Tag: Jigsaw Puzzles

Humpty Dumpty

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles3 Comments
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Humpty Dumpty – Milton Bradley – 60 pieces

This gorgeous puzzle was excellent quality and it has the most stunning colors! The pieces are thick and incredibly sturdy and fit together very well. It’s a really well made children’s puzzle from the late 90’s – if you can find one cheaply I would definitely recommend it for a little one in your life.

We don’t come across many Milton Bradley puzzles anymore. I remember when I was young and doing puzzles with my grandma she didn’t have much variety to choose from as far as brands go. Most of the puzzles she assembled (from what my aging brain can remember) were Big Ben puzzles from Milton Bradley. There wasn’t much variety in the images either, most were photographic puzzles of landscapes, cabins, lighthouses, etc. I wonder what she’d think of all the different brands I’ve tried and all the different types of artwork. I’m sad she isn’t here to try out all these wooden puzzles and brands from across the globe, but it also makes me appreciate that I have my mom to share them with. ❤

With the internet and our ability to shop puzzles from around the world we have so many more brands and images available to us now – I take it for granted most of the time, and I really shouldn’t. It’s amazing that I can get online and browse through puzzles from Germany, Japan, England, Australia, Holland, Turkey, France and too many more to name! I can “talk” to other puzzlers from around the world, translate any webpage to English with a click of the mouse, and order puzzles for myself from almost anywhere on the planet – amazing! We are truly blessed to have so much available to us and it barely fazes us anymore; we don’t really stop to think how awesome it is and how wonderfully lucky we are. I try to remember that when I’m feeling whiny.

I’m not sure how a children’s puzzle started me off on this tangent, but oh well. My brain takes me on wild adventures sometimes, and I’m not always able to trace them back to the starting point.  Oh yeah – Milton Bradley! Miss you Gram, love you mom. 💗

 

Darling Doe

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment
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Darling Doe by Charlie Zabarte – Andrews + Blaine – 500 pieces

Another puzzle with only ballerinas – good thing this had interesting artwork too or it might not have been completed! The artwork is quite nice, and perfect for puzzling. It was a thrift store purchase, and even though it’s missing 2 pieces we still got our money’s worth.

Mom and I assembled this puzzle together on one of our visit/puzzle days – so much fun! Andrews + Blaine puzzles seem to be hit or miss quality-wise. The pieces were a good thickness and fit together well. But I really don’t care for puzzles with only one shape piece, it’s boring and makes the assembly more difficult. Although if the image is a good one I’ll put up with it; sometimes if the image makes for a fun assembly I barely even notice that all the pieces are the same. Andrews + Blaine have some beautiful images to choose from, I wish all their puzzles had a good variety of shapes as well.

Luckily the image of this puzzle was a good one, and we didn’t have too much trouble with large areas of the same color/pattern. It was definitely better that mom and I worked it together – she’s my favorite puzzle partner and many puzzles I wouldn’t want to do alone I have no problem doing with her. We’re an awesome puzzle posse! 🙂

Review: Canned Veggies

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews1 Comment
This post is sponsored by Puzzle Warehouse.
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Canned Veggies – Springbok – 500 pieces

Canned Veggies makes me think of fall up north, canning fruits and vegetables with mom. There was a lot of peeling, cutting, and whining going on. (I didn’t always have a great time, especially when we were canning foods I don’t like) 🙂

This is another tight fitting Springbok puzzle. I’m not much of a fan of the super tight fit, but this wasn’t too bad, at least the sides aren’t curling up! Springbok puzzles are very good quality, and my preference for a slightly looser fit doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate that quality. The pieces are very thick, and fit together very snugly. The image reproduction on this puzzle was bright and crisp, and would be quite suitable for framing – it would be perfect in the kitchen! With the tighter fit, you most likely wouldn’t have to glue the puzzle, just frame it as is. Click to see all Springbok puzzles currently in stock at Puzzle Warehouse. They have some beautiful images, including Off the Vine – a gorgeous collage of wine labels – beautiful! (And I don’t even like wine 😐 )

I enjoyed this assembly, although I wasn’t prepared for the challenge of it. It looks pretty straightforward, but the darker areas made me slow down and I had to concentrate more. That’s probably a good thing though! I think this puzzle may end up framed and in my mother’s kitchen, she loves the look of it; and it reminds me of her. ❤

Details:

  • Title:                  Canned Veggies
  • Artist:                Allied Products
  • Brand:               Springbok
  • Piece count:     500 pieces
  • Size:                  Approx. 18 x 24 in. (46 x 60 cm)
  • Purchased:      n/a

Quality:

  • Board:               Very good
  • Cutting:             Very good
  • Image:               Very good
  • Box:                   Average
  • Fit:                     Good, very tight
  • Puzzle Dust:     Moderate amount
  • Piece cut:          Random cut
  • Piece shapes:   Good variety
  • Finish:               Slightly shiny finish, lays flat

Overall Rating:      Very good, 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.

Escape from Alcatraz

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment
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Escape From Alcatraz by Albert Lorenz – MasterPieces (Mythic Mazes) – 1000 pieces

I’d never heard of these Mythic Mazes puzzles, but it was a lot of fun! There are apparently more, including Escape from Merlin’s Dungeon and Escape from the Haunted House. It looks like they’re definitely out of print, so we’ll just have to hope that we are able to find more in the local thrift stores.

MasterPieces quality can sometimes be hit or miss, this one was very interesting. The thickness of the pieces, the fit, and the image reproduction were excellent but there was no variety in the piece shapes. They were all ballerinas. Sigh. It doesn’t make much sense to me, but then again I have no actual knowledge of what goes into manufacturing a jigsaw puzzle. Still, it’s a bit disappointing; the quality was very good otherwise.

You can’t see it well in the picture, but there are plenty of words to assemble, which I love. And even though there’s no variety in the piece shapes the good news was that there were almost no pieces that were just one color. There was plenty of shading and writing so that there weren’t large areas of one color. It made working with just the one piece shape a little more palatable for me.

The bright colors, interesting maps, and the actual information regarding the real life escape from Alcatraz made this puzzle even more fun. I enjoyed it very much, and would love to do the others in the series if we’re able to find them. Thumbs up for the Mythic Mazes! 👍

Review: Dream Cottage Retreat

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviewsLeave a comment
This post is sponsored by Puzzle Warehouse. 
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Dream Cottage Retreat by Cra-Z-Art – Kodak (Lafayette Puzzle Factory) – 1000 pieces

Dream Cottage Retreat is a gorgeous puzzle! Several family members commented on it while I was assembling it, that isn’t something that usually happens around here. They all said how colorful and pretty it was and I agree. 🙂

This was my first experience with Kodak, according to Puzzle Warehouse they are manufactured by Lafayette Puzzle Factory. I was impressed with the overall quality although I did have some minor issues. There were several sets of pieces that weren’t fully separated; this is not a major issue as it’s easy enough to separate them without damage to the pieces. There were, however, 3 sets of pieces that weren’t cut completely through and couldn’t be separated without damage. Both of these issues are most likely the result of the puzzle being the end of the run when the die isn’t as sharp. This didn’t lessen my enjoyment of the puzzle, and the overall quality of this puzzle was very good. The pieces are a good thickness and fit together well, if somewhat loosely. The image reproduction especially is excellent and looking at the other puzzles in the series, the images they’ve chosen look to be amazing as well. Click on the link to see all the Kodak Premium Puzzles in stock now at Puzzle Warehouse.

This was a random cut puzzle, which I find is a nice change every once in a while. It takes my brain a few minutes to make the switch, I solve these puzzles differently than grid cut. It’s good exercise for my brain, keeps me on my toes! Being random cut, some of the pieces of this puzzle seemed quite small, so if fine motor skills or eyesight is an issue it’s something to consider.

I love cottage/cabin puzzles, they are what the British would call “chocolate box” puzzles. I had to look it up, but it means an image or picture that is pretty in a idealized or conventional way. They seem pretty ideal to me; places that I would love to go, or a cottage that would be my dream getaway. Wouldn’t it be lovely to sit in the gazebo with a puzzle on a beautiful summer day?

I enjoyed this assembly, and it went quicker than most 1000 piece puzzles for me. It was hard to stop working on it to do all those annoying life things like eating, walking, etc. As always, I come back to my puzzling – it keeps me sane. ☺

Details:

  • Title:                  Dream Cottage Retreat
  • Artist:                Cra-Z-Art
  • Brand:               Kodak (Lafayette Puzzle Factory)
  • Piece count:     1000 pieces
  • Size:                  Approx. 19 x 27 in. (50 x 68 cm)
  • Purchased:      n/a

Quality:

  • Board:               Very good
  • Cutting:             Fair
  • Image:               Excellent
  • Box:                   Very good, small and square
  • Fit:                     Good, somewhat loose
  • Puzzle Dust:     Small amount
  • Piece cut:          Random cut
  • Piece shapes:   Very good variety
  • Finish:               Slightly shiny finish, lays flat

Overall Rating:      Very good, 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.