Skiing

On November 16, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw PuzzlesLeave a comment

I adore this new image from Wentworth, it makes me laugh. I have a whole new batch of micro puzzles for a couple of reasons; 1) I’m a jigsaw puzzle junkie, and 2) I needed more very small puzzles that I can work on in bed. I think the puzzle addiction is the biggest reason though, if I’m being honest. 😏

I actually assembled this puzzle this morning specifically to post today. There are almost no puzzles left in my queue! Oh dear. My readers have a lot more “chatty” posts to look forward to in the next few weeks while I build up my stash of completed puzzles again. Don’t worry though, I’ll be keeping the chit chat to puzzle topics.

This puzzle has one of the cutest whimsies I’ve ever seen – a nun ice skating! Love it!

Skiing whimsies

This puzzle would be a fun challenge in a larger piece count, the bigger areas of both black and white would be a bit difficult – but entertaining I think. The artwork itself is a bit fuzzy, which I think would help with the larger areas of one color. There’s something so wonderfully whimsical and sweet about the image, it just speaks to me.

Skiing - box

Pups in Cups

On November 15, 2018November 15, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles4 Comments

How cute are these puppies? So darn cute! They were absolutely as much fun as I’d hoped. I was finally able to get the last 4 sets of these mini puzzles, and mom, my oldest son and I went a little “mini puzzle crazy” a couple of weeks ago and assembled 3 sets in one day! 1500 pieces in total all in one day. 🙂

It’s not hard to get that many pieces assembled when you’ve got a lot of help and you’re putting together a lot of very small puzzles. It was so much fun working together – we had the best time!

The quality of these mini puzzles is very good. The pieces are a good thickness and fit together well, and the image reproduction is excellent. My only problem is that the colored backing seems to make it difficult for the die to cut completely through, and there are pieces on each of the mini puzzles that aren’t completely separated. It’s a minor detail, but worth mentioning.

Pups in Cups was the set I most wanted to assemble, and they didn’t disappoint. It’s so much adorable cuteness in one puzzle! The brightly colored cups were easy and fun to assemble, and the pups were more of a challenge than I thought they’d be. It was a great combination.

Pups in Cups 1 — Look at those sweet, sad eyes!

It was hard to choose a favorite, they’re all so sweet (and they didn’t have a Boston Terrier). But in my opinion all puppies are cute, no matter the breed.

These mini shaped puzzles are so much fun, and such a blessing when I’m not able to get out of bed and sit at the puzzle table. If I’m feeling well enough I can sit up and work them on my white board, and if I’m not they’re small enough to assemble one by one on a cookie sheet. And they’re much less expensive than the wooden micro puzzles!

If you haven’t tried shaped puzzles before and you’re not sure about them, I would recommend giving these mini shaped puzzles a try. Each mini puzzle has a different colored backing so that you can sort them easily, or if you want to give yourself a challenge you can ignore the backing and treat it like a regular 500 piece puzzle. They’re completely entertaining to assemble and so adorable! 🐾🐶🐾

Vintage Needle Books

On November 13, 2018November 13, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles2 Comments

My brain is an interesting place, and for some reason it doesn’t want me to talk about this puzzle. I have absolutely no valid reason for it, but every time I look at this picture I don’t want to type up the post. It makes NO sense.

I had a wonderful time with the assembly; it’s a beautiful collage, it had great quality, and I even got to work on it with my puzzle posse. I absolutely loved it! Why shouldn’t I want to talk about it? No clue.

These sections were the ones I most enjoyed putting together. The blue Woolworth needle book was the first one to be assembled – 79 needles for 19 cents? WOW! I’d love to know how old that needle book actually is. The family in the upper right corner was the most challenging for me, and the very last section to be completed. There was something about the colors that seemed to make it more difficult than the rest. Still, I do love a challenge! 😉

Vintage Needle Books was great fun (even if my aging, messed up brain doesn’t want to discuss it); it’s definitely recommended!

Veteran’s Day/Remembrance Day – Tower of London Remembrance

On November 11, 2018November 10, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw PuzzlesLeave a comment

It’s Veteran’s Day here in the US, and Remembrance Day in the UK and the Commonwealth (in other nations as well); a day to remember those who have served and those who gave their lives in service to their country (in many countries, the day specifically honors those who died in the first World War). Today marks the 100th anniversary of the end of hostilities in World War I – “at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month”. We honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, and those men and women who gave of themselves to give something back to their country. “Thank you for your service” is not nearly enough….

This puzzle shows many of the 888,246 ceramic poppies in the moat at the Tower of London – from an art installation in 2014 that commemorated the 100th anniversary of the day Britain became involved in World War I. Each poppy represented a British fatality in the war. It’s a beautiful image; stunning in its scope, and the reminder of lives lost. 888,246. That number takes my breath away.

I enjoyed this puzzle very much, and was happy that it gave me an incentive to spend some time researching Remembrance Day, Armistice Day, and Veteran’s Day. I even did a bit of research on one of the puzzle pieces! I had to email Wentworth to find out what one of the whimsy pieces represented; being the ignorant Yank that I am, I had no idea that the circular piece below is a sign for the London Tube! (London Underground, subway)

Tower of London Remembrance whimsies

The first 4 whimsies were easy, but I had to rely on the lovely customer service administrator at Wentworth to educate me about the last one. Thanks Amanda!☺

To all those who have served (including my handsome hubby, his brothers, and my son-in-law), thank you. Thank you. ❤

Christmas Eve Puzzleball

On November 10, 2018November 11, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles6 Comments

Mom found this Ravensburger puzzle ball at the thrift store – unopened! We assembled it together, and working just by the picture it was harder than you’d think. Christmas puzzles already! 😮

You could work it by the numbers if you prefer, as each piece is numbered with an arrow showing where the next piece goes. We go about half and half; we use the numbers to separate them into groups of 10, then we turn each group over and assemble them using the picture.

It’s a vintage looking image, and very pretty.

I wish I knew the name of the artwork, but all I could find was the artist’s name. It reminds me of an old movie, but I can’t for the life of me remember the name of it!

It came with both the stand it’s sitting on, and a ribbon with which to hang it on a tree; although for some reason there are no instructions on how to assemble it and add the ribbon. We figured it out (you have to put it between the last couple of pieces at the top), but decided we’d rather just let it sit on the stand. 😉

I love these puzzle balls, I’m not even sure I know exactly why. They’re fun for me, end of story!

*Is it terrible of me to hope that this year for Christmas many people get gifts of puzzles that they don’t really want, or puzzles that the family does together only once over the holiday, so that afterwards the thrift stores will be full of puzzles for us to find? It probably is terrible and selfish of me, but……