Review: Snowfolks

On July 5, 2018July 5, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

Snowfolks by Bill Bell – Springbok – 60 pieces

This is a cute, wintry puzzle for my Christmas in July here on the blog. Unfortunately it had one of the tightest fits I’ve ever worked with, it was quite difficult to assemble – not because of the image, but because it took so much effort to connect the pieces.

Springbok puzzles usually have a tight fit, some much tighter than others; I’m not a fan of having to have upper body strength to complete a puzzle. Sometimes when working with a super tight fit my thumb starts to hurt from pushing so hard to put the pieces together! Springbok has some excellent, fun to assemble images though, and so I sometimes take a chance and hope that the fit isn’t too snug. You can see above that the finished puzzle doesn’t lie flat, it curls up along the edges because of the fit – this made it difficult to get a good picture.

Other than the fit this puzzle was good quality; good variety of piece shapes, thick pieces, and excellent image reproduction. I love the image – it’s very cute, and great for a kids puzzle.

Below are a couple of my favorite “folks”….

All the different snowfolks were adorable, but these were my favorites. The first one is perfect for Christmas in July, and the fisherman and the golfer are just plain cute. There’s also a hockey player, clown, gardener, firefighter, and many others. So fun!

This puzzle is recommended, with the warning that the fit on the puzzle I assembled was extremely tight. Perhaps not all of these puzzles will be this snug, but be forewarned.

Details:

Title: Snowfolks
Artist: Bill Bell
Brand: Springbokk
Piece count: 60 pieces
Size: Approx. 14 x 19 in. (35 x 48 cm)
Purchased: Used, thrift store

Quality:

Board: Very good
Cutting: Very good
Image: Excellent
Box: Average
Fit: Poor, much too tight
Puzzle Dust: Small amount
Piece cut: Grid cut
Piece shapes: Good variety
Finish: Slightly shiny finish, doesn’t lie flat

Overall Rating: Good, recommended (beware the rigid fit)

Construction Crowd

On April 26, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

This puzzle was a fun image to assemble, even though there was a missing piece. I think all the children’s puzzles mom bought from the thrift store that day might have come from the same child – perhaps they didn’t take care of their puzzles. Or it could just be that they were roughly handled at the thrift store, you never know.

As usual with a Ravensburger puzzle the quality was excellent. I didn’t think I’d enjoy the image as much as I did; assembling the different vehicles was a lot of fun! I’m not sure if I’d want it as a larger piece count puzzle, but for only 60 pieces I found it pretty entertaining. 😎

If you’ve got a little one in your life who enjoys construction vehicles and puzzles, this one is definitely recommended.

Whistler

On April 19, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

I’m always excited at the opportunity to try new companies and see what their puzzles are like. For the most part the new companies I’ve never heard of are makers of puzzles for children, and Butzi Games is one of them.

My first thought when looking at this puzzle was that it’s an interesting image choice for kids. It’s not your usual subject matter and made me wonder about the company. After doing a little research I found that the company was founded by a mom with a child who loves puzzles; she wanted to find puzzles that celebrated their hometown of Vancouver, and Whistler, their favorite place to ski. When she couldn’t find any puzzles like that she decided to make them herself and Butzi Kids was born.

The quality of this puzzle was pretty good with thick pieces that fit together very well. The chipboard is a little bendable though as the finished puzzle didn’t lie completely flat. That may be the result of Florida humidity or many, many assemblies; so I wouldn’t make a final judgement on quality until I’ve seen and assembled one that was brand new.

Cute puzzle, good quality, interesting subject matter, and a fun assembly – what more could you ask for?

Little Red Riding Hood

On February 27, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

This Milton Bradley puzzle was good quality, though the pieces seemed thin to me because I’d already assembled 6 Ravensburger kid’s puzzles that day – what puzzle company could compete with that? Not many!

This puzzle had good quality pieces with bright, fun colors and an excellent variety of piece shapes. It’s a cute image that was easy enough to assemble and fit together very well. Pretty darn good quality!

I enjoy working kid’s puzzles for several reasons. First, it’s nice to put together an entire puzzle in one sitting; it gives me a little ego boost and makes me feel like the puzzle goddess I think I am in my own mind. Second, I enjoy all puzzles no matter the piece count – even if they’re geared toward children. And lastly, I think most puzzle blogs are geared towards adults and kid’s puzzles deserve to be assembled and reviewed as much as adult puzzles are. If a company makes excellent puzzles for children people should hear about it, and parents need to know what company’s puzzles have good quality. (I’m trying to do my part ☺)

Assembling jigsaw puzzles is good for your brain no matter your age, but they are especially positive for the developing brains of children. They help promote spatial awareness, problem solving, fine motor skills and much, much more. Whether you find them at a thrift store or a retail outlet, a jigsaw puzzle is a fabulous gift for a child – you could be starting them out on a lifetime of puzzling!

Panda Family

On February 14, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

This is such a sweet image, it’s hard to resist those adorable faces! I love the pop of color at the bottom too; it’s just a lovely picture all around.

Ravensburger puzzles are excellent quality premium puzzles, no matter what age group they’re geared towards. The puzzles for both children and adults are made from high quality chipboard and have a beautiful finish. They fit together very well, and sometimes I might even say the children’s puzzles fit even better than the adult ones. After giving a few Ravensburger puzzles to my adopted grandson, his mother tells me that he prefers this brand over all his other puzzles. He will assemble pretty much any puzzle he can find, but he always goes back to the Ravensburgers, even the ones that may be missing a piece or two. He’s become a bit of a puzzle snob like me!

This image isn’t too simple, the bright colors at the bottom are easy enough to assemble quickly, but the pandas themselves and the forest in the background take a little bit more time. It was fun to assemble, even for a “grownup”, and was the usual wonderful Ravensburger quality. Highly recommended! 🐼