Review: It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

On October 20, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews, Thrift Store Puzzles2 Comments

It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown by Charles Schulz – USAopoly – 500 pieces

Super fun! The first Halloween puzzle I’ve done this season, and I enjoyed it very much. I’ve come around to shaped puzzles, I never really wanted to do them before. Now that I’ve got quite a few under my belt, I appreciate the nice change of pace that they offer. Their shapes make them very interesting to assemble.

I didn’t start with the edge of this one, although I normally try to find all the edges of shaped puzzles to see how much I can assemble. I started with Linus and Sally, they were the easiest to pick out. Then I worked on Snoopy’s silhouette and the moon. The pumpkins were easier than I thought they’d be! I enjoyed the challenge of this one, it wasn’t too easy. I had a great time with the entire puzzle; easy parts were quick and satisfying, challenging parts kept me entertained and focused.

I love the fall and Halloween. I don’t have too many Halloween puzzles, but I’m enjoying the ones I do have. Here’s hoping the thrift stores have some more after the holiday! 😉

Details:

Title: It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
Artist: Charles Schulz
Brand: USAopoly
Piece count: 500 pieces
Size: Approx. 19 x 19 in. (48 x 48 cm)
Purchased: Used, thrift store

Quality:

Board: Thin but sturdy
Cutting: Good – fully separated, some hanging paper
Image: Very good
Box: Collectible tin
Fit: Normal/Average
Puzzle Dust: None
Piece cut: Random
Piece shapes: Very good variety
Finish: Shiny finish, lays flat

Overall Rating: Good, recommended

Review: The Music Castle

On October 17, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews2 Comments

The Music Castle by Colin Thompson – Ravensburger – 500 pieces

I’m trying out a new review format here. What do you think? Love it? Hate it? Let me know in the comments or email using the contact me page above. 🙂

As usual, this Colin Thompson puzzle by Ravensburger was wonderful to assemble! I love his artwork and have done several of his cupboards and boxes. I love the little details but at times, for me, they can be a little too busy. It all depends on my mood; sometimes I’m all about an intricate, detailed image, and sometimes I crave simplicity and straightforward colorful images. This one had a little bit of both, the perfect happy medium!

The sky was the easiest place to start with the streak of pink and all the turrets, and from there I worked on the moat and piano keys. The rest of the puzzle seemed to fall into place quickly, and was a joy to assemble. And for you Colin Thompson fans, never fear – there are plenty of little pink people hanging around this castle; they’re singing and playing instruments, or just hanging out. 😉

I don’t always order puzzles new since my puzzle “dealer” keeps me supplied with almost unlimited thrift store purchases; but I saw this puzzle while online window shopping and had to get it. It was as much fun as I’d hoped, and just the right amount of challenging.

Details:

Title: The Music Castle
Artist: Colin Thompson
Brand: Ravensburger
Piece count: 500 pieces
Size: Approx. 19 x 14 in. (49 x 36 cm)
Purchased: New

Quality:

Board: Thick and sturdy
Cutting: Excellent – fully separated, no hanging paper
Image: Excellent
Box: Very good
Fit: Normal/Average
Puzzle Dust: Small amount
Piece cut: Grid
Piece shapes: Good variety
Finish: Matte finish, lays flat

Overall Rating: Excellent, highly recommended

Hot Chocolate

On October 15, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles2 Comments

Super cute image, but not an easy puzzle by any means. But the more difficult ones are the most fun when I can work on them with my mom. 🙂

FX Schmid puzzles have excellent quality, I’ve never had a bad one. The pieces are thick and feel good in your hand. They fit together very well, and the image reproduction is exceptional. This puzzle was no different and it was nice to have good quality pieces with such a difficult puzzle.

I know it doesn’t look too bad, but the chocolate lab, the boots, and the darker areas of the fire/fireplace made it a bit of a challenge. It was adorable though, and we enjoyed even the challenging parts. I looked up this puzzle to be sure I had all the information correct and according to some this is a rare puzzle that’s hard to find. Cool! (It’s still going to the senior center though, I’m sure they’ll have fun with it)

Magical Jungle

On October 12, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw PuzzlesLeave a comment

I love this image, it’s bright and cartoony and makes for fun puzzling. I had a great time assembling this one, it was quick and easy and took my mind off of stressful things. I definitely needed that!

I like the work of Johanna Basford, and think it is excellent puzzle material; she is a Scottish illustrator who has published many adult coloring books. This image feels like a coloring book, perhaps that’s why I like it so much. Even though my brain isn’t working properly enough for me to articulate why it is that certain images are appealing to me, I still try. 🙂

This puzzle also comes with a black and white poster of the image for you to color. Don’t like the purple elephant? Why not make him bright pink? I haven’t finished coloring it, but I sit and work on it every now and then. I worry about my color choices sometimes, which makes absolutely no sense at all. It’s my picture, who am I trying to please other than myself? If I want to color a sloth bright green, so what?!

Walt Disney World

On October 7, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

I had high hopes for this puzzle, but it was a letdown. I was thinking there’d be better quality from the Disney company. 😐 This was the first puzzle I’ve done from them, so I’m interested to find another to compare it with. Perhaps this was one that got by quality control?

I like the image, but the pieces were very thin and easily bent and did not fit together well in some places. The image reproduction was blurry and fuzzy in some places, but crisp and clear in others. There was image lift on several pieces, and lots of hanging paper on the back of many pieces as well. In addition to the quality issues, some fool donated this to a thrift store with 6 missing pieces! Annoying!

On the positive side, the colors were bright and beautiful and there was a nice variety of piece shapes. It was fun to count the number of Disney movies, short films, and tv shows represented – there were a lot! Even if there were pieces missing and it had less than optimal quality, I still enjoyed the image itself.