Hardest Puzzle I’ve Ever Done

On November 7, 2016May 24, 2023 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles2 Comments

Unknown title, artist and manufacturer – 500 pieces

This was the most difficult puzzle I have ever done! I was unbelievably proud when I finished it, and am trying to find the right frame to display it in. While cleaning the office in my parent’s house, we came across a couple of puzzles in ziploc bags. This puzzle had a very small picture cut from the box for “reference” – it was about 1 1/2 or 2 inches square. Not big enough to help at all, but just to show what the puzzle looks like completed.

It’s hard to tell in this picture, but each of the squares is actually four squares of different fabric/designs. With no picture for reference, this 500 piece puzzle took me 5 days to complete (for comparison a 1000 piece puzzle I can usually finish in 2-3 days)! I don’t know why this didn’t frustrate me, but I was content to work on this puzzle and spend more time looking for pieces than actually assembling. It may have been that I knew it was going to be an awesome looking finished image, or that I loved the challenge of having no picture to work from.

Most of the time when I finish a puzzle, I take it apart and take it to moms house so she can do it if she wants to. She said something to me about trying it herself and I had to tell her that I couldn’t bear to take this apart! Sorry, but I will be gluing and framing it because I’ve never been more proud of a finished puzzle. The most difficult jigsaw puzzle I’ve ever done, and I don’t even know where it came from!

Rondo

On November 5, 2016May 24, 2023 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw PuzzlesLeave a comment

This is an amazing company from Germany that I’d never heard of before. They don’t carry very many puzzles (there were only 9 to choose from last time I checked), but they are of amazing quality. The puzzle came in a large round tube, there was a poster inside, and the pieces were unbelievably thick! They were cardboard, but so thick and dense it almost felt like wood.

I believe this was purchased at Barnes and Noble in the clearance section, and how I wish there had been more of this brand! The image is interesting and the colors were bright and fun. It wasn’t overly difficult to assemble, grid cut, and the feel of the pieces made for a wonderfully fun tactile experience. I would love to find more of this brand here in the states, there are 3 or 4 of their other puzzles I would enjoy doing very much.

Candied Apples and Candy Corn

On November 1, 2016May 24, 2023 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles2 Comments

This is not your normal Ceaco puzzle, the pieces were backed with thick cork board and there were a lot of whimsies – there were balloons, a dog, a train, birds, even a clown! SO MUCH FUN! As an added bonus there are 42 pieces of the puzzle that you can assemble separately to make a juggling clown. I didn’t do that part, but what a cool idea!

The puzzle was only 584 pieces, but they were quite large – almost too big for my whiteboard which I used at the time for regular 1000 piece puzzles (20″ x 27″). It wasn’t an easy puzzle by any means, the two trees at the top took me an hour 😮 It’s more challenging with the random cut of the pieces and whimsies, but I enjoyed every moment and love, love, LOVE THIS PUZZLE!

I used to tell my mom to stop buying puzzles at thrift stores because we have so many, and she’s always buying more. Not anymore. If it makes her happy she should go for it, I should keep my mouth shut – not to mention she sometimes finds amazing puzzles like this one. Best thrift store find of the year! (I checked online to find a price, and found one new for sale at a retail store for $124.00!)

The Talking Jigsaw Puzzle

On October 13, 2016June 16, 2026 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles14 Comments

I’ve finally completed The Office Building! I’ve been ignoring it since my progress on the big kahuna was going so well, but I finally put this one to bed! They’re really quite fun, it’s too bad they’ve been out of print for so long. We were very lucky to find both this one and The Fitness Center at thrift stores. I’ve purposely taken a not so great picture so that if someone does have this puzzle I’m not giving away the solution.

Each window or section is four pieces, you assemble each section and once they are all assembled you have to figure out where they belong in the puzzle by clues – what the people are saying, room numbers in the background, where each person is looking or pointing, etc. Here’s a close up of a few sections to show how the clues help you with positioning.

Be careful, each window actually fits next to every other window!

You can check to be sure you’re placing each window in the correct place by checking the back of the pieces. On the back of the puzzle is the word “congratulations” in many different fonts, you can see immediately if you’ve placed a section in the right place. I enjoyed this puzzle very much, the extra challenge of having no picture to use as a guide and putting together each little section. I hope we are able to eventually find some more of the talking jigsaws at thrift stores, it’s a enjoyable challenge!