Shoes

On July 23, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles2 Comments

I am absolutely in love with these small, separate, shaped puzzles from Lafayette Puzzle Factory. Assembling them is so much fun! I bought 8 of the series, and there are still more that I’d like to get my hands on.

The quality is about medium-level in my opinion. The chipboard has different colored backing for each mini puzzle, and sometimes the die doesn’t cut all the way through this backing. I enjoy these puzzles so much that it doesn’t really bother me that some pieces need to be separated. They are another example of how I’m willing to overlook certain quality issues if the image or assembly is particularly entertaining.

The pieces are a good thickness, there are an excellent variety of shapes, and the fit is very good. The image reproduction is excellent with bright, beautiful colors. They are truly stunning!

The shoes are beautiful as artwork, but there is NO WAY that I would be able to wear them. Perhaps I could sit down first and then put them on, I would look pretty but wouldn’t have to actually walk anywhere. These are my two favorites; I have nowhere to wear them, and nothing to wear them with, but I just love the look of them….

The whole time I was putting these together I kept thinking they would be a great idea for decorating a teenage girl’s room. Most young girls can’t wait to be older and high heels are definitely part of that – at least they were for me. I would have loved to have had these puzzles on my walls when I was younger.

If you’re interested in these gorgeous shaped shoe puzzles I highly recommend them. I had the best time assembling them – two heels kicked way up! 👠👠

Lots and Lots of Spots

On July 22, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

Very cute puzzle, with lots of bright colors to help out with all those spots! If it wasn’t for the terribly tight fit I would have really enjoyed this puzzle. 😐

This was another Springbok with an EXTREMELY tight fit, and it makes the assembly much less entertaining for me. Some people enjoy a fit this tight, but I do not. Every piece needs quite a bit of work and pressure to make sure it’s properly connected. Ugh. The edges curl up and you can pick up the entire puzzle with two fingers. I’ve found that when the fit is this tight you can even stand the puzzle up on it’s bottom edge!

The puppies are so adorable, and the chunks of color on the floor, balls, and stools helped to make sure all those spots didn’t make the assembly too frustrating or tedious. Once all the color was assembled the random cut made it a little easier to find which spot went in which spot. 😁

According to the internet this is a “vintage” Springbok puzzle, so if you’re looking for one you might want to try thrift stores or online shops like ebay. This one had an awfully tight fit, but perhaps they’re not all that way. If the image is one that tickles your fancy, I hope you can find one out there!

Review: Merry Christmas to All!

On July 21, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

Merry Christmas to All! – Hallmark – 550 pieces

The top half of this puzzle was actually pretty entertaining to assemble, but the bottom half – yikes! I had to call in the puzzle posse to help me get it done, good thing she was available.

The quality, other than the fit, was quite good. The pieces were thick with a very smooth matte finish. They feel good in your hands, but almost a bit dry – I don’t know how to explain it – perhaps the feel is more dusty than dry, I can’t seem to find the right words. Whatever the finish on them is, it doesn’t feel unpleasant to me, just different than the finish on most other puzzles.

The fit was loose, which was the most noticeable when trying to assemble the edges, it was a challenge to keep them together at times. Bumping them accidentally with my arms could upset many pieces, which was pretty annoying. Once I started to fill in the rest of the puzzle the fit didn’t seem quite as loose as before.

This was a thrift store find, mom brought it over a few weeks ago, and I decided it would be perfect for Christmas in July. I’m not much a fan of Santa images to be honest, but it was only 550 pieces so I figured it wouldn’t be that difficult. Boy was I wrong! The top half wasn’t bad, my daughter even helped me a little bit when she was visiting. But once I got to the bottom I have to admit I was intimidated.

I called mom over for an impromptu puzzle party and we made pretty short work of all those Christmas trees at the bottom. We both were working together at almost the same spot and we kept getting in each other’s way and laughing. Perhaps it’s a good thing those trees intimidated me, otherwise I might not have called mom for help – I would have missed out on all the fun of puzzling with her. 😉

It’s a beautifully detailed image, too bad no credit was given to the artist anywhere on the box. It seems to happen a lot, at least that I’ve noticed anyway. It’s an entertaining but challenging puzzle – if you’re up for it and can find it I would definitely recommend it.

Details:

Title: Merry Christmas to All!
Artist: Not credited
Brand: Hallmark
Piece count: 550 pieces
Size: Approx. 18 x 24 in. (46 x 61 cm)
Purchased: Used, thrift store

Quality:

Board: Very good
Cutting: Very good
Image: Excellent
Box: Average
Fit: Loose
Puzzle Dust: Small amount
Piece cut: Grid cut
Piece shapes: Good variety
Finish: Matte finish, lays flat

Overall Rating: Very good, recommended

Yellow

On July 19, 2018July 19, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles7 Comments

I thought this one was going to be difficult, there’s so much yellow! But once you start separating the pieces you can tell it isn’t going to be that bad. There are many shades and textures, and plenty of letters, numbers, and symbols to help out as well.

Ceaco puzzles sometimes have really good quality, especially with their special editions. There have been puzzles I’ve done with cork and velvet backing by Ceaco that were excellent quality. I’ve also done a few corked backed puzzles by them that haven’t been that great. I’m confused why everything seems so hit or miss with this company. This particular puzzle had a great fit, but the chipboard used was sub-par in my opinion; right out of the box there were pieces that had backing that was splitting and bent. The image wasn’t adhered to the chipboard well either and there were several places where it was lifting. How I wish they did a better job in the quality department, there are so many beautiful puzzle images in their catalog!

I love this image, and even have the red one yet to assemble. It will likely be just as entertaining to assemble, but hopefully not as disappointing as far as quality. Fingers crossed! 🤞

Yuletide Puppies

On July 18, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw PuzzlesLeave a comment

This micro puzzle has the most beautiful colors, absolutely gorgeous! It was fun to assemble and a little more complicated than it looks. It took me a little bit to find the right pieces, but it was completely worth it!

I love Dominic Davison images, they’re beautiful to look at and interesting to assemble. I’ve done several puzzles of his artwork and have enjoyed every one. There are plenty more of his puzzles I’d be happy to do.

The whimsies are so cute!

You’d think that starting with the whimsy pieces and working outward would make the puzzles very easy to assemble; and although that does help some it doesn’t make the entire puzzle easy. If it were too easy I think I wouldn’t be very interested in doing them.

There are still 4 more Christmas/winter micro puzzles to do this month. I’m hoping when I put them together it’ll bring a nice chill to the air to beat this nasty hot weather! ☀