Nebulium

On July 30, 2023July 5, 2023 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles5 Comments

Nebulium by Nadieh Bremer – Artifact – 147 pieces

This gorgeous puzzle with abstract but symmetrical pieces was not only highly entertaining to assemble, but it made my sweet hubby’s heart go pitter patter. 💗 I tried to make this puzzle last by taking frequent breaks, but he absolutely loved how it went together and I had to stop him from working on it without me!

My husband is all about putting things in order, and the fact that this puzzle has symmetrical pieces that work outward from the center had him even more motivated than usual to help me. I just had the pieces strewn around on the table (not normal for me, I know, but I was trying to make my limited number of vacation puzzles last) and I asked him to help me find the pieces that connected to the starburst-looking piece that was the center.

Of course once he came over to help and saw that there were many pieces of the same shape he said we had to separate them by shape first before we went any further. Once that was done he was hooked, figuring out what set of pieces was the next layer had him more engaged with a puzzle than I’ve seen him in a long time. And more than once I had to make him stop working on it without me!

The image was beautiful, but it was the abstract pieces and how the puzzle was assembled from the center outward that had both of us so enamored with it. While we were working on it I was telling him about another puzzle by the same artist with a somewhat similar but more complex shape on the Artifact website, and how the other puzzle was in my cart first while I was shopping but I switched it out for this one because the first one looked a bit more difficult.

Once we finished this puzzle he asked me to show him the puzzle I didn’t buy, and then told me that I should buy it. Several times in the next couple of days he asked if I had bought it yet – can you tell he REALLY enjoyed the assembly of this puzzle?

If any of you are wondering…..of course I went back and bought the other puzzle. It came with us for our second trip. 😎

Tea Bath

On July 27, 2023July 26, 2023 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles13 Comments

Tea Bath by Stasia Burrington – Artifact – 210 pieces

This is another of the very cute puzzles brought to my attention by my Deputy Chief Puzzle Enabler – Penny (aka Puzzle Momma). I mean, look how adorable this image is, how in the world I am supposed to be able to resist that?

The answer is that I cannot. I am weak, and easily swayed by a pretty “face” on the top of a puzzle box. 😍

We weren’t sure what some of the whimsy pieces (mostly the people working out) had to do with the image, but Artifact’s website says that the puzzle is full of “me-time” and grooming themed whimsies. I’m sure for many people exercising is a way to make time for yourself, I just didn’t think of that because my only exercise is half a sit-up in the morning when I wake up. 😁

We did notice in the completed puzzle some of the grooming going on though…

You can see in the lower left corner that there are two monkeys in the process of grooming each other, and two cats to their right maybe just having some meow time. 🐒🐈

We’re not sure why, but my brother-in-law puzzled with us on this one; he hadn’t seemed very interested in helping with any of the previous puzzles so we were pleasantly surprised that he wanted to join in. At the beginning all four of us were working together, until my husband got tired and decided he needed some me time with his pillow.

My poor brother-in-law was bamboozled by the border though; he decided early on that the border was his responsibility. The image on the box made it look as though the border was a “normal” one, but it was a little tricky at the top. Let’s just say he was not amused. (My sis and I thought it was hilarious 🤣) He kept saying that there had to be pieces missing, and there weren’t enough edges! I told him sometimes they trick you and it may not be straight all the way around, but he just kept repeating that there weren’t enough pieces. There was a lot of giggling going on, quietly, so we didn’t upset him. It still makes me smile just thinking about it. Poor guy. 😁

Another beautifully made Artifact puzzle, and one that sis fell in love with while we were assembling it. I wasn’t planning on leaving it with her, but she must have said “This puzzle is so much fun!” at least 20 times while we were working on it. She loved the image and the unique pieces, and had such a good time putting it together that I decided pretty quickly it would be in a very loving home and well cared for if it were in her hands.

Hubby took this picture as he was on his way to bed. I’m on the right, and my SIL is in the middle with her hubs on the left. Ain’t we an adorable group of “seniors” working on our jigsaw puzzle?

Cape Cod Pier

On June 26, 2023June 26, 2023 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles4 Comments

Cape Cod Pier by William Glackens – Artifact – 139 pieces

What a fantastic puzzle! I can’t say enough good things about it, the unique cut of the pieces, the beautiful artwork, the quality of the puzzle itself – it all went together to make for a wonderfully challenging assembly, even at only 139 pieces. I adored it! 💜

Love the whimsies in this puzzle, and the image was difficult enough that I “cheated” and used the unique shapes of the pieces around the whimsies themselves to get started. That isn’t something I normally do, as I like to make my wooden puzzle experience last as long as possible. But the painterly style of the image and the split tendril cut of the pieces made for a most challenging assembly – and I am on a LOT of pain meds these days.

*If you use the shapes of the pieces around the whimsies to get started on a wooden puzzle, of course it isn’t really cheating. However you choose to puzzle is exactly the right way, and there’s really no such thing as cheating (unless you have someone else assemble it and claim the work as your own). What I meant was that I considered it slightly “cheating” for me because that’s not where I usually begin, and it seemed to lessen the difficulty level somewhat once I had several small sections complete.

There’s something so satisfying for me in seeing the back of an interestingly and well cut wooden puzzle. I hope you guys like the picture too!

Fabric Owls

On June 23, 2023June 23, 2023 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles2 Comments

Fabric Owls by Annya Kai – Artifact – 156 pieces

I cannot stress enough how adorable and entertaining this puzzle was to assemble. Such a great little puzzle from Artifact, and if you’re so inclined it is highly recommended – it gets two very enthusiastic hoots! 🦉🦉

The decorative border was quite interesting, it was my first time was a border like this and I found I liked it very much. There were no whimsy pieces, but honestly it didn’t need any. And the artwork by Annya Kai makes for a great assembly – the colors and patterns were lovely to work with.

My youngest son picked this out for me to assemble, and even came in and helped me near the end – a minor miracle! Although these days he seems more interested in what puzzles I do and has been helping more often when the image is to his liking. This makes his old momma very happy.

This was one of those puzzles that I wanted to take apart and immediately start working on again. Love, love, loved it! ❤💕❤

Boobie Trapped

On June 15, 2023June 14, 2023 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles8 Comments

Boobie Trapped by Angie Rees – Artifact – 340 pieces

This is the most fun I’ve had with a puzzle in a long time, the bright colors, the silly artwork, the excellent pieces – it all made for a great puzzle that I would love to start all over again. I gave myself over completely to the puzzle and just put in pieces wherever I found them; no pressure, no peeking at the box, just a little bit of puzzle paradise whenever it was needed.

When I first started stocking up on puzzles to work on after my surgery I was only looking at the smaller piece counts. I didn’t look at much else and ended up completely missing this one. Penny and I were window shopping online together (lots of texts back and forth with links to cute puzzles) and she came across this image. She knew immediately that I would love it, and it ended up that several cute ones had gone totally unnoticed by me because smaller piece counts were all I was looking at. Thankfully she’s always there to pick up the slack and enable me as much as possible, so an additional order was placed – we couldn’t leave this poor boobie trapped moose all alone!

The dangers of air-drying your laundry in places where there are roaming moose; well, it seems apparent what one of those dangers is doesn’t it?

Great whimsy pieces, including a bra and underwear set. Love the sense of humor with with one! The two beavers with the forest ranger hats were adorable as well.