Santa & Rudolph

On November 26, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles2 Comments

Not counting my “Christmas in July” on the blog, this was my first Christmas puzzle of the season! As usual, I’m only showing the character shown on the box – no spoilers. You’d miss out on the fun of discovering for yourself why it’s better if Santa keeps his job instead of handing it over to Rudolph. 😉

I adore Geoff Tristam’s sense of humor – even the gift tags on the presents were funny! His partnership with Ravensburger for these What If puzzles is a great pairing in my opinion; I hope it continues for a very long time!

I really appreciate the quality of a Ravensburger puzzle, especially after I’ve worked on another brand that isn’t as “premium”. It even makes me happy to lay all the pieces out, because I just know it’s going to fit well and that there will be enough variety in the piece shape so that the assembly isn’t overly tedious. (I’m working a puzzle with not much variety in the shape of the pieces and I’m feeling frazzled 😳 )

If you haven’t tried a What If or Wasgij puzzle yet, I highly recommend it! You’re not really working completely from scratch, most of the time you can tell from the picture on the box what the background, flooring, or scenery will be, as well as the clothes people are wearing. You can get a general idea of what might go where, you may just have figure out where the scene might end up. For me, it focuses the attention. If I’m looking at the image on the box I don’t have to pay super close attention to background items or colors to tell me where a section will end up. Without an image you’re guided by only the colors and shapes – and the hints on the box of course. It’s a pilates class for your brain cells, it makes them use their “muscles” in a different way. 😀

Santa looks pretty cute with his antler hat, but I think it would be better for everyone if he drives the sleigh!

Review: Castle of Horror

On October 31, 2017October 31, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviewsLeave a comment

Castle of Horror by Jean-Jacques Loup – Heye – 2000 pieces

This puzzle has been calling me for some time, so I decided I might as well get on it since Halloween is here! 🎃

I’ve been having difficulty puzzling lately and am not able to spend as much time as I’d like enjoying my puzzles. In addition, this gorgeous puzzle was very large and I had to assemble it sideways on my smaller board. I wasn’t feeling well enough to get out the larger board by myself, so I worked with the smaller one. It was difficult for me working a puzzle sideways, even more difficult than I anticipated. I guess my little old lady brain couldn’t get accustomed to the odd vantage point. Because of these things it took me an entire week to complete this puzzle!

The artwork of Jean-Jacques Loup makes me smile, he had an irreverent sense of humor and for me that is part of what makes his puzzles so much fun to assemble. The naughty bits put a little smirk on my face, and I’m always wanting to show them to my hubby to make him smile as well. There were plenty of naughty bits in this puzzle, so I wouldn’t recommend it for anyone underage, or anyone who has children that like to assist. 😈

This puzzle had the usual great Heye quality, with one exception – the fit was looser than I’ve had with any of their other puzzles. It wasn’t horribly loose, but you could easily upset a large section with your arm or sleeve if you weren’t careful. A bit disappointing, but otherwise the quality was very good.

There are so many fun things to discover in this image, it was a treat to put together. It’s full of Halloween spookiness – including witches, ghosts, bats, vampires, demons, and much more. It’s a great puzzle for the holiday – Happy Halloween! 🎃🎃

Details:

Title: Castle of Horror
Artist: Jean-Jacques Loup
Brand: Heye
Piece count: 2000 pieces
Size: Approx. 27 x 38 in. (69 x 97 cm)
Purchased: New

Quality:

Board: Very good
Cutting: Very good, some hanging bits of paper
Image: Excellent
Box: Excellent, triangular box
Fit: Somewhat loose, upset if bumped
Puzzle Dust: Moderate amount
Piece cut: Grid cut
Piece shapes: Good variety
Finish: Matte finish, lays flat

Overall Rating: Very good, recommended

Trick or Treat Hotel

On October 30, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles1 Comment

I absolutely loved this puzzle from beginning to end. I love Halloween, and mom finding this puzzle at the thrift store just a few days before the holiday was excellent!

This image was not as difficult as I assumed it would be, and it turned out to be one of my favorite Buffalo puzzles I’ve ever done. Wonderful image by Charles Wysocki with so many creatures and critters to find! The fit was perfection, not too loose or too tight and the end result is almost seamless.

I found that as I assembled more and more pieces I was slowing myself down to make the puzzle last a little while longer. It was coming together too quickly! It was too much fun to speed through, so I had to take it easy and enjoy the journey.

This is one puzzle I’m not going to want to donate, it’ll be fun to assemble next year when Halloween comes around again. I highly recommend this puzzle, two thumbs and two pumpkins up! 👍🎃👍🎃

Review: It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

On October 20, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews, Thrift Store Puzzles2 Comments

It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown by Charles Schulz – USAopoly – 500 pieces

Super fun! The first Halloween puzzle I’ve done this season, and I enjoyed it very much. I’ve come around to shaped puzzles, I never really wanted to do them before. Now that I’ve got quite a few under my belt, I appreciate the nice change of pace that they offer. Their shapes make them very interesting to assemble.

I didn’t start with the edge of this one, although I normally try to find all the edges of shaped puzzles to see how much I can assemble. I started with Linus and Sally, they were the easiest to pick out. Then I worked on Snoopy’s silhouette and the moon. The pumpkins were easier than I thought they’d be! I enjoyed the challenge of this one, it wasn’t too easy. I had a great time with the entire puzzle; easy parts were quick and satisfying, challenging parts kept me entertained and focused.

I love the fall and Halloween. I don’t have too many Halloween puzzles, but I’m enjoying the ones I do have. Here’s hoping the thrift stores have some more after the holiday! 😉

Details:

Title: It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
Artist: Charles Schulz
Brand: USAopoly
Piece count: 500 pieces
Size: Approx. 19 x 19 in. (48 x 48 cm)
Purchased: Used, thrift store

Quality:

Board: Thin but sturdy
Cutting: Good – fully separated, some hanging paper
Image: Very good
Box: Collectible tin
Fit: Normal/Average
Puzzle Dust: None
Piece cut: Random
Piece shapes: Very good variety
Finish: Shiny finish, lays flat

Overall Rating: Good, recommended

Witch Way to Halloween

On October 1, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw PuzzlesLeave a comment

I did this puzzle in 2016, I put it on the 2016 Completed Puzzles January – March page but for some reason haven’t done a full post on it. While going back through the blog to prepare the first birthday post I came across this puzzle and realized with October only a few days away that it was the perfect time to post it. Witch Way to Halloween??

I love the artwork of this puzzle, the gravestones, the trick or treaters, the gorgeous colors of the leaves on the trees, the headless horseman, bats, etc. – it’s an excellent puzzle image. It also included several whimsies – a black cat, a witch in the shape of the puzzle itself, gravestones and others. The puzzle itself it gorgeous; the quality, unfortunately, not as beautiful. 😦

The pieces were a good enough thickness and the image reproduction was very nice. My problem was the cut/fit of the pieces. I know with a shaped puzzle and especially when there are whimsies that you can’t have every single piece connect, sometimes they just sit next to each other. But the fit of this puzzle took this to the extreme. Even when the entire puzzle was completed you could pull away whole sections because they didn’t connect anywhere. You can see in the picture that you can actually remove the witch’s hand – it just comes away. There was constant readjustment necessary, which is extremely annoying to me. And even where the pieces did connect the fit was very loose; any slight bump would upset many pieces.

This puzzle and the terrible cut/fit turned me off Bits and Pieces puzzles. I haven’t ordered from them since. I’ve done one or two of their puzzles we’ve found at thrift stores, but in general they’ve been on my naughty list. I may have just gotten a puzzle from the end of the run, you never know. Still, they’re not a manufacturer I go out of my way to find. They do have some gorgeous puzzles though – we’ve still got some on our to do list that we’ve picked up from the local thrift stores. Maybe the next one I do will be awesome!

Nevertheless, this puzzle is beautiful and a nice kick-off for the Halloween season. I love the fall! 🎃