The Puzzle that Broke the Ice

On December 12, 2019December 12, 2019 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles2 Comments

The Puzzle that Broke the Ice – Wentworth – 40 pieces

I did it! I think. Okay, I’m 97.5 percent sure that I did it! You can see why this puzzle reminded me of Winter Aspen – so much snow and trees. *shudder* It truly was the most challenging Wentworth puzzle that I’ve ever assembled, and it was only 40 pieces! Can you imagine getting any of the larger versions? This also comes in 252 and 510 pieces. I’m not sure if more pieces would make it easier or more difficult, but I definitely won’t be finding out.

I started by turning all the pieces upside down to sort them by shapes, it’s easier if you don’t see the image and just look at the specific shape.

Ice 1

After the sorting the real work begins. Obviously. A close look at the image on the box showed the irregular edge, and that there would be the top of stars and tree trunks along the edge. I started with the darkest and thickest trunk in the image on the far left. From there it was trial and error and a LOT of squinting to be certain each piece I added matched up with all the tree trunks and branches.

It was difficult as there was snow obscuring some parts of certain trees, but as I said I’m 97.5 percent sure I put this one together properly. 😎

One more holiday puzzle down! I’m pretty proud of myself for finishing this one and not putting it off any longer, I was truly dreading it (because I had tried before to assemble it and failed – my brain is being cooked from the inside by hot flashes and isn’t as sharp as it used to be). But as difficult as it was, it was still pretty awesome, completely absorbing, and looks very festive!

Wentworth has some extremely difficult holiday images like this one with repetitive shaped pieces and they all have fabulous names like The Puzzle that Burnt the Turkey, and The Puzzle that Ruined Christmas. The silly names make me laugh, but these little puzzles are no joke! They’re the typical excellent quality that the “regular” puzzles are, and even if they take me a little bit more brain power I really do enjoy the added challenge. I’m giving this one a difficulty rating of four out of five ice cubes. 😉

Brrr! 🧊🧊🧊🧊

London In Snow

On December 5, 2019December 5, 2019 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles3 Comments

It’s my first Christmas puzzle of the season, completed the day after Thanksgiving. Not because I was in any rush to do Christmas puzzles, which regular readers know are definitely NOT my thing; but because I’ve been in a slump lately and need to get some puzzles done and ready to post. Luckily I had 4 Wentworth micro puzzles here, and they’re not only going to be part of the holiday season here on My Jigsaw Journal, but they’re going to save me with some quick and easy completions. 🙂

Wentworth Wooden Puzzles are beautifully made with excellent quality, and I absolutely adore their micro puzzles. They are tiny little puzzles (30-40 pieces) that are easy to carry and quick to put together when you’re in need of a puzzle fix. All PADS sufferers know that feeling when all you want to do is be left alone for 10 minutes so you can get your hands on some puzzle pieces and be swept up in which piece fits here and where does that color go – it’s puzzle bliss. We are all in search of a few minutes of meditation with a puzzle, and these micro puzzles are the perfect thing for it!

This image is perfect for a micro puzzle, because it looks like it would be quite difficult in a larger piece count. The top half is all shades of white and grey, and the bottom is a sea of reds and yellows. I don’t know that it would be one I’d choose to assemble if it were anything larger than a 300 piece cardboard puzzle. That said, it’s truly beautiful artwork by Richard Macneil, and it made for a excellent micro assembly.

London whimsies

My favorite here is the whimsy of the Queen, the extra detail that Wentworth adds to their whimsies makes all the difference; you know exactly who that is with all the added lines, it’s lovely!

All Grinchy-ness aside, I enjoyed this assembly, as I do for all Wentworth puzzles. It has beautiful artwork, is well crafted, and gave me a few minutes of uninterrupted puzzle time that ended with a completed puzzle. Heavenly!

*There is one coming up that I’m dreading a little bit though, it’s a micro puzzle – one of their extra difficult ones with tessellating pieces – that I’ve attempted to assemble before and had to give up on. It brings back memories of Winter Aspen – YIKES! I’m determined to master it though; but I’m not sure if I want to save it until last or just do it and get it over with. Whichever one I choose, wish me luck!

It’s Christmas Time

On December 30, 2018December 30, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles2 Comments

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! This puzzle is a great Christmas holiday treat with a cup of hot cocoa and a cookie. Fun, fun, fun puzzle with unique pieces that added an interesting twist to our afternoon entertainment. Not too difficult, pieces fit nicely together. Awesome quality pieces, colors vivid, and so smooth to the touch!

………………….

Ok, I know I said no more holiday puzzles this year, but today’s post was composed by a guest writer – my favorite sister-in-law, Lena. 💗

This is the puzzle I sent her family for Christmas; they completed it yesterday and she sent me the picture and told me she was sending a “blog post” about it. I think she may have been joking at first, but I told her to write it up and I’d post it here today. Don’t judge my writing too harshly compared to hers – she has a background in communications, and I’m just a wife and mother who loves puzzles. 😉

Vintage Greetings

On December 25, 2018December 24, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles4 Comments

Vintage Greetings whimsies

Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays to all my readers, friends, and family – and some of you are all three of those things! I hope your day is filled with peace, joy, and lots of love. 💝

Vintage Greetings 1

I’ve been wanting a puzzle that spelled something out for a while now, and I finally got one! 😁

This was a beautiful but difficult puzzle – much more of a challenge than I thought it would be. It’s so lovely though, worth every bit of time and money spent.

Merry Christmas! 🎄🎅🎁

Partridge in a Pear Tree

On December 24, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles2 Comments

Such a beautiful puzzle, and so much more challenging than it looks! Gorgeous colors, fantastic whimsies – so enjoyable!

This puzzle had all the “12 Days” represented in the whimsy pieces. I tried to put them in order starting at the beginning, but funnily enough it was easier to start with day 12 at the bottom and sing my way back to a partridge in a pear tree. 🎶

Partridge whimsies

With six of the days represented by birds of some sort, I had to go over it in my head a few times to be certain each one is in the right spot. I’m pretty sure I got it right, though surely someone will let me know if it isn’t.

Partridge 1

As usual, a partridge in a partridge. 🙂 I absolutely adored these puzzles and had so much fun assembling them. They’re so lovely and entertaining to work with, they might become a yearly tradition.

I’m having the worst time being motivated to puzzle these past few days; perhaps it’s the big build up to Christmas and all the things that have to be done, perhaps not. All I know is the puzzle on my board at the moment has barely been touched in the last 3 or 4 days and it’s going to be put back into the box today. There’s been almost no progress at all since the first day I started working on it, so it’ll have to wait for another time.

Not one person has asked me what I wanted for Christmas this year, so I’m taking that to mean either they’re tired of me saying “I don’t want or need anything” or they’re all certain of what to get for me. Hmmm, wonder what that could be? So, in order to be sure that there is ample space to work on any gifts with that may arrive with “some assembly required”, the current puzzle is taking a nap for a few weeks at least. If there aren’t any dissected pictures under the tree, no worries, there are plenty here now!