Broadway Musicals

On May 28, 2023May 28, 2023 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles4 Comments

Broadway Musicals – Re-marks – 1000 pieces

Doesn’t this look like fun? If you answered yes – get yourself a cookie, you were absolutely right! Even though it’s 1000 pieces (and I hadn’t done one that big in a more than a year 😲), it didn’t seem like a larger puzzle because it felt as though I were assembling a bunch of smaller puzzles, little bits at a time.

As an added bonus it’s a panoramic puzzle, so there was much less leaning over the board to reach the top of the image than there normally is. I adore panoramic puzzles, they’re so much easier on this old body.

The quality was the usual for Re-marks. There weren’t any issues at all other than a slightly loose fit, but even that wasn’t too bad. The pieces are a good thickness, there were a good variety of piece shapes, and the image reproduction was crisp and clear (just a bit shiny). Their catalog of collage images is just too good to pass up, so whatever quality issues the brand has doesn’t matter much to me. My head gets turned by a pretty “face” on the box and before you know it the puzzle has been adopted and has come home with me.

I haven’t really seen many musicals in the theater, but I have seen the movie West Side Story many, many times. We also had a record of the soundtrack when we were little, and my sisters and I knew every word of every song. My parents love to tell the story of them taking us all to the movies to see it for a matinee; and as soon as the first song started playing there were three young girls singing along at the top of their lungs. Luckily the other people in the theater weren’t too upset with us, perhaps we were just too cute. Apparently we even got some applause after that first song! 🤩

I haven’t seen this show, but I’ve heard lots of good things about it and would love the opportunity to watch it. Music and lyrics by Cyndi Lauper – yes please! It’s too bad they don’t record the show and put it on a streaming service for the rest of the world to see. A streaming service with theatrical shows would be amazing for those of us who don’t live in or near New York. In fact, a streaming service that has plays and musicals from around the world (not just Broadway) would be an excellent idea. I would definitely be a subscriber – how about you?

I don’t recall ever hearing about this show, but reading all those signs makes me think I would absolutely love it. Coming of age in the 80’s means I love all that music, all those hair bands, all that arena rock – it’s one that would most likely have me singing along at the top of my lungs, just like when I was a little girl at the movies. 😁🎶

Canine Collage

On May 13, 2023May 13, 2023 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles2 Comments

Canine Collage by Yago Partal – Buffalo (Dog Days) – 750 pieces

Obviously I’m going to love this puzzle for many reasons – great brand, collage, dogs, blocks of color, etc. It was entertaining (or so says my draft folder from last year) and although it didn’t go together very quickly that doesn’t mean it wasn’t thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish.

I think this is the first image by Yago Partal that I’ve done. At least it’s the first one where his name was featured on the box so that credit would be given. If there are any more puzzles like this out there they’ll definitely be on my wishlist.

This puzzle was very good quality; there was one piece slightly bent out of shape but otherwise it was an excellent puzzle.

LOVE this one! It reminds both Penny and I of Ruth Bader Ginsburg – anyone else see it or are we just weirdos?

There’s something about the light hitting this poor guy’s eyes – he looks so sad!

The Wolf of Wall Street! There’s something about this breed of dog, their faces are just too intense for me – it has to be the eyes.

Colorful Destinations

On May 10, 2023May 10, 2023 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles6 Comments

Colorful Destinations by Lewis T. Johnson – Buffalo – 750 pieces

Beautiful. colorful, and quite lovely to assemble (according to my completed puzzles page from last year). Unfortunately the next several puzzle posts will most likely all say something to the effect of “I have no memory of actually assembling this puzzle”. They were all finished last year and in the queue when the puzzling stopped. Sorry.🤷‍♀️

From what little I put in my draft of this post I can tell you that this one was excellent quality – that’s always good to hear, isn’t it? Of course Buffalo puzzles are usually very good or excellent in the quality department, they were one of the brands being purchased most often last year because 1) they have a LOT of images by my favorite artist – Aimee Stewart, and 2) there have been very few issues with their puzzle quality that I have ever had to deal with. I’m glad this one was no exception.

I’m not much of a traveler, and to be honest the only country I’ve visited is Canada. We used to live in Michigan – directly West of Canada. And you didn’t need a passport back in the old days to cross the bridge and visit our neighbors to the North; sometimes we’d go over just to have dinner.

Luckily even though I’m not well-traveled there are gorgeous puzzles like this one so at least we can look at all the fabulous places there are in the world to visit.✈

I absolutely loved this section, figuring out how all those stripes went together had me in full meditation mode. Fantastic!

Another section that was fun to put together, it reminded me of the Colorforms I used to have as a kid. Anyone else remember those?

This was my favorite section, the artwork is fabulous and it really stands out. Stunning, isn’t it? Loved it!

After completing a wonderfully entertaining collage on Sunday, I may or may not have gone to the bookstore and bought myself six more big collages. My youngest son asked for a ride to the movie theater, and coincidentally it is very close to the bookstore where I sometimes shop for puzzles. That’s what happens when I’m left unattended with money in my wallet.

Perhaps the inner puzzle goddess in me was raring to get back to my board and to make up for all the time when I wasn’t shopping for puzzles. In addition to shopping in an actual brick and mortar store there are four different shipments of puzzles on their way to my house. I ordered a bunch of small puzzles that could be worked on while in bed if necessary, and lots of bigger ones too. It may be that I wanted to be sure to have lots of incentive to continue puzzling even if I’m not feeling so great after next week’s surgery, or that I just missed being at the board, or just a severe PADS flare-up. Putting together beautiful puzzles, writing about them, and sharing them with my puzzle posse really does improve my mood and help deal with all the stress of life and dealing with chronic pain.

Whatever the reason, there is NO REMORSE whatsoever. In fact, I’m working on one of my new collages right now – and having a fabulous time. Puzzles (especially collages) truly are my happy place. 🧩😍

Rare Birds

On July 28, 2022July 26, 2022 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles10 Comments

Rare Birds by Allison Strine – Buffalo – 500 pieces

After completing Unusual Animals by the same artist, I had to check around and see if there were any other images of hers to be found – thank goodness there were! This was so beautiful, great fun, and went together very quickly because I couldn’t walk away. I adored it!

This Buffalo puzzle had EXCELLENT quality. I know that some Buffalo puzzles are being made in China, but this one was made in the US. The fit was especially nice, it felt great going together.

It was so hard to choose which birds to show closeups of, they were all so interesting. I must have changed my mind at least 10 times. At least. And then I changed it again. 😎

Such interesting facts about this stork! It’s brave enough to fight a crocodile, and then it eats it! Yikes. *Making a mental note to NEVER mess with a Shoebill Stork.* Of course after reading that to cool down it poops on itself, I highly doubt I’ll be getting anywhere near it.

Loved the look of this section, and how the Kakapo’s face looks something like the kiwi it’s perched on. Plus, I wonder why they smell good – that’s so interesting to me – is it their diet or how they preen themselves? Plus they live to be more than 90 years old, that’s amazing!

The Three Wattled Bellbird, that’s another new one for me. And it has a bird call that’s called a bonk – new information for me as well. And it’s call can be heard a mile away? Holy guacamole! (guacamole made from this bird’s favorite food – wild avocado)

Colorful Collage

On July 24, 2022July 24, 2022 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles8 Comments

Colorful Collage – Colorcraft Puzzles – 1000 pieces

Colorful and beautiful, and I just I knew I would love this one. It was exceptionally easy to sort, except for the two sections with straws; but I just sorted them together as one section. It was lots of fun and just what I needed.

This brand has good quality. There was a small section where the cutting wasn’t great, but it was only a few pieces and didn’t detract from the fun of assembly. Otherwise overall it was good quality. There’s something odd about the fit though – it doesn’t feel like a good fit, but once you’ve got it put together it stays very well. I’m not sure how it can BE a good fit but not FEEL like a good fit, but there it is. Like I said, it’s odd.