Tag: Cardinal

Untitled In Progress…

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzling4 Comments

Untitled Image by Iralu – Cardinal – 150 pieces

Looking for a smaller piece count to work on led me to do something I almost never do – I found the one I wanted to work on and then dumped out all the pieces onto my board – and the only sorting that has been done is to sort the edges from the inside. Shocked? I am!

It’s an untitled puzzle from a multipack of twelve that was purchased several years ago. I know that most multipacks aren’t the best quality, and usually never even look twice at them in the stores or thrift shops. But I saw the images on the box from an artist I’d never heard of and the artwork spoke to me – bad quality or no these were images that I wanted to assemble. I actually purchased them retail. 😲

I’ve assembled a few of the puzzles (think early 2020), but somewhere in time the box got pushed under my puzzle table. Out of sight, out of mind it seems. In my current funk although I want to do some puzzling, committing to 1000 pieces is a bit much for me. So today I went in search of something smaller and happened upon this box with more puzzles left to be completed.

My mood is cranky and impatient at the moment, so messing around with any kind of sorting at all isn’t in the cards and neither is laying pieces out neatly in rows. My OCD will just have to take a backseat to my hella bad attitude – this time.

At only 150 pieces the untitled image shouldn’t take too long, and it’ll be an interesting assembly I’m sure. The quality is less than optimal, but these puzzles are all about the artwork for me, and I’m looking forward to it!

The Golden Girls

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles14 Comments

The Golden Girls – Cardinal – 300 pieces

I love the cartoon style of this image, and found this at the thrift store just a few days before the death of the last surviving Golden Girl – Betty White; she was a comedic force to be reckoned with, and a classy lady all around.

This puzzle was unopened, and I was hoping that it would be good quality, but I was sadly disappointed. The pieces were on the thin side and slightly bent out of shape, but it was the extremely loose fit that made it so terrible to work with. Cardinal Puzzles can be hit or miss with their quality, and this was a big miss.

I wish I’d been able to enjoy this puzzle as much as I enjoyed Betty White’s hilarious performance in the silly horror movie Lake Placid – that movie makes me laugh every time I see it, and her potty-mouthed character was awesome!

Sadly, this puzzle didn’t measure up.

Giraffe With Bubblegum

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles2 Comments

Giraffe With Bubblegum by Coco de Paris – Cardinal – 300 pieces

These images by Coco de Paris are just too adorable for me to pass up. The first one I did was mistakenly titled “Bulldog with Butterflies” but those of us in the know realize that is most definitely NOT a bulldog, it is a Boston Terrier. My Buddy was a Boston, their faces are just so recognizable. Fortunately they got the title of this one correct, I am certain that is most definitely a giraffe. 🦒

I’ve seen a dozen different puzzles by this artist with animals painted atop the pages of a book. Some are hilarious, some are silly, and some are just beautiful; but they all look like they’d be entertaining to assemble.

Unfortunately, this was just fair quality for Cardinal. There were quite a few bent pieces, and some warping; but the fit was good and the image is nice. I cannot speak to the quality of the other puzzle images, just the two that I’ve put together so far. The “bulldog” puzzle was good/fair, and this one was just fair.

But as I’ve said before, what constitutes good quality for me isn’t necessarily what is most important for you; the only way to know for sure is to try it yourself. So if these look like puzzles you’d enjoy assembling, please don’t let my “review” keep you from giving it a try. Reviews are always subjective; they are one person’s opinion – not gospel.

Somehow the eyes look happy to me. Maybe because some poor, overworked optometrist made them a GIANT pair of glasses so they can see just how big their bubble gets?

SpongeBob Squarepants

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles4 Comments

SpongeBob Squarepants by Romero Britto – Cardinal – 300 pieces

The bright, bright colors in this image made me mistakenly think this puzzle would be easy – it wasn’t. Part of it could be because I put the box away and didn’t use it for help at all. I saw the colors and patterns and thought this would be a breeze, so the box was stowed beneath the puzzle table. Once the assembly started it became clear that once again…..I was very wrong.

But, I had already decided that I would assemble this using only the pieces with no help from the box image; so the box with it’s helpful picture stayed put right where it was. Stubborn – that’s me. There is no explanation for it, I’m weird. Came to grips with it looong ago.

I usually take a few close up pictures so that you can see details; but there’s really no need for any close up pics, everything is right there for you to see. It’s a great image; the artwork of Britto makes fabulous puzzles.

Even though it was a little more demanding on the aging brain cells it was still a lovely assembly. More concentration was required, so I went to that puzzle place in your brain where only colors and shapes matter. Peaceful meditation in the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle – with the added bonus of not having to maneuver myself into the lotus position. 🧘‍♀️

Building Facades

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles5 Comments

Building Facades
Building Facades by Iralu – Cardinal – 500 pieces

Here we have another untitled image. Unfortunately, I was unable to come up with a catchy title and so I just gave it a descriptive one. What do you see here? Building facades. What should I call it? I guess…..Building Facades. *yawn* Sorry guys, my brain isn’t always firing on all cylinders.

This is one of twelves puzzles in one box from Cardinal. I knew when I purchased it that it wouldn’t be great quality – I’ve never seen one of these multipack puzzles with really good quality. Ever. But, I wanted these images; I love the artwork and decided that it would be worth muddling through the crappy quality to get to put these interesting and colorful images together.

I’ve now assembled puzzles of all three sizes from this multipack and I can report that the puzzles have differing levels of quality. The 150 pieces are the best of the bunch; the fit isn’t great, but it isn’t horrid either, and the piece thickness is fair. The 300 piece puzzles in this set are the middle range; thinner pieces than the 150 pcs., and the fit was about the same. The 500 pieces were the worst of the bunch; the fit was awful, the pieces were extremely thin, and the glare from the shiny finish was much more noticeable.

All of that said, I don’t regret buying this set. I knew it wouldn’t be great quality and I still look forward to assembling the rest of the images. Glutton for punishment? Perhaps. Puzzle addict and PADS sufferer? Definitely! 🧩💗