Penny Candy

On October 30, 2018October 30, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles3 Comments

It’s one day before the best candy holiday there is, so it’s the perfect time for this lovely puzzle of Penny Candy! The bright colors and fun candies made for an excellent image that was such an entertaining assembly, I absolutely loved it!

I decided to try laying out all the pieces on my board – a completely different method than the one I normally use – to see if perhaps it was easier or more efficient for me. And since I was doing something new, I also decided to document my progress for the blog, taking pictures along the way. It’s interesting sometimes to watch how a puzzle comes together, at least I hope it is. 😉

Penny Candy 1

Many people use this method when puzzling, so I decided to try it to see if it was better for me. There are some pros, some cons; it was easier at times to find the piece I was looking for, but it made my slight OCD go a bit crazy! I wanted to line up all the pieces into neat little rows. I’m not sure it’s a method I’ll use again, but it was fun (sort of) to give it a try.

Penny Candy 2

These sections were the ones I pulled out to start on first when laying all the pieces on the board; I did pretty well and got most of the pieces on the first try!

Penny Candy 4

Everything’s starting to come together, and I’m becoming more familiar with the colors and patterns so it’s a bit easier to find those stray pieces I didn’t pull the first time. I’m loving the look of the image!

Penny Candy 5

This is how the puzzle looked just before my Puzzle Posse arrived to help finish it off. It won’t be long now!

Penny Candy - with mom

Mom’s here and helping to fill in all the blank spaces. I’m a good daughter and let her have the comfy chair right in front of the puzzle. You can see there aren’t very many pieces left to go now; with her help we finished up in no time and enjoyed every piece. How cute is my posse? So cute!

There were some VERY old fashioned ads and candy that you would absolutely never see these days…

Candy is quick energy for active bodies, put some in their lunch every day. Yowza. That definitely wouldn’t fly into today’s kale infused atmosphere, would it? And candy is delicious food, eat some every day? Oh my! Not that I dislike candy, I definitely enjoy it very much. But food? Yikes. And you wouldn’t see that syrup six shooter in any candy store today! Not only is it a gun, but it’s made out of syrup? Ew! 🤢

I’m old enough to remember penny candy; there used to be a “General Store” in my hometown with a candy counter full of penny candy. The eternally patient clerks would grab a very small brown paper bag and fill it with the candies we chose – adding up the price as we went, making sure we knew how much we were spending.

I have wonderful memories of going into town and getting 50 cents or a dollar from my parents and picking out all the different candies. My favorites were the dots on paper strips, tootsie rolls, pixie sticks, and rock candy. And I’m a child of the 70’s and 80’s, so of course we enjoyed out share of pop rocks and cosmic candy! Good times. 🍫🍬🍭

Penny Candy had me reminiscing, and I enjoyed both the memories and the puzzle!

Review: Bombs Away!

On September 6, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviewsLeave a comment

This post is sponsored by Puzzle Warehouse.

Bombs Away! by Tom Wood – SunsOut – 550 pieces

Bombs Away! by SunsOut is an adorable puzzle that was great fun to assemble, and an excellent way to unofficially kick off autumn. It’s still pretty warm and humid here, and it doesn’t feel much like fall; but it’s my favorite season so I wanted to get myself in the mood with a seasonal puzzle. This one was a great choice!

SunsOut puzzles are usually good quality, with thick pieces that have an excellent variety of shapes. Normally their puzzles are randomly cut, but this puzzle was more what I would call semi-random; the edges of each piece don’t line up exactly, but the pieces are cut in lines as opposed to completely randomly. The image reproduction is very good, with beautiful fall colors and a slightly shiny finish. The fit of SunsOut can sometimes be extremely tight, but this one was more a normal snugness. The fit itself seemed a bit “spongy” rather than snapping into place, but I didn’t find it distracting. All in all, the quality of this puzzle was very good. Click the link above to check out all their puzzles currently in stock at Puzzle Warehouse.

After assembling the edges, I started with the sign – words are some of the most entertaining things to assemble for me. The sky and grass were next, and they went together more quickly than I anticipated. The face of the jack-o-lantern was next and then it was on to the naughty cat atop the wheelbarrow. The dogs took a bit more concentration than I thought they would, but they were still lots of fun to put together. Interestingly I found the pumpkins less difficult than the wheelbarrow, although I’m not sure I could say why that was. Overall the assembly was challenging (the brush strokes added to the difficulty) but loads of fun and the finished puzzle is just too darned cute!

This was my first puzzle by Tom Wood, and I very much enjoyed the artwork. The brush strokes made for a little more of a challenge, but the finished image is beautiful and perfect for kick-starting the fall (even if it isn’t official until September 22). He’s known for his playful portraits of cats and dogs, and I think he captures their personalities extremely well…

Look at those faces! One is so sweet and non-confrontational, the other is naughty and looking to make trouble – typical dog and cat if you ask me. I’m looking forward to working more images by this artist, and his puzzles have plenty of cuteness to choose from. Click here to see all the puzzles available by Tom Wood at Puzzle Warehouse – and if you’re looking for other cute autumn/Halloween puzzles, check out Boo Cat – it’s so sweet!

Bombs Away! was an entertaining puzzle that I had a great time assembling. Unfortunately it’s discontinued and there are only a few left so if you’re wanting to put together this fall themed puzzle you should order very soon.

Details:

Title: Bombs Away!
Artist: Tom Wood
Brand: Sunsout
Piece count: 550 pieces
Size: Approx. 15 x 24 in. (38 x 61 cm)
Purchased: N/A, sent for review

Quality:

Board: Very good
Cutting: Very good
Image: Very good
Box: Average
Fit: Good, slightly spongy
Puzzle Dust: Moderate amount
Piece cut: Semi-random cut
Piece shapes: Very good variety
Finish: Slightly shiny 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.

TV Legends: The Honeymooners

On August 20, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

This puzzle was completed more than two years ago, but I’m going back through the ones I’ve done and that are posted on my completed puzzles pages to find new ones to post here. I’ve done complete posts on most of them, but there are some left that I’ve never written about. My lineup of puzzles in the queue to be posted has been almost completely depleted! 😱

As you can see, my photography leaves a lot to be desired. At the time I was taking pictures just to send to mom to show her the finished puzzle; I had no idea that I’d start a puzzle blog and be posting the pictures online! As a result, the picture is cockeyed, and you also get a small view of my bedspread – not my best camera work.

This was a thrift store puzzle, and was pretty fun to assemble. As usual for me I started with the words and the Honeymooners emblem. Ralph Kramden’s outfit was easy enough to find and pull out to assemble, as was the tablecloth and all the flesh. The rest of the assembly was just picking what color or texture to do next and going for it. The floor was the most challenging part to put together – that I definitely remember! This puzzle was entertaining and challenging in a good way, and the quality was pretty good for a Ceaco.

I was planning on posting this yesterday, but was feeling terrible and out of sorts; it just completely slipped my mind. I make it a point to post a puzzle every day, but with the medication I had to take I spent most of the day either sleeping or just resting in bed; there was almost no time spent on the computer at all. My apologies for my tardiness. 😦

Review: Peace Love (POP Art)

On August 16, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviewsLeave a comment

Peace Love (Pop Art) by Howie Green – Ceaco – 550 pieces

This is a wonderfully colorful image that was extremely challenging to assemble. I love the look of this puzzle, but it was much more difficult to assemble than I bargained for.

Ceaco puzzles do not always get a recommendation from me, but this one does. The pieces were on the thinner side, but they were sturdy and fit together very well. The image reproduction was very good, with bright colors and clear lines. Altogether the puzzle had very nice quality for a Ceaco, and I even commented on it while we were assembling it.

I assembled this together with my mom and son. It wasn’t a puzzle that went together quickly, but it was still entertaining – although mom wasn’t as entertained as I was (she commented when we were finished that she did not find it much fun). We started with the blue coat and the long, flowing hair. After that, there were so many colors and lines that we had to let the pieces guide us on where to go. It took a bit longer than a 550 piece puzzle would normally take, but the end result is a beautiful finished image.

The psychedelic color scheme is fun to look at, but not as much fun to assemble. The colors and lines everywhere make it hard to know what part of the puzzle you’re assembling, or where the piece you have in your hand may go. That said, if this image is one that you like, the quality was quite good and it’s definitely recommended. It would make a great wall hanging, perhaps for an old hippie in your life. Flower power! 🌻🌻

Details:

Title: Peace Love (POP Art)
Artist: Howie Green
Brand: Ceaco
Piece count: 550 pieces
Size: 20 x 20 in. (51 x 51 cm)
Purchased: New

Quality:

Board: Very good
Cutting: Good
Image: Very good
Box: Average
Fit: Very good
Puzzle Dust: Moderate amount
Piece cut: Grid cut
Piece shapes: Good variety
Finish: Slightly shiny finish, lays flat

Overall Rating: Very good, recommended

Red

On August 6, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw PuzzlesLeave a comment

Red by Guido Cecere – Ceaco – 550 pieces

This puzzle was a little more difficult than Yellow, the colors are deeper and made it a bit more challenging to discern the different shades. Still, it was very entertaining!

The quality was good, the pieces were about medium thickness with a few bent pieces but not a whole bunch. The fit and image reproduction were both very good, and there were a nice variety of piece shapes. This puzzle was actually one of the better Ceaco puzzles I’ve assembled in a while.

I love the Mobil Pegasus, and the vintage picture is gorgeous as well…

It really was a fun puzzle to put together, and thankfully it was one of the better quality Ceacos. There’s a blue one that I haven’t done yet, but if I come across it one of these days I’ll definitely be wanting to assemble it.

Cobble Hill has a whole rainbow series of puzzles that look challenging and interesting – I’m just not sure I’m up to working on those yet. Fingers crossed though, maybe soon!