Tag: Jigsaw Puzzles

Rainbow Pets

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles4 Comments

Rainbow Pets by Myrna – Sure Lox/TCG – 500 pieces

Adorable as this image is, it wasn’t entertaining to assemble. Thin pieces, somewhat loose fit, shiny finish – it just wasn’t good quality and not the image I was looking to assemble. (My youngest son picked it out for me, and I assembled it to make him happy, ’cause I try to be a good mom.) The nicest thing I can tell you about this puzzle is that it wasn’t horrible quality, I’ve done way worse.

The odd thing about this puzzle was the fit. It seemed quite loose at the beginning when not many pieces were assembled, but the more the were added it seemed to get better. That sounds stupid, I know; almost all puzzles get better as more pieces are added – but this was very different. The edges seemed to barely connect and would come apart if disturbed by an accidental touch; if a small section was put together it was almost impossible to pick up and move without great care. But once you had a large section assembled it seemed to be an excellent fit. It was bizarre.

If I had wanted to (I didn’t) I almost could have taken a picture of it standing up when it was completed. It wasn’t great, almost crumbling, but it did stand up on it’s end – though not for long enough to actually get a picture before it fell apart.

Anyone know for sure what animal this is? I don’t. Gerbil? Hamster? Guinea Pig? Other?

If you like the look of this puzzle I have bad news for you, this puzzle is definitely not recommended.

Most Everyone is Mad

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles6 Comments

Most Everyone is Mad by Dean MacAdam – Ravensburger – 1000 pieces

This puzzle was even more enjoyable than I’d anticipated, which is always a fun revelation. There’s something about Dean MacAdam’s artwork, it makes for such fantastic puzzling – I haven’t been disappointed yet. 😍

The quality was excellent, my only issue was the amount of puzzle dust. I emptied the pieces out into my colander to start sorting, folded up the bag they came in to throw it away and got a HUGE poof of dust right in the face. Not only that, the amount of dust that ended up in the box after sorting was crazy; not the usual amount for a Ravensburger in my experience. I joked about snorting puzzle dust a couple of years ago, let me tell you – it ain’t fun!

I’m not sure why, but the look of these flowers made me very happy and they were the first characters I put together.

The Mad Hatter here was more difficult to find and assemble than I thought he would be. Most of the pieces for him had such small bits that it was hard to know what I was looking at. (Except the sparkly purple hat, that was pretty easy to locate)

I didn’t even notice until the entire puzzle was assembled that there were symbols for each suit in a deck of card carved into the tree around the Cheshire Cat. The heart at the top was noticeable, but I didn’t register that the others were suits until the whole picture was finished. *I’ve lightened up the color a bit so it’s easier to see the suits*

This puzzle was a joy to assemble, it is highly recommended. 👍🐛👍

My Favorite Color

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles10 Comments

My Favorite Color by Velvet Spectrum – Buffalo – 300 pieces

Boy, was I wrong about this puzzle – it was much easier than I anticipated, but not so easy as to be boring. It was such a good time! I started in the morning and was finished pretty quickly before midday. Great quality, beautiful image with such striking color – I absolutely loved it.💜

Started with the solid (ish) colors around the edges and worked in toward the center with the words. It wasn’t even close to as hard as I thought it would be. But it kept me absorbed and focused, and I ended up with this gorgeous image to share with you all. 💟

I can’t think of much else to tell you other than if you think you might enjoy this puzzle you should go for it. It was lots of fun and it’s so darn pretty!

Choose Joy

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles12 Comments

Choose Joy – MicroPuzzles – 150 pieces

Is this not an adorable image? It’s just too cute! The middle bit went together pretty quickly and easily, but the blue background and the edges themselves were much more difficult than anticipated. Still, challenging puzzles can be highly entertaining – and this one was.

This image is part of the Puzzle Pandas Kindness Collection from MicroPuzzles; you are encouraged to pay it forward and share this puzzle with someone else when you have completed it. Puzzle Pandas was started during the pandemic as a way to show kindness by sharing puzzles in your community. It’s a way to upcycle your puzzles and give someone an unexpected pick me up in the form of a free puzzle. You can check out the Puzzle Pandas website by clicking the link.

Rather than leaving this little test tube somewhere in my community, I’ve decided to give it away here on the blog, where I know whomever receives it will (hopefully) enjoy it. I know these small puzzles aren’t for everyone, but I hope there’s someone among my readership who will enjoy assembling this adorable little puzzle and perhaps pass it along in their community once they’ve completed it to keep the joy going.

So, if this looks like something you might want to assemble, you can enter the drawing by leaving a comment on this post. Each comment will be numbered and the random number generator will pick the winner on October 11, 2023. It doesn’t matter where in the world you live, you can enter the drawing.

Good luck! Happy puzzling my friends!

Vintage Halloween

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles6 Comments

Vintage Halloween by Finchley Paper Arts – Bits and Pieces – 500 pieces

My apologies for the cockeyed picture, I have no idea what was wrong with me today when I took it. I normally check to be sure I’ve got a good picture before I disassemble the puzzle, but it seems I was in a hurry and took it apart before making sure. Please forgive the wonky image.

Good quality puzzle, though very shiny. I didn’t care for the triangular piece shapes; my thought was that I’d get used to it as the puzzle went on, but unfortunately that didn’t happen. I was forever being stumped and confused by the way everything connected. I’ve worked puzzles with a wide variety of different and unusual shapes and have enjoyed them all – until this puzzle with it’s oddly shaped triangular pieces. These shapes just aren’t my pile of pieces.

My first Halloween puzzle of the season, and honestly I’m surprised I remembered to get it going to have it ready in the queue. Yay me and my aging, menopausal brain!

These are a few of my favorite sections, although the artwork in each one was beautiful in it’s own way. The time and attention that went into making these images still impresses me. If these are actually vintage (and they look as if they are) there weren’t computers or AI to make these for the artist, they were each painstakingly drawn/painted. *If they’re not actually old and just made to look like it – forget what I just said.

Do I sound like an old person, pining for the ways of yesteryear? Well, it seems I am an old person now, things seemed much simpler even just ten years ago. Sigh.

Happy Halloween season everyone! 🦇👻