Christmas at Hogwarts by Mary GrandPre – New York Puzzle Company – 1000 pieces
Drumroll please, the random number generator has spoken and the winner of the Christmas at Hogwarts jigsaw puzzle is…
Lucky entry #5……….Penny. Congratulations!
I’ve sent you an email, and hopefully will be able to get your puzzle out to you very soon. Here’s hoping it’s as much fun as it looks!
Thank you to everyone who entered and commented, I enjoy holding these giveaways very much. Thanks also to everyone who stops by here at My Jigsaw Journal, you are always welcome and appreciated.
Be on the lookout for another giveaway soon. We all need something fun to look forward to! 🧩💝
With the Coronavirus taking hold across the globe, people around the world are finding that they have much more time on their hands. With “shelter in place” orders, people being encouraged to work from home if possible, needing to care for children who are no longer in school, and people being asked to quarantine themselves at home – we all seem to have more time than we normally do for more sedentary pursuits.
It will be no surprise that I’m encouraging everyone to try working on jigsaw puzzles with some of their extra time; you might find that not only is it an extremely enjoyable pastime, but that it also helps to relieve some of the stress and anxiety that most of us are feeling these days. My regular readers know that I’m constantly emphasizing that jigsaw puzzles are not only entertaining, but actually good for both your physical and mental well-being.
Did you know that assembling jigsaw puzzles can help lower your blood pressure, relieve anxiety and stress, improve your mood, help you to deal with chronic pain, and even increase your IQ? These are just a few of the health benefits one gets from puzzling – there are many, many more. Most important of all in these troubled times is that puzzles can take our minds off of the day-to-day burdens and worries that we are all carrying and allow us to relax. Couldn’t we all use a bit more relaxation, stress relief, and improved health these days?
To that end I’ve moved up the timing of my next puzzle giveaway. It was just last month that My Jigsaw Journal gave away a lovely 500 piece Milton Bradley puzzle, and the plan was to hold another giveaway for Mother’s Day at the beginning of May. We all could use some cheering up, so instead of a few months down the road I am holding a new giveaway right now. 🙂
Christmas at Hogwarts by Mary GrandPre – New York Puzzle Company – 1000 pieces
Christmas at Hogwarts is a 1000 piece puzzle by the New York Puzzle Company with artwork by Mary GrandPre, unopened and still shrink-wrapped. It looks colorful and fun, but a little bit challenging too! Would you like a chance to win this puzzle? Wouldn’t it be nice to spend some of your free time at home assembling this beautiful image?
This giveaway is open to everyone, and all you have to do is leave a comment on today’s post to be entered. Every comment/entry will be given a number, a random number generator will choose the winner and the results will be posted one week from today, Wednesday, March 25, 2020.
Stay home, stay healthy, and stay safe my friends. 💖
The random number generator has spoken, and the winner of the 500 piece Sewing Collage puzzle is…………………
Entry #4 – Marleen Smallegange – Congratulations!
I’ve sent you an email, and hopefully I’ll be able to get your copy out to you very soon. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. 🙂
Thank you to everyone who entered, I’ve enjoyed holding this giveaway. Thanks to everyone who stops by here at My Jigsaw Journal, you are always welcome! Be on the lookout for another giveaway soon – it will be a 1000 piece next time. 🧩
Browsing & Butterflies on 5th Avenue by Charles Fazzino – Sure-Lox – 2000 pieces
Browsing & Butterflies on 5th Avenue is part of the new Art Gallery puzzle collection from TCG Toys’ Sure-Lox brand. I was happily surprised at the quality of this puzzle, and enjoyed it much more than anticipated. This is the first puzzle I’ve assembled with artwork by Charles Fazzino, and I loved the 3D Pop Art style – it made for a wonderfully entertaining assembly!
Sure-Lox puzzles haven’t also been on the nice list here at My Jigsaw Journal, but in the past few months I’ve assembled a couple of their puzzles in the newer packaging and was pleasantly surprised by the good quality. The chipboard is thicker, the fit is exceptional, and the image reproduction is excellent. It’s rare that a puzzle company makes significant improvement to their quality, but Sure-Lox seems to have done it. 5th Avenue makes the third Sure-Lox puzzle from the newer line that I’ve assembled, and they have all been very good quality. Well done Sure-Lox!
I was so impressed by the thicker pieces that I decided to compare them to Ravensburger to see how it held up …
The Ravensburger piece is on the top, and you can see that the chipboard of the Sure-Lox puzzle is almost the same thickness. It may not be as well compressed, but all in all I was thoroughly impressed. The pieces feel good in your hand, and the fit is excellent. You can lift and hold up the finished puzzle with no problem at all. I picked mine up and handed it to my son (who wasn’t too keen on being photographed, but oh well)….
Pretty darn nice fit if you ask me. Perhaps it could even be framed without having to use glue – not too shabby! Wonderful quality all around, and I am well and truly impressed by the new Sure-Lox line of puzzles.
The only criticism I have is that there is only one piece shape. With an image like this it isn’t too much of a problem, most of the puzzle is busy and the only large area of color is the sky. Luckily it’s broken up by quite a few butterflies, but there are a few sections where it can be somewhat tedious. But honestly, I was almost done with the assembly by then, and I was so excited to be finishing that I didn’t find it overly tiresome. Many puzzle companies are using just the one piece shape these days, and I find that I’m slowly getting used to it even if my preference is a puzzle with a variety of piece shapes.
The artwork is incredibly detailed and interesting, and the New York cityscape made for a fun assembly. I think I may be a new Charles Fazzino fan, and will definitely be looking for some more puzzles of his art. 🎨
Rockefeller Center
New York Public Library
Overall I was very happy with the quality of this puzzle – the image kept me entertained and smiling, and it’s one that is definitely recommended – instead of thumbs I’m giving it two Lady Liberties with their torches way up! 🗽🗽
Details:
Title: Browsing & Butterflies on 5th Avenue
Artist: Charles Fazzino
Brand: Sure-Lox
Piece count: 2000 pieces
Size: Approx. 39 x 27 in. (99 x 69 cm)
Purchased: N/A, sent for review
Quality:
Board: Very good
Cutting: Very good
Image: Excellent
Box: Good
Fit: Excellent
Puzzle Dust: Moderate amount
Piece cut: Grid cut
Piece shapes: No variety, only one shape
Finish: Slightly shiny finish, lays flat
Overall Rating: Very good, highly recommended
*I’m going to do something I’ve never done before. Since this is the season of giving I’d like to lift someone’s spirits for the holidays; I wanted to give away my very gently used, autographed copy of Browsing & Butterflies on 5th Avenue to one of my readers. Since many of my readers are thrift store shopping puzzlers, I was sure they wouldn’t mind a secondhand puzzle. I when I contacted the company to inform them of my intent to hold a giveaway, they graciously offered to send a brand new autographed puzzle to the winner instead!
If you’d like this puzzle, signed by the artist, please leave a comment on this post to be entered in the giveaway. I will use a random number generator to decide on the winner, and will post the results one week from today – December 16, 2019. Good luck!
I received this product at no cost in order to facilitate this review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are truthful and 100% my own.
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