I absolutely adore this image, but the puzzle itself was not good quality at all. I enjoyed the assembly though, even with the questionable quality. When the image is entertaining enough I can forgive quite a bit.
It’s the chance we take when we buy puzzles from the thrift stores, they could be poor quality, missing pieces, or both – like this one. But how could I pass up those beautiful labradors?
Sorry about the wonky picture again, I’m having a tough time lately for some reason, I really should check the pic on my computer before I break the puzzle down; but I’m always so excited to get going on the next puzzle!
I always start with the edges if I can, and luckily with Ceaco puzzles it’s easy to pick them out, there aren’t any fake edge pieces or ones you aren’t sure of.
The pieces for the flowers, blanket, curtains, wall and wicker/baskets were pulled out on the initial sorting. I start with the pieces that “jump out” at me when I’m sorting. Sometimes by looking at the picture you’d think pieces for a certain area would be easy to find and pull, but it’s not always the case. I usually have a rough idea of what areas I’d like to start with, but it sometimes changes when I actually see the pieces.
Being only 550 pieces (and also being relatively good at sorting 😉 ) I was able to assemble the majority of the puzzle from the pieces I sorted at the beginning.
The two portraits are too cute, and this the sweetest kitten face – I think it’s the blue eyes. 🙂
There’s something about the simplicity of this image, it made for an excellent puzzle experience!
Luckily this was one of those Sunsout puzzles with a regular fit (not one where you get a blister from having to smash pieces together because the fit is too tight). The image reproduction is excellent, but there was quite a bit of shine on the finish. Overall a very nice quality puzzle – extremely pleasant to put together.
The large amount of sky seemed a little daunting at first, but it wasn’t too bad at all; the clouds, varying shades of blue, and the variety of piece shapes helped to keep it from being monotonous. And I loved the young and old couples….
Perhaps Norcross Love Affair shows the joy and wonder of young love, and also that even when you’re older you can still be madly, romantically in love with each other. The older couple is so adorable! If my husband had hair we might look like them someday – although we’d both probably be wearing something much more comfortable. 😉
As usual, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed assembling this image. Normally when it’s time for a new puzzle I look at the image and open the box to take a look at the pieces. If when I seem them I’m “not feeling it”, the lid goes back on and the search continues until I find one I’m ready to assemble.
Lately though, I’ve been giving myself a pep talk when I open the box. If the image on the box made me open it to see the pieces then I should do it. Most of the time I enjoy them more than I thought I would, so why not just give up the search for the perfect puzzle at the perfect time and just grab one that looks good and go? That’s what I’ve been trying to do anyways – and most of the time, like with this puzzle, they are great fun and I’m happy having assembled it. 😎
Knightingale was a fun image with beautiful colors and interesting artwork; unfortunately it also had poor quality too. There was a great deal of image lift which robbed me of the joy I get when running my hands over the completed puzzle – there were too many tabs sticking up and I didn’t want my puzzle massage to tear any of them off. Still it was a great find at the thrift store, I got several hours of enjoyable puzzle time for only 69 cents!
The artist may have been inspired by Picasso – or this scene is set somewhere near a leaking nuclear reactor. Fun characters with interesting colors, I’d love to find more puzzles with her artwork – it was even more fun to assemble than I’d hoped. 🙂
This is another Christmas present from one of my kids – they know me so well! Not only did my Grama teach me to assemble jigsaws, she taught me crosswords too; and I enjoy them both very much. This puzzle is the best of both worlds!
It’s from another new company that I’d never heard of, my research tells me that they only make these crossword jigsaw puzzles, one edition per year from the looks of it. It’s pretty darn good quality from a company whose primary focus isn’t jigsaws.
If you’re a regular reader you know how much I enjoy having text to assemble, this puzzle had me in heaven – words, words everywhere! According to the box you should begin by solving the crossword…
It’s easier then to solve the jigsaw if you solve the crossword first, but you don’t have to be good at them, or even try if you don’t want to. You could just work the jigsaw and fill in the blanks once you’re finished. Or you could do your best on the crossword and use the jigsaw to help. I’ll admit to not getting the whole crossword done first, I needed help with a few of the answers.
The crossword puzzle is about medium difficulty, although it really all depends on your ability and familiarity with crossword puzzles. My Grama would have found this extremely easy to solve, she was a crossword expert. If you’re new to them or not very proficient, be careful! There are a few clues meant to trip you up, you think the answer is obvious, but it isn’t at all. I love the ones that keep you on your toes. 😏
My only problem is that the puzzle you solve on paper doesn’t match the jigsaw. The clues and answers are the same, but the proportions don’t match.
In the actual jigsaw directly beneath the grid is the clue for 70-down. On the paper that you use to solve the crossword the clue is 55-down. Apparently you’re only supposed to use the paper to fill in the crossword puzzle and not as a reference for anything other than the grid itself. A teeny bit annoying.
Overall though, I had great fun with this one. I was going to save it to post on National Puzzle Day later this month, but things being what they are I needed it today – besides, every day is puzzle day around here. 😎
My Jigsaw Journal 