Review: Great Americans

On September 12, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviewsLeave a comment

This post is sponsored by Puzzle Warehouse.

Great Americans by James Mellett – White Mountain – 1000 pieces

It’s a complete coincidence that this was the puzzle that ended up being the one for review today – but a good thing. After the weekend we’ve had dealing with Hurricane Irma, and then the anniversary of 9-11 it seems like we need something uplifting. So it’s a good day to remember some of the great Americans that have helped to make this country a better place to live. ❤

Great Americans was an entertaining puzzle to assemble, and to be honest it led me to an internet search for the meanings and differences between collage and montage. Long story, and to be honest I don’t know that I fully grasp the difference. So whether you call this a montage or a collage I have no idea. Whichever it is though, I had a good time assembling it. 🙂

White Mountain Puzzles have some of the best collages in the industry in my opinion and I always enjoy assembling them. They’re hard for me to walk away from because one section or person always leads to assembling the adjoining one. They have an excellent catalog with collages for many tastes, along with fine art, educational puzzles and much more. Check out all of their puzzles available now at Puzzle Warehouse by clicking the link above.

They have larger pieces than most companies and their 1000 piece puzzles are quite large at 24 x 30 inches (61 x 76 cm) so be sure your work space is roomy enough before you start. There was a medium amount of puzzle dust in the bag, but all the pieces were separated with no damage. The pieces are a good thickness with a good variety of piece shapes and fit together very well. The image reproduction is bright and colorful with a matte finish to prevent glare. The name of the puzzle, manufacturer, piece count and a portion of the image is on all 4 sides.

This isn’t the typical collage that I like to assemble. I prefer the actual pictures or products rather than drawings. Although it’s not my taste it was still fun to assemble. It was an interesting puzzle and the assembly sucked me in; I found it hard to stop working at times. There are so many people to assemble and identify, it’s an extra little workout for your brain! You’ll find politicians, athletes, entertainers, authors, captains of industry, and many more. How many will you recognize?

The artwork is by James Mellett, whose collection of puzzles are amazingly detailed, informative, and very interesting. The amount of work that must go into each image he creates is impressive! His subjects include pop culture, sports, maps, and celebrities. And if you have any trouble recognizing anyone or anything in his puzzles, they have a page on the White Mountain website with the keys to his puzzles. Although they haven’t yet put up a key for this puzzle. 😐 Click to see all the James Mellett puzzles available at Puzzle Warehouse right now.

Great Americans was an entertaining assembly that had me guessing on a few people I wasn’t sure of. It was fun to work the puzzle while trying to identify everyone shown – I knew most of them but not all. (I’m hoping they put up the puzzle key soon!) It’s a great puzzle if you enjoy pop culture, history, collages, America, or even just a great image. Recommended 👍

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

Prehistoric Cave

On September 11, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

**This is a guest review – Stacey’s daughter here**

Hurricane Irma has us holed up in the house, waiting impatiently for her to pass through. While the men have spent the time watching movies, the ladies have been working on different puzzles. While my mother and grandmother are working on a 2000 piece puzzle, I asked for a smaller one to complete. Out of the two 100 pieces that she currently had, I chose this one for the colors and subject. Who doesn’t like dinosaurs?

This puzzle was enjoyable and only took around 30 minutes to complete. The pieces were sturdy, well constructed and fit together well. With it being a circular puzzle, there are random cuts throughout which kept me guessing whether I needed one or two pieces in certain areas. The only downside I could see was that they were very glossy, which required you to assemble the puzzle at a slight angle to be able to really see the images on the pieces. The colors were both bright and muted; the dinosaurs themselves were very vivid, while the scenery was calm and cooling. I would most definitely purchase this brand again!

Cat’s Got Mail

On September 7, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

The large piece Ravensburger puzzles are so good! This is a 300 piece puzzle and the finished image is VERY big – 27 x 20 inches! (70 x 50 cm) That’s the average size of a 1000 piece puzzle. 😮 It’s quite impressive looking and feels like a big accomplishment!

I enjoyed the difficulty level of this puzzle, it was a bit of a challenge and took me longer than a 300 piece would normally take. Not too easy, not too hard – it was just right! I typically don’t do cat puzzles, but I enjoyed this one very much. Mom’s been finding some awesome images at the thrift stores lately and they’ve been so fun to work.

I am having a great time with the smaller piece puzzles. Maybe it’s because I spent the better part of 6 months working on one enormous puzzle, I’m not sure. But I really do enjoy the smaller piece counts as well as the puzzles 1000 pieces and above. Perhaps I just love to do puzzles, no matter the size! 🙂

Cracking Castle

On September 6, 2017September 6, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

Horrible Histories are a series of books published in the UK that are designed to engage kids in history by presenting the gory, unpleasant, or unusual aspects in an amusing way. I hadn’t heard of them before, but actually they sound like a wonderful read! I’d be interested in checking them out. 😉

This puzzle reveals some of the truths about living in a castle long ago, and it’s a pretty fun assembly. The pieces are very thick and sturdy and the image reproduction is very sharp and colorful. The only problem I have with it is that the finish is extremely shiny and you can have glare on any of the pieces. Other than that minor detail, this was quite a fun puzzle that went together rather quickly. It comes with a “loathsome leaflet” filled with “foul facts” that will make you want to read the books to learn more horrible things!

Galt Toy jigsaw puzzles are mostly large floor puzzles for younger children, they do have a few 100 piece puzzles and they carry 4 puzzles from the Horrible History series. They are a UK based toy manufacturer, so it may not be easy to find more of them here in the US. I’m hoping to find more though, the quality was excellent and I love the concept. I’d love to find the Rotten Romans puzzle. 🙂

Gormiti

On September 5, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

Absolutely gorgeous colors and excellent pieces! I think this is my first 200 piece Ravensburger; quite a bummer that a piece was missing. 😒

I have found, through my extensive thrift store puzzle “research” that children’s puzzles seem much more likely to have missing pieces than adult puzzles. Children are usually a little more careless with their things – I know I certainly was as a child; it’s not really surprising when there’s a missing piece. Sometimes when the puzzle is such excellent quality it’s a bit of a downer, but those are the chances we take buying used.

I’m not familiar with the toy or tv series, but my children don’t usually watch cartoons anymore. Regardless, I loved this puzzle. Here’s hoping our next 200 piece Ravensburger has all of it’s parts. 🙂