Tag: Disney

Princess of the Sea

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles5 Comments

Princess of the Sea – Mega Puzzles (Multipack) – 300 pieces

Isn’t she beautiful? Of all the puzzles in this multipack of eight Disney images this one is my favorite. Almost all of the other ones are bright and colorful and very “Disney”, but this artwork of Ariel in the style of Alphonse Mucha really stood out to me. It wasn’t the easiest 300 piece puzzle I’ve ever done, but I think it’s stunning.

I know when I purchase puzzles in a multipack that they most likely won’t be the best quality, but if the artwork is something that I love it doesn’t matter, I’ll always take the chance. I’m enjoying this multipack so far, this is the second of the puzzles I’ve done and even though the pieces are VERY thin and the fit isn’t great they’ve been entertaining. I don’t usually do Mega Puzzles as the quality is less than optimal, but with a multipack I know that going in and am almost never surprised.

*There is one image from this pack that I haven’t decided whether or not to assemble. It’s an image called Dapper Dandies, and I assembled it seven years ago. It was also the Mega Puzzles brand, but in a different piece count. I may do it again as the one in this pack is 500 pieces and the previous one was only 300 pieces. I still haven’t decided yet. Thoughts?

I documented the assembly as I went along. The first picture shows everything that I pulled out on the initial sorting, all the words and the curlicues. It was much harder than I anticipated – perhaps that’s why I’ve never done a Mucha image – they look pretty difficult! The second picture is after Ariel’s top half was assembled with all that hair; luckily that section was little easier for me. After that I just did that thing where I stare at the pieces and put them in here and there until finally it was finished.

The artwork made this one so entertaining, and I love that it isn’t your typical Disney image. If there was a multipack of Disney princesses done in this style I would snap them up in a minute! (Unless they were Ceaco, of course 😈)

This puzzle was not great quality, but that didn’t matter to me at all. The image was excellent and it was enjoyable from start to finish.

She’s gorgeous and I love her.🧜‍♀️💚

Minnie Mouse

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles8 Comments

Minnie Mouse – Mega Puzzles (Multipack) – 150 pieces

This is another thrift store purchase that I got the other day, ain’t she cute? I thought so too. The quality was pretty awful, but I knew going in that it most likely would be, so it wasn’t a surprise. Puzzles from a multipack usually aren’t premium quality, but 8 Disney puzzles for $4.99 with adorable images was just too good a bargain for me to pass up.

I documented my progress with this one, as I knew it would go together quickly. It didn’t start the way most of my puzzles do, there was no sorting at all. All the pieces were laid out on my board and the edges were separated…

Once the edge was assembled I smushed all the pieces a little closer together so I wouldn’t have to lean or reach for any of the pieces…

Then the assembly really began. I started with the words in the yellow bubble in the corner, and as many pieces of the faces of Minnie that I could find. She’s coming together and looking adorable isn’t she?

At only 150 pieces this one was started and finished quickly, but it doesn’t mean it wasn’t enjoyable. Even with the questionable quality it was fun and entertaining and has me looking forward to working with the other cute images in this box of 8 puzzles.

I am most definitely a puzzle snob who prefers a premium puzzle like Ravensburger, Pomegranate, or Jumbo to name a few, but I also don’t limit myself to only the very best of puzzles. I enjoy expensive puzzles and cheap ones alike; there’s nothing like finding an amazing deal at the thrift store. I still have hopes of finding a Stave puzzle at a thrift store, although I doubt it will ever happen!

Thoughts of mom had me going out of my way to get to a thrift store that has always had a very good jigsaw puzzle selection this week after I went in for a mammogram. (Ain’t it great being a lady? *sigh* It definitely isn’t much fun, but it is necessary – take care of your ta-tas ladies!)

I’m glad I took the time. I feel the teeniest bit closer to mom when I’m working a puzzle from the thrift store, and now I have quite a few of them here to choose from.

Maleficent

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles5 Comments

Maleficent (Disney Villainous) – Ravensburger – 1000 pieces

This beautiful and dark image was quite the challenge, but fortunately the resident Puzzle Goddess was up to the task! All of the Disney Villainous puzzles are quite dark, but this one seemed even more so and made for some difficult puzzling.

The quality was very good, typical for Ravensburger puzzles in my opinion. There’s something about finishing a Ravensburger puzzle and running my hands over it, my little puzzle massage. It feels fantastic!

This is Merriweather – my favorite of the three fairies in the Sleeping Beauty movie. She’s a little shorter and thicker than her sisters and a bit more stubborn, which makes her adorable in my eyes and she was always my favorite. Doesn’t she look determined?

I started with the fairies and worked on the easiest sections to pick out with the lighter colors. The circular picture frames were the easiest to find and so I began with them. It wasn’t as easy to pick out the pieces for what went inside the frames, because many of the pictures had such dark images in them.

Many of the framed images were dark and indistinct, it made it very difficult to fill them in. They all made me want to get myself better lighting above the puzzle board. I haven’t mentioned it to hubby because the moment I do he’ll want to find and order new lighting and then he’ll be disrupting my puzzle time with the installation. (Perhaps I’m just moody today and even thinking about all the interruptions is making me a bit cranky.)

Although I enjoyed assembling this puzzle very much and I do recommend it, it comes with a bit of a warning. It is VERY dark and not an easy assembly; it isn’t recommended for someone who isn’t accustomed to assembling challenging images.

Disney & Pixar Toy Store

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles10 Comments

Disney & Pixar Toy Store – Ravensburger – 1000 pieces

My first puzzle back from vacation, and it was a great one! Before we left I sorted it so that when we returned it would be all ready to go. It was so nice to just be able to grab some pieces and start assembling.

The stairs and the shelves behind them weren’t easy, especially because there were so many characters from so many different movies. Some of them, like Dumbo there, were in more than one place so you really had to pay attention.

All the Disney princesses lined up on the shelves – it’s a who’s who of strong amazing female characters. It was really fun to put this part together.

Monster’s Inc. was such a fun movie, and all my kids really loved it – which means I also “got” to watch it. Over and over, and over again. The characters were so great, the voice actors were amazing and even though I’ve seen it more than perhaps I wanted to, it’s still a wonderful movie and brings back memories of the whole family sitting together to watch movies (mostly Disney).

Such a fun collage-like image, excellent quality puzzle, and some alone time at my puzzle table. Heavenly.

Maleficent Still In Progress…

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzling6 Comments

Maleficent (Disney Villainous) – Ravensburger – 1000 pieces

Normally I don’t post more than once about an in progress puzzle – not for regular ones anyway. Both the 40,320 piece Disney Memorable Moments puzzle and the Mystery Box puzzle had many, many updates but those were special. This is just your run-of-the-mill 1000 piece puzzle, and although it started out going really quickly the progress has slowed a bit.

It’s mostly my fault, I’m still not feeling my best and have spent more than a bit of time sleeping the last couple of days. But it’s also getting more time consuming to find and place pieces as it’s down to just dark colors most with a bit of frame in them.

The frames aren’t as distinctive as I’d hoped, or my powers of concentration and eye for detail are failing me – or perhaps it’s a bit of both. It’s taking longer now, and the overhead lighting isn’t doing me any favors either.

Anyway, it should be done today. I’ll be proud of myself when I get it finished, but I’m not sure I’ll be working on a Disney Villainous puzzle again any time soon. They’re not easy!