Tag: Collage

Love Stamps 2

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles8 Comments

Love Stamps 2 by Lois B. Sutton – White Mountain – 500 pieces

This beauty went together pretty quickly once I really got going; it was started in the evening and all I got put together was the border and one stamp before I had to give it up and get some rest. In the morning once I got going the pieces seemed to fly into place, it was almost too easy. It was great quality with large pieces that made a pretty big finished puzzle, and almost every stamp was fun to put together. (The red and white one in the lower right corner was a beast for me to do!)

There’s something about this 500 piece White Mountain that felt so different from their 1000 piece puzzles; the chipboard, the finish, the fit – it all felt completely different to me. I liked it very much. That’s not to say I don’t like their 1000 piece puzzles, but they are hit or miss in the quality department sometimes – which I put up with because their catalog of images has so many gorgeous collages. Other than the shiny finish there were no quality issues with this puzzle, it’s most definitely one of their hits.

These were my favorite stamps, though they really were all beautiful in their own way. The heart on the left took my breath away, even when I was just sorting it – isn’t it gorgeous? That would make a challenging but stunning puzzle all by itself. And of course the puppies, always the puppies with me. They are each adorable, but in very different ways.

This is another puzzle that would be great in a larger piece count, although I might need an alcoholic beverage before starting that red stamp in the lower right corner if it had double the pieces!

Beautiful stamps on a great quality puzzle, I loved the love stamps. 💕

Sherlock Holmes

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles10 Comments

Sherlock Holmes – Gibsons (Book Club Series) – 1000 pieces

Well, you won’t be surprised to hear that one day my impetuousness took over and on a whim I decided that puzzle shopping was the order of the day. Of course thrift store puzzles wasn’t what was wanted, it needed to be new ones. I needed to see and feel the boxes, turn them over and read them, and see whole shelves full of bright, shiny, new puzzles to decide which ones were coming home with me.

This Sherlock Holmes puzzle found it’s way into my hands and of course there was no letting it go. It’s a collage, but an interesting one and I absolutely love the look of it. Apparently Gibsons has a series of puzzles based on literature and treasured stories, and they all look like so much fun to do! They only had this puzzle at the store, but my online detective work has uncovered others in the series and they all look amazing to my eye; I’ve found Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Gothic Novels, and a very cute image of book covers. If I hadn’t already spent way too much of my puzzle budget this week they would all be on their way to my home right now.

My blog tells me the last time I assembled a Gibsons puzzle was in 2018, so it’s been a while; but that was a children’s puzzle of only 150 pieces, the last time I assembled an adult Gibsons was in April of 2017! They aren’t a brand I normally buy, but the two puzzles I just referenced were apparently quite good quality, so I’m not sure when or why I stopped buying them. Perhaps it’s just because they’re a puzzle company in the UK and I don’t normally buy cardboard puzzles from there. Honestly, I’m just not sure.

Words were the first thing I assembled after the border, and this little map was part of that. There’s something about the look of it that makes me smile.

I just love the look of this crest, that’s my only reason for showing it to you. Did you know Great Scotland Yard is the name of a street in Westminster, London? I certainly didn’t. There is also a Great Scotland Yard Hotel, which is what this crest is apparently a symbol for.

These little sections are what most people think of when they hear Sherlock Holmes; a deerstalker cap and the quote “Elementary my dear Watson”. Having never read the books or short stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, my only references are television shows and movies. If you said Sherlock Holmes to me it would conjure up images of Jonny Lee Miller as the detective and Lucy Liu as Dr. Joan Watson. 📺🔎

I had a great time with this puzzle. It was good quality and had an excellent image for puzzling – which are basically the things that are most important to me. If you think this might be a puzzle you’d like I highly recommend it.

Spring Patchwork

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles6 Comments

Spring Patchwork by Bethan Janine – Elena Essex – 1000 pieces

This was another lend from Penny, and boy was she right about how much I would enjoy this one. I could not leave it alone. I kept going back to it over and over again and it was started and completed on the same day for this reason – it was too much fun!

My first Elena Essex puzzle – quality. It was good, excellent variety of shapes, beautiful reproduction with a matte finish, nice thick pieces that fit together well.

This was my favorite section to assemble, there’s something about the colors and the image itself. Most of the details are paler colors than I normally enjoy, but the dark background made this so entertaining for me. Gorgeous!

Most of this puzzle was super easy to sort, but this little section was the hardest to get all of the pieces for, I just kept missing ones I should have seen. And that little greenhouse was harder than it looks for me to assemble. Still this was a fun section to put together.

There’s something so beautiful about this simple little section. It was one of the last I assembled, but I enjoyed every piece. Absolutely gorgeous.

I enjoyed this puzzle very, very much – and like several others I’ve done lately I found myself wishing it had been a larger piece count because it was over much too soon. Each little section was it’s own little puzzle and they fit together beautifully into this gorgeous 1000 piece stunner. Of course I loved it. 💖

Hershey’s S’mores

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles6 Comments

Hershey’s S’mores – Buffalo – 300 pieces

Quick little puzzle that helped pass the time while we were waiting to see if dad was going to be discharged from the hospital, it’s pretty cute but almost seemed too easy – I needed to concentrate on something in order to keep my mind occupied a little more than this image required. It’s all good though, great quality puzzle with an adorable image.

My apologies for the picture, I had to come at it from an angle to keep the glare off of it, but I didn’t do as well as I’d hoped. I tried. Thanks for the lend of this one Penny!

Simple Pleasures

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles2 Comments

Simple Pleasures by Steve Cameron – White Mountain – 1000 pieces

Happily, unlike the two previous White Mountain puzzles I’ve assembled, this one had very good quality and I enjoyed myself very much! I love the look of older advertising, or even images like this one where it’s in the style of old advertisements. Looks amazing and it made for great puzzling.

The fit on this puzzle was excellent, almost tight enough for me to stand the puzzle on end – which was a lovely change from the last two White Mountain puzzles whose fit was loose and floppy. Perhaps it’s where the puzzle was made, the type of chipboard, or even how sharp the dies that cut the pieces are. Whatever it was, this puzzle was very good in the fit department, which made me happy. The image reproduction was better as well, there were no blurry or fuzzy parts of the image. Overall I’d give this puzzle a very good rating, and I enjoyed myself from beginning to end!

This is one of life’s simple pleasures for me, a morning with peace and quiet and a perfect cup of coffee. Black, two sweeteners. Nothing fru-fru for me, coffee flavored coffee and that’s it. It’s a great way to start the day. Also, love the polka-dots in the background, it made these pieces easy to find.

Even if they’re store bought cookie dough, warm cookies from the oven are another of life’s simple pleasures that I relish. I was lucky enough to have a mom who made everything from scratch, and having warm cookies made with love and a tall glass of cold milk – makes me yearn for simpler times.

Of course I had to save the best part for last – completing a fun jigsaw puzzle in the middle of a jigsaw puzzle – truly a simple pleasure. All the pieces were pulled out on the initial sort, but they had to wait in their little container until everything else was finished.😉

This just speaks for itself, doesn’t it. If you know, you know. 🧩💖