Down on the Farm by Charlie Girard – White Mountain – 1000 pieces
I love a collage! I was pretty surprised that mom found this at the thrift store, I believe it’s a relatively recent White Mountain release. It was a fun assembly, as usual – it’s like having a bunch of mini puzzles that fit together. Heavenly!
White Mountain Puzzles are normally good quality, and except for the fit this one was as well. The fit was extremely loose and it was easy to upset pieces accidentally. This isn’t a problem I’ve ever had with a White Mountain puzzle, if anything they can sometimes have a fit that’s a bit too tight. I’ve had a couple with a fit so tight that you can stand the puzzle straight up on it’s edge! Click here to see a picture.
There were plenty of words, which of course made me happy. I love having words to put together! Collages seem to go quickly, because it’s difficult for me to walk away from it. One small section leads to the next and before you know it the entire puzzle is finished and you’ve lost all track of time. These are the best kind of puzzles if you ask me. 🙂
This puzzle image is excellent and it made me want to get to assembling it immediately – the bright colors, fun backgrounds, a collage – yes please!
This was a thrift store purchase, and although the box was slightly banged up and dented, all pieces were present and accounted for. This giant of a puzzle almost filled my entire 4 ft x 3 ft puzzle board. You never can tell in pictures, unless there’s something to give perspective; this is a HUGE puzzle!
This puzzle was loads of fun and even though it took me a few days I loved every bit of it. It was easy to separate out pieces of background colors and patterns and work on a section at a time. I love when I can just grab a bunch of pieces and assemble them without any assistance from the image on the box or a poster. It’s just me and my brain figuring out what goes where; it’s very satisfying for me. The pieces fit together tightly, but not the super tight fit that some Springbok’s have – I didn’t have to smash them together with my thumb (which is a bonus in my book).
If you’re a fan of purses or collages, this puzzle is for you! The bright colors and the interesting purses will keep you entertained – but be forewarned – this beauty requires a very large work space. 🙂
Details:
Title: Purses! Purses! Purses!
Artist: Allied Products Corp.
Brand: Springbok
Piece count: 2000 pieces
Size: Approx. 34 x 43 in. (86 x 109 cm)
Purchased: Used, thrift store
Quality:
Board: Excellent
Cutting: Very good
Image: Very good
Box: Good, a little thin for such a large puzzle
Fit: Tight, not in the extreme like some Springboks
Travel Stamps by Finchley Paper Arts – Ravensburger – 2000 pieces
I picked this puzzle out to work on with family while we were holed up at my house during Hurricane Irma. I’ve had it for some time and I’m not sure why I waited so long – it was really fun! I had help from both my daughter and my mother; 3 generations of awesome women working together.
Usually when I start a 2000 piece puzzle I’m slightly intimidated. It’s so big and there are so many pieces to sort through it almost feels like there’s no good place to start and that it’ll take forever to finish. I realize how odd that sounds coming from someone who has completed the World’s Largest Jigsaw Puzzle, but I never said that I was rational or that I always made sense. Anyway, for some reason this puzzle wasn’t intimidating for me and I knew exactly where I should start. 😎
The assembly was very methodical and soothing for me and I enjoyed each and every piece we put together. We started with the pale border area and then with all the wording. From there it was easy to pull out all the colored frames for each stamp and assemble them one color at a time. We didn’t get it completed before everyone left to go back to their homes, but we got quite a bit accomplished together; I finished it 2 days later.
This was a great puzzle with what seems like 15 small puzzles in the middle of it. That made it easy to find and assemble pieces, especially when several people were working on it. If you’ve got a big enough work space this puzzle would make a great family project!
Remember When by Charlie Girard – White Mountain – 1000 pieces
Remember When is another fun collage from White Mountain. How many of these things do you remember? I remember many of them, and most of the rest I have some knowledge of. I was a little old when Cabbage Patch dolls were all the rage, but I do remember signing the birth certificate for my friend’s younger sister. Is that a hideous green AMC Gremlin? Oh my!
White Mountain Puzzles really do have the best catalog of collages around, there’s something for just about everyone. Beer, wine, cereal, neon signs, stamps, etc.; there’s a bunch of entertaining collages to choose from. They don’t just have collages though, they have fine art, educational maps, historical works, and much more. White Mountain puzzles are good quality. The pieces are a good thickness with a nice variety of piece shapes, and they fit together well. Sometimes there can be an issue with image lift if a piece is placed wrong and has to be removed, but it isn’t too much of a problem in my opinion – a touch of super glue and the piece is fine. The image reproduction is very good, with excellent colors. Click the link above to see all the White Mountain puzzles available at Puzzle Warehouse.
There was a moderate amount of puzzle dust in the bag, with a few slightly bent pieces. The pieces were a good thickness and fit together very well. The image reproduction was bright and colorful with no fuzziness. The finished image is larger than the average 1000 piece puzzle at 24 x 30 inches (61 x 76 cm), be sure you have enough work space before you begin. The box is about the average size for a 1000 piece puzzle with the name of the title, artist, manufacturer, and piece count on all 4 sides. 2 sides have a smaller complete image of the puzzle, and 2 sides have a small partial image, making it suitable for shelving either vertically or horizontally.
Part of the reason collages are so much fun for me is that you can pick out the pieces for a small section and assemble it easily, usually without having to look at the box much. One section leads to another and another and it goes quickly and is very entertaining. This puzzle was even more fun because I remembered many of the people and things. There are plenty of words too, which I always enjoy – after the edges I usually begin with the words. For this puzzle, once you’ve assembled all the words you’re already at least 30% done and it’s easy to build off of them to start filling in.
Charlie Girard has become one of my favorite puzzle artists; his collages make me happy and there are so many to choose from. If you’re a fan of collages click here to check out all of Charlie’s puzzles available at Puzzle Warehouse. The first page alone has 4 or 5 puzzles I would love to do!
Remember When brings back memories for me, although I don’t recall seeing any signs instructing hippies to use the back door. 😉 The image is colorful and fun and makes for a great puzzle. It’s no surprise that I’m giving two thumbs up to this collage – definitely recommended! 👍👍
I received this product at no cost to facilitate this review, all thoughts and opinions expressed are truthful and 100% my own.
Vintage Travel Guides by Aimee Stewart – Ravensburger – 500 pieces
What’s not to love about this puzzle? It’s a collage with plenty of words to put together, it’s a Ravensburger, and the artist is Aimee Stewart – that’s like the trifecta of awesome!
Mom and I assembled this together on an afternoon visit and we absolutely loved it! The colors are beautiful and work together amazingly well, it’s just an all around excellent image for puzzling. I have yet to find an Aimee Stewart puzzle that I haven’t liked, and there are still many more I’d love to own and assemble. There’s a puzzle of hers that is very similar to this one called The Christmas Library; it shows shelves of vintage Christmas books, is 1000 pieces and is absolutely stunning! It’s in my pile of puzzles to be done and I’m planning on assembling it a little closer to the holidays, if I’m able to hold out that long. 😉
Ravensburger is my favorite puzzle manufacturer, and the quality was excellent as usual. The pieces feel wonderful and fit together satisfyingly, and the image reproduction is crisp and extremely detailed. Aimee Stewart and Ravensburger are a heavenly combination in my opinion, and I always look forward to and enjoy working her puzzles.💖
My Jigsaw Journal 