Review: Ruby Red

On March 5, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews7 Comments

I absolutely adore the image of this puzzle, but oh my was it a challenge! Good thing I can be completely stubborn at times, because although I may have wanted to give up on this I never did. I wanted to light it on fire a couple of times, but I wanted to see the finished puzzle even more and I stuck with it. Isn’t it gorgeous? It’s not your typical puzzle image, and that’s part of the draw for me – I gotta be me and I try never to follow the crowd unless they’re headed towards someone selling chocolate!

This is a Schmidt puzzle, and usually their quality is excellent. This is the first puzzle of theirs that I’ve been disappointed with. The cut of the pieces was less than good, some of the tabs were completely broken off because the part connecting them was so thin. A couple of the pieces weren’t broken on the initial sort, but they broke when I picked them up or tried to place them. I don’t know the manufacturing process well enough to know what causes this, but it was completely frustrating! Here are a few of the broken and almost broken pieces.

A few broken pieces aside, the rest of the quality was quite good. Thick pieces with a linen finish, excellent fit, and lovely image reproduction. This puzzle came in a large commemorative tin, so perhaps because it was a special edition it was cut differently than the other Schmidt puzzles I’ve worked? I can’t say for sure.

I knew going in that it would be quite difficult with all that black, but I love the image so much that I really wanted to get it finished. Normally if I’m assembling a puzzle and it feels like work then it isn’t fun; I’m supposed to be enjoying myself! But once in a while I refuse to give up because I really want to conquer it – this was one of those times.

The lovely lady in the middle of the image was easy enough to work with all the skin, fishnet stockings and sparkles; it was the curtains behind her that tested me. At the edge of the curtains the black is a little lighter and you can see a pattern, but the rest of them are basically solid black. Yikes! I sorted the black pieces by shape and counted them (I just wanted to know how much of this puzzle was all black), and almost 400 of the 1000 pieces were completely black. I can’t believe I didn’t give up!

In the end I’m pleased with myself for finishing, it is such a striking image. It’s mostly good quality, but the broken pieces prevent me from recommending this puzzle. It may have been an isolated problem, but this is a quality issue we puzzlers really dislike. If the pieces are broken, the puzzle is broken.

Details:

Title: Ruby Red
Artist: Phantom Orchid
Brand: Schmidt
Piece count: 1000 pieces
Size: Approx. 27 x 19 in. (69 x 48 cm)
Purchased: New

Quality:

Board: Very good
Cutting: Poor
Image: Very good
Box: Excellent, commemorative tin
Fit: Very good
Puzzle Dust: Minimal amount
Piece cut: Grid cut
Piece shapes: Good variety
Finish: Slightly shiny finish, lays flat

Overall Rating: Good quality, but not recommended

Springtime Beauty

On March 4, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles2 Comments

Mom and I assembled this together on our puzzle/visit day; we’ve been doing more 300 and 500 piece puzzles lately because they’re easier for me. The colors of the flowers caught my eye, and I love the expression on the faces of the birds.

Buffalo 300 piece puzzles are about perfect for me, I like the larger size of the pieces compared to their 1000 piece puzzles. For some reason the pieces of their 1000 piece puzzles seem too small and symmetrical to me – not always, but sometimes. There are times when I have to be in the right mood to do a certain puzzle or work with certain piece shapes. I never claimed to be rational. 😎

The quality of Buffalo puzzles is very good, although I’ve found that the fit can sometimes be loose. The pieces are thick and the image reproduction is sharp and detailed. The fit of this puzzle though was quite good, I find their smaller piece counts seem to fit a little more snugly. Perhaps it’s just me, because I like the smaller puzzles more; it’s all a matter of perception isn’t it?

This image is more difficult than it looks, but still fun to put together. The birdhouse and birds were easy enough to pick out, but there are many flowers and lots of tree bark. We had a good time assembling it, with lots of laughing and teasing. It’s so much more fun for me to puzzle with mom, and I try not to take for granted spending time with her. She rocks!

If this image speaks to you, I definitely recommend it. It’s beautiful and well made and was great fun to assemble. 🐦

Ballet Lesson (2)

On March 3, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles2 Comments

Ballet Lesson – Ravensburger – 100 pieces

This is the second Ravensburger puzzle with this title I’ve assembled, the first was only 35 pieces and not nearly as beautiful as this one. This puzzle is a lovely image enhanced with glitter – I loves me some glitter! How disappointing that it was missing a piece. 😦

The colors in this image are so pretty, and with the added fun of glitter it’s just an all around beautiful puzzle. Absent piece aside, the quality was excellent and to my surprise there wasn’t a ton of glitter loose in the box. A lot of times with a glitter puzzle much of it comes off and ends up in a pile underneath the pieces, not so with this puzzle. Yet another reason Ravensburger puzzles are my absolute favorite. I was hoping it would be complete so we could pass it on, but it’s glaringly obvious that a piece has escaped.

Missing pieces are the chance you take when you purchase puzzles used. I would say probably 90-95% of the puzzles we get from thrift stores are complete, and that’s a pretty good average. Sure, it’s a little disappointing when you find a missing piece, but you still got to assemble a puzzle. Well, most of it anyway. 😉

Review: Cats, Rabbits, Birds, Fish, and Flowers

On March 2, 2018March 2, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews2 Comments

This post is sponsored by Puzzle Warehouse.

Cats, Rabbits, Birds, Fish, and Flowers by Makoto Nakamura – Pomegranate – 300 pieces

The title of this puzzle is a mouthful, I know – but if you look closely you can see the reason for the name. All of the “flowers” you see are made up of Cats, Rabbits, Birds, Fish, and Flowers! Click the link to see this puzzle at Puzzle Warehouse.

Makoto Nakamura is one of the foremost tessellation artists in the world, and I adore his work! If you’re a regular reader of the blog you might remember the Pesky Parrots puzzle I assembled last year, it was by the same artist only the tessellations in that puzzle were the pieces themselves! I love that Pomegranate chose one of his works for their puzzles, isn’t it a striking image even before you recognize the animals?

Pomegranate puzzles are in the top echelon of puzzle manufacturers in my opinion; their quality is exceptional! The pieces are wonderfully thick and feel good in your hands. They fit together with just about the perfect amount of tightness, and the matte finish doesn’t glare under lights. Their catalog focuses on illustrations and fine art, and the image reproductions are crisp and clear and retain the original beauty of the artwork. I don’t normally comment on puzzle boxes, but the Pomegranate boxes are the sturdiest I’ve found; and as an added bonus nothing covers up the full image on the box top – you can see the entire picture! Not many companies do that, and it is very much appreciated by puzzlers. Click the link above to see all their puzzles currently available at Puzzles Warehouse.

Even though looking at the pieces made me think it might be a challenge, it was exactly the right amount of challenge for me. I couldn’t walk away from it! I started with the red and pink fishes in the center, and then worked color by color to finish flower after flower. It wasn’t super easy, but it wasn’t eyeball-crossing difficult either – just right!

If you enjoy this image, I highly recommend this puzzle. It’s excellent quality with a beautiful and interesting image. I loved it! ❤💐

Details:

Title: Cats, Rabbits, Birds, Fish, and Flowers
Artist: Makoto Nakamura
Brand: Pomegranate
Piece count: 300 pieces
Size: Approx. 20 x 20 in. (51 x 51 cm)
Purchased: N/A

Quality:

Board: Excellent
Cutting: Excellent
Image: Excellent
Box: Very good, sturdy with complete image on front
Fit: Excellent
Puzzle Dust: Small amount
Piece cut: Grid cut
Piece shapes: Very good variety
Finish: Matte 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.

Green Acres

On March 1, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

I think my age is showing, when I see the title of this puzzle my brain immediately starts singing the theme song to the old tv show. Green Acres is the place to be, FARM living is the life for me! 🎵

This puzzle is absolutely beautiful, and at only 300 pieces was a quick, fun assembly. The cut is random and interesting and the fit was wonderful! There was never any guessing whether or not a piece fit in a certain spot. MasterPieces large piece puzzles have excellent quality, I have never had an issue with any of them. The pieces are thick and fit together well, and the images are crisp and clear and always beautiful.

Many people only do 1000 piece puzzles, and I think they’re missing out; there are wonderful puzzles to be assembled in every shape and size. But I would never tell someone what they should or shouldn’t do, so if they’re working only the larger puzzles that leaves plenty other sizes for me, right? 😎