing they have to be a little thicker) and fit together very well.

This image was more complex than my previous few puzzles; I was trying to get myself back into the puzzle groove and was working easier images and piece counts. It took me a little longer than normal for a 500 piece puzzle, but I got it done! It’s a cute image that would look good framed in a country kitchen; there’s a rudimentary recipe for apple pie along the edge. 🍎

I’m not a big fan of Christmas puzzles, but I’ll be assembling the second 500 piece puzzle in this box later on this year. I’m looking forward to it! If you can find any of these box sets of cork-backed puzzles I definitely recommend giving them a try.

American Puppy

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw PuzzlesLeave a comment
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American Puppy by Jim Lamb – Lang – 500 pieces

I had never worked a Lang puzzle before, and I really love this image so I decided to give this one a try. I might purchase a Lang again if it had an exceptional image that I just had to have, but otherwise I don’t think this is a brand I’ll be purchasing much.

The pieces were on the thin side, and unfortunately there was no variety in the piece shape either. Without a selection of shapes to choose from, large areas of the same color or pattern become even more difficult. The finish was slightly shiny, but not too bad. Overall though, just a little sub-par for me.

I usually like to try at least 2 or 3 puzzles from one brand before making any pronouncements about the overall quality, but this one was purchased new which makes it a bit easier for me to assess it’s quality. Still, if we’re able to find any Lang puzzles at the thrift stores that have good images I’d be willing to give them a try; if for no other reason than to get more information on this brand and it’s quality.

I’m not a great fan of cat puzzles; puppies and dogs are more my style. A quick search of the artist brought up only puppy puzzles, I guess he’s a dog person too! There are still so many brands I have yet to work with, and when an image is sweet like this one I just can’t help myself and I want to give it a try. I’m not sorry I bought this puzzle, even though at times the assembly felt a bit tedious it is still a great image and I was able to check off another brand from my list. There are so many still left to try! 🙂

 

 

Fallingwater

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles5 Comments
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Fallingwater – Galison – 500 pieces

This isn’t my typical choice for a puzzle image, but the fact that this is a double sided puzzle and that the blueprints for this building is the image on the back piqued my interest and I couldn’t walk away from it. What an excellent idea!

I had a couple of issues with the quality of this puzzle, the first being the very shiny finish on the picture of the house; there was way too much shine, making it very difficult to work on under artificial lights. In fact the shininess of the pieces was part of the reason that I did the majority of the assembly with the blueprint side facing up. Secondly, the fit at times seemed a little mushy; when you tried to fit the pieces together you couldn’t always tell if the fit was correct.

I looked at other Galison puzzles at the store, luckily I was able to take the lid off and look at the pieces in the bag. There was another image that I liked very much, but the pieces were all ballerinas (2 prong, 2 hole) Blech! I prefer pieces to have more than one shape. On the plus side this puzzle had a good variety of piece shapes and once it was assembled correctly the fit was good enough to lift the entire puzzle. Here’s the image on the back…..

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Fallingwater Blueprint

I was all over the place when I assembled this, the edge was put together picture side up then I flipped it over to assemble the blueprint in the center. I thought assembling the blueprint would be interesting, and it was! Once the majority of the blueprint was assembled and the only pieces left were all blue I flipped it over again and let the image assist in completing the remainder of the puzzle. I make no apologies – it was fun!