Loose Change

On March 19, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles1 Comment

This was one of the more challenging puzzles mom and I have done lately. It’s also the first 550 piece White Mountain that I’ve assembled. Looking at it now, I’m completely surprised at myself for suggesting that we do it – it was really difficult!

Luckily the border was relatively easy to assemble, although it took about an hour to assemble it wasn’t that bad. If it hadn’t been for the border we probably wouldn’t have kept going; but we’d already invested some time and didn’t want to lose all that work.

The majority of the coins were pennies, but there were some gold and silver coins mixed in there that helped get things going. First we separated out the bright gold coins, put them together and placed them approximately where they belonged; we did the same with the silver coins. Then we had many places to work off of, it made it a little less daunting with all those pennies!

The quality was really good, sometimes White Mountain quality can be hit or miss but this puzzle was very good. All pieces were separated, with no fuzziness or hanging bits of paper. The pieces were thick and fit together well, although there were a few pieces with some image lift. Overall it was very good quality. I’m looking forward to finding another 550 piece White Mountain puzzle to compare the quality.

I’m proud of us for sticking with it and getting it done, but it’s definitely not an image I would pick for myself. It sure was fun putting in those last few pieces though!

Gentlemen

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

This is the companion to yesterday’s puzzle, Ladies. I don’t know exactly what it is about these images that draws me in, but whatever it is they were both excellent quality puzzles that were great fun. I’m so glad I was able to get these before they were discontinued because they didn’t disappoint and are more beautiful than I expected.

Once I finished Ladies I couldn’t wait to get going on this one! The image is relatively easy one to assemble, but not so easy that it’s boring. I loved the embossed accents on some of the items, but am pretty bummed that I wasn’t able to capture the accents in a photo.

I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of these puzzles, the pieces were thick and fit together very well. I’d love to get the rest of the Home Collection, these were such great quality and so much fun and the images are beautiful! Both of these puzzles are already glued and waiting for me to find a some gorgeous matching frames.

I loved this puzzle❣

Ladies

On March 17, 2018March 17, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw PuzzlesLeave a comment

I absolutely adore this image, and I bought it specifically to glue and frame. The first time I saw it I thought that it, along with it’s companion Gentlemen, would be perfect framed and hanging in the master bath. As an added bonus, it was excellent quality and wonderfully fun to assemble!

I usually have a LOT of puzzles hanging out on my wishlist at several stores so I can look at the list, go back and look at the puzzles, and keep an eye out for price reductions, etc. I’ve had both Ladies and Gentlemen on my list for quite a while and when I went over the list one day I found that they had both been discontinued – oh no! Even though I wasn’t really planning on placing an order that day I knew I didn’t want to let these get away from me. I’m so glad I got them!

This was the first Clementoni I’ve gotten new. I’ve assembled one other, but it was a thrift store purchase; I was excited to see what the quality was right out of the box and I wasn’t disappointed. The pieces were thick, had a variety of shapes, fit together very well, and the image reproduction is fantastic! These puzzles are part of the Home Collection, and have an added feature of enhanced images with glossy detail that really make them stand out. Unfortunately it isn’t something I was able to capture in the picture, but it’s beautiful and gives the puzzle a little added pizzazz.

This puzzle was so much fun to assemble that I couldn’t walk away from it, and once it was done I couldn’t wait to get going on it’s companion. It’s too bad that they’ve been discontinued because I’d love to get the rest of the collection. If you come across one of them I highly recommend you give it a try, I absolutely loved it!

Review: Root Beer Break at the Butterfields

On March 16, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviewsLeave a comment

This post is sponsored by Puzzle Warehouse.

Root Beer Break at the Butterfields by Charles Wysocki – Buffalo Games – 300 pieces

This was such an interesting experiment for me – I was sent this puzzle to review, but I had previously assembled it. I purposely didn’t look at my post from last year until after I completed the puzzle; I didn’t want to know what I thought before, I wanted to assemble it fresh. So how did this puzzle do the second time around?

Root Beer Break at the Butterfields was an excellent, entertaining puzzle that I loved both times I assembled it. The image is different than the usual Wysocki, with a single building at the beach, and it’s a 300 large piece puzzle which I absolutely adore.

Buffalo puzzles are very good quality, and their 300 and 500 piece puzzles are my favorite sizes. The larger pieces are easier to handle, and fit together a little more snugly than their 1000 piece puzzles. They don’t have the signature Buffalo zig zag pieces, but the variety of shapes is still very good and the fit and image reproduction is great. Click the link above to see all the Buffalo puzzles currently available at Puzzle Warehouse, they have some gorgeous puzzles ranging from 300 to 2000 pieces!

The pieces were very easy to sort and easy to assemble. The sky was the most challenging section, but there were plenty of clouds and color changes to help in finding the correct piece. The bright colors of the kites on the fence were fun to find and assemble and helped break up the fence and the sand. All around this was a quick, entertaining puzzle that was just as much fun the second time around!

*If you want to see what I thought the first time, click here.

Details:

Title: Root Beer Break at the Butterfields
Artist: Charles Wysocki
Brand: Buffalo
Piece count: 300 pieces
Size: Approx. 21 x 15 in. (54 x 38 cm)
Purchased: N/A, sent for review

Quality:

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

Overall Rating: Excellent, highly recommended

I received this product at no cost in order to facilitate this review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are truthful and 100% my own.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid Book Two

On March 15, 2018March 15, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

This is the second of these puzzles I’ve done, and they’re quite difficult! The line drawings and lack of color add to the challenge – you really have to pay attention to every piece.

Like the first one I assembled, the quality was very good but the finished puzzle doesn’t lie flat. This could be because we live in Florida and there’s a lot of humidity, if you don’t store a puzzle properly it could warp with all the moisture in the air. It could be that it’s been a well loved puzzle that’s been assembled many times. It’s hard to make judgments on quality when you’ve purchased second-hand; you have to rely on your prior knowledge of the brand as well as taking into account the amount of use the puzzle could have had.

This image is not one I would purchase new, monochromatic images aren’t ones that interest me. Still, it was an entertaining assembly and luckily it was only 200 pieces. With stick figures, line drawings, and no colors it takes plenty of concentration to get all the pieces placed properly.

It’s always interesting to assemble an image that isn’t your style, but most of the time I end up really having fun. That’s one of the great things about thrift stores, the price makes it difficult to pass up the puzzles and gives me to opportunity to work puzzles that I wouldn’t normally assemble. Give an unusual image a try, you just might like it!