I wanted to start off the new year by keeping track of the number of puzzles and pieces assembled, so I started the year with a one coffee puzzle. There’s only one left after this one! Very pretty images, but I choose poorly – I hadn’t yet finished my first cup of coffee and both of the sides of this puzzle were a little bit of a challenge for my pre-caffeinated brain.
I assembled the edges on the ladybug side first, but seeing the pieces left I decided to flip the puzzle over to assemble it, my poor brain wasn’t awake enough yet to handle those red flowers! The other side was a little less difficult, but I have to say that it took me much longer than it should have. I’m going to say that the reason is not enough sleep – that’s my story and I’m sticking to it! 😉
I’ve really enjoyed these small piece count puzzles partly because they’re quick and fun to assemble, and partly because they’re not childish pictures. It’s nice to assemble a puzzle in just a few minutes and for it to be a more mature image. One more to go!
Wild Animal Park – Ravensburger – 380 pieces (Family Puzzle)
I had no idea that my favorite puzzle manufacturer made family puzzles! It doesn’t look like they’re being produced anymore, but I was happy mom came across this beauty on one of her thrift store runs. I enjoy working a family puzzle once in a while, even for just one person I think they’re an entertaining departure from the “normal” puzzle.
The entire bottom section has the largest pieces (approx. 55) and are the easiest to assemble for the youngest children; the top left of the puzzle has the medium sized pieces (approx. 80) and are a bit more difficult, and the top right of the puzzle has the smallest sized pieces (approx. 250) and is the most challenging section. This section isn’t easy, and if you’re not someone who assembles puzzles regularly you may find this section a bit difficult. I really enjoyed the fact that the adult portion of the puzzle wasn’t super easy, which I’ve found to be the case with some family puzzles I’ve worked. I found every section entertaining to assemble and it was hard for me to walk away from working on it. I get a little obsessed sometimes. 😏
I’ve enjoyed every family puzzle that I’ve done, no matter who the manufacturer is. I think they’re an excellent idea and great fun to work with others. I’d love to find more of the series of family puzzles that Ravensburger produced, as I think they’re one of the best quality family puzzles that I’ve assembled. They’re not too simple, and I think that challenging images/puzzles are important to keeping a person’s interest; every different section was just the right amount of challenging. I would definitely recommend this puzzle, it’s extremely well done!
*This is post number 500 for My Jigsaw Journal, wow!*
#NuzzleNoses by Keith Kimberlin – MasterPieces (Insta Paws) – 500 pieces
Mom and I assembled this puzzle together, and it was really fun! I’m always thrilled by a thrift store purchase that is so adorable and so much fun to assemble. We loved this one❣
This is part of the Insta Paws series from MasterPieces, collages of some of the most adorable puppies and kittens around! Taken by photographer Keith Kimberlin, the images features sweet puppies and kittens doing all kinds of activities. It’s a very cute series, and I’d love to do more; here’s hoping the thrift stores around here help us out with that.
I enjoy MasterPieces puzzles, they’re a good quality puzzle for a great value and they have an excellent and diverse catalog with some great series – Memory Lane, Town & Country, Insta Paws, Space Savers, and many more. I like the feel of their pieces and the random cut makes a more interesting and sometimes more challenging assembly. It’s not a brand I usually purchase new, but love finding them at the thrift stores. They have so many great puzzles to choose from!
I’m a dog person, so my favorite sections of this puzzle are obviously the puppies, especially the little guy sleeping under a blanket, so cute! The kittens in the boots make me smile too. This puzzle is one of those fun ones with different backgrounds that make it easy to pull a section and work on it without having to keep looking at the box, they’re some of my favorite types of puzzles to do. It’s more satisfying for me to grab a section of pieces and figure out how they fit together without any assistance from the box or a poster – it makes me happy.
If this is an image that grabs you, I would definitely recommend this #NuzzleNoses; it’s a very nice quality puzzle with a beautiful image that’s pretty darn entertaining to put together. 🐾🐾
This was a cute kids puzzle that I only assembled because I wanted to see how it glows. Unfortunately there wasn’t much as far as glow was concerned, so I wasn’t able to get a good “glow picture”. Oh well, it’s still a cute image.
The puzzle wasn’t the greatest quality, it’s a Ceaco puzzle, but we had hopes that because it was a specialty (Glow Zone) that it might be a little better quality. We’ve worked several special Ceaco puzzles with really nice quality – some with cork backing, one with velvet backing, and some with long strips of pieces instead of the average piece. The odd ones seem to have much better quality than the average Ceaco puzzles – at least that’s been our experience so far.
This puzzle, even though it was a glow zone puzzle, was about average Ceaco quality. The pieces are thinner, and although they fit together well the finished puzzle doesn’t lie completely flat. You can see in the picture above that some of the pieces stick up a bit. Still, the image is nice, and even though it’s not a premium quality puzzle, it was still entertaining to assemble.
I used to say I didn’t want to do any puzzles under 1000 pieces, and was pretty snobby about the brands of puzzles I would buy. I don’t buy new puzzles from companies whose quality isn’t up to my standards, but used puzzles are a whole different story. Now, as long as I can assemble the puzzle and enjoy myself doing it – that’s what counts. Who cares if the quality isn’t perfect? If we can buy 20 puzzles for the price of 1 at the thrift store, and we can enjoy ourselves assembling them, isn’t that what’s really important? I think so.
Summer Teatime by Jane Maday – Hasbro – 300 pieces (EZ Grasp)
This puzzle made me stop and think. It isn’t an image I would choose to purchase new, but having gotten it from a thrift store I’m more willing to assemble it; it’s a lovely scene, but it isn’t an image that grabs me (hope this makes sense). I assembled it one morning because I wanted a smaller piece count puzzle, and oddly enough, once it was assembled the image seems more attractive to me. I had to stop and think why this was.
I suppose it’s a combination of things. First, the puzzle was EXCELLENT quality. Extremely thick, sturdy pieces that fit together wonderfully. The image reproduction is good, if a bit shiny; even with lighter colors a shiny finish causes glare when you’re working under artificial lights. (I have no natural light in my puzzle area) The pieces are EZ grasp, which added to the thickness of the board made for a wonderful tactile experience. Second, the entire assembly was quite fun and I enjoyed placing every single piece. The image makes for a good puzzle with some areas of a single color and some busier areas with flowers and berries.
Having worked with the excellent quality pieces which helped to make the assembly so fun, I took a picture and the image seemed more attractive to me. I was happy about finishing the puzzle and seeing the image assembled I thought “What a pretty picture!”. That isn’t what I thought when I first saw the puzzle box. I didn’t hate it, it just wasn’t a picture that made me suck in my breath and say “ooooh!” You know what I mean, you’ve most likely done it when you saw a puzzle that you loved.
I’ve become a bit less judgy since I’ve started doing reviews because many times a puzzle that was chosen for me to assemble isn’t one I would have chosen for myself. And almost every time I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the assembly and ended up seeing the image differently once I’d completed it. The same goes for thrift store purchases, mom buys puzzles that aren’t always ones that we’d normally purchase, but getting a puzzle at 95% off changes your perspective. 😉
If you get a chance to work a puzzle that might not ordinarily grab your attention, give it a try (especially a thrift store or swapped puzzle). It’s a nice change and you just may be surprised at how much you enjoy it!
My Jigsaw Journal 