Finding Nemo

On June 14, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

Next puzzle for Disney week, unfortunately this one is missing 3 pieces. Still, it was a fun assembly and a bit of a challenge too!

Mega Puzzles are thin compared to the more premium brands like Ravensburger, Jumbo, or Pomegranate; but it doesn’t always have to be about only working with premium puzzles. Sometimes a cool thrift store find with thin pieces but a great image is just what I’m looking for; sometimes I just want to work a fun puzzle with an image that I really enjoy regardless of the quality of the pieces.

Mega Puzzles does have a nice variety of piece shapes and the pieces fit together quite well as you can see, but they were thin. This image was a little challenging with all the ocean dwellers everywhere and a lot of water, but still fun! The image reproduction was nice and there was no image lift even when a piece was placed incorrectly.

This movie wasn’t one of the movies included in the Disney Memorable Moments puzzle, but I do have good memories of watching it with my kids. Disney movies were a big part of my childhood; I enjoyed sharing those same movies with my kids and experiencing the newer movies with them as well. My husband still quote the seagulls from Nemo and says “Mine?” over and over when he wants to make me laugh – it usually works. 🙂

Mickey Mouse Soccer

On June 13, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

I had a Mega Puzzles box of 8 Disney puzzles in the car to deliver to my honorary grandson, and I just rediscovered them today. (I really need to clean out the backseat of my car 😐 )I realized that I haven’t done them to be sure all the pieces are there, and as an added bonus I’ll be able to do Disney puzzles all week leading up to Saturday, assembly day! As a matter of fact I’ll probably be able to do 3 or 4 of the puzzles in one day!

The box is supposed to have 4 puzzles of 150 pieces, 2 that are 300 pieces, and 2 that are 500 pieces. I normally only post a kid’s puzzle about once a week, but I’m super excited about Saturday and having these puzzles to do this week will be an excellent lead up to the big day!

I am surprised at how small this puzzle is, it’s 150 pieces but only 7 x 9 inches! It’s a nice image, I like that it isn’t all syrupy sweet (not that there’s anything wrong with that, syrupy sweet is adorable too!) and it’s a puzzle that specifically a boy would like. It didn’t take long to assemble and is a great start for Disney week here at My Jigsaw Journal. I didn’t have the idea until after I posted The Grinch on Monday, but I think he may be part of the Disney family. If not, it’ll be The Disney Rest of the Week! 😉

The pieces are quite thin, but I’ve found that is usually the case when you have multiple puzzles in one box. Despite the thinness, they weren’t bad to work with. There is a bit of shine on the pieces making glare an issue when working under lights, but they fit together well, and the image reproduction is very good.

Kid’s puzzles are fun to do, you start and finish the same day and even though they’re small or have a small piece count they’re still enjoyable. Well, for me they are, I’m still a little kid at heart❣

The Grinch

On June 12, 2017June 12, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles1 Comment

Super cool puzzle! Another kids puzzle from a new company. This one was only 24 pieces, but they were plastic and actually clicked together. Extremely sturdy!

This is a lenticular puzzle, which means that when you look at it from a different angle, the scene changes. You can see in the picture part of the second scene in the background. I couldn’t figure out a way to get a good picture of both scenes! I don’t think my brain is working properly anymore. 😦

Anyway, this only took a few minutes to assemble, and it is a great kids puzzle. Especially for a very young child; there are bright colors and not too many pieces. I hadn’t heard of Wonder Forge before, and when I checked their website they mainly focus on games, but there are a few puzzles. If you’ve got little ones check it out. 🙂

Paying the Price!

On June 9, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw PuzzlesLeave a comment

Another fun Wasgij, haven’t found one yet that wasn’t fun to assemble. They’re different and challenging and funny, and I have enjoyed the assembly of every single Wasgij that I’ve done.

This was a Destiny puzzle, the box shows a scene from a certain time, and you have to puzzle what the scene would look like now. The box for this puzzle shows a gas (petrol) station back in the good old days when there were attendants that pumped the gas, checked your oil, cleaned the windows, etc. So what would that same place look like today with our newfangled cars and automated pumps? Is the mechanic’s garage different? And how about the small convenience store?

As usual, things are very different, and pretty funny. It’s always entertaining for me to start assembling and try to figure out what will be different and what remains the same. How does that young man on the box look now – will he be balding with a paunch? The results are usually even better than my imagination.

The usual excellent Jumbo quality, and an it always makes me want to do another Wasgij right away. The feel of the pieces and the way they fit together makes for a great tactile experience and I always find myself running my hands across the puzzle, especially when I’m concentrating.

It’s the 20th anniversary of the Wasgij puzzles this year, and I have barely put a dent in the catalog of available puzzles. I still have a stack about 5 feet tall in my closet of Wasgij puzzles yet to be assembled. I’m working on them one at a time and thoroughly enjoying every single one! 🙂

P****d as a Newt

On June 6, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw PuzzlesLeave a comment

Alljigsawpuzzles.com is where I purchase most of my European made puzzles, you can click that link to check them out. Their prices are excellent, the shipping is VERY fast and shipping is free when you order $75 worth of puzzles. (Getting free shipping usually isn’t something I have to worry about 😉 )

Lately I’ve been trying to order at least one puzzle from a company I haven’t tried before every time I place an order. I’ve been looking at these Party Animals by Mike Jupp and wanting to try them but I didn’t have any idea what the quality would be like. I’ve never seen a puzzle store/distributor that also sells their own puzzles. Interesting! This Party Animals collection finally tipped the scales for me and I jumped in with both feet and just ordered them all – there was a special. Normally I would only order one from a new company so I can check out the quality before I lay down any more cash. But these puzzles were too adorable and funny (and on sale if you bought all 4) so I went for it. I make no apologies. 😎

I was very impressed with the quality! The image reproduction is gorgeous – bright and sharp with a matte finish that feels good in your hands. The pieces are about the same thickness as Heye puzzles, and sturdy too, with a nice variety of piece shapes. They fit together well and the piece shapes aren’t glaringly obvious in the finished puzzle. I’m glad I bought them all and can’t wait to do the other three Party Animals. They have Drunk as a Skunk, Blind as a Bat, and High as a Kite. Drunken animals everywhere!

I enjoyed this puzzle very much and I would definitely recommend it. Mike Jupp’s artwork is crisp and funny and detailed, and just a great puzzle image. Butterflies, lily pads and liquor bottles everywhere break up the water and greenery and the assembly was never tedious. Loved it! 🙂