Review: Einstein’s Rainbow

On November 17, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews5 Comments

Einstein’s Rainbow by Edward Kinnally – Peaceful Wooden Puzzles – 260 pieces

O M G! I had the best time with this puzzle – look at those gorgeous colors! This is the fourth wooden puzzle brand I’ve tried, and oh dear – I loved this one too! Perhaps I should start playing the lotto in the hopes of being able to afford all of these puzzles I want.

Peaceful Wooden Puzzles has a beautiful catalog of images, and I adore the selections they have from this artist – Edward Kinnally. They’re a bit challenging, but colorful and interesting and a little “trippy”. Click the link to check out their website and the artists and images available. Also, when you order from their website you can choose the type of whimsies you would like – religious, universal, or none. I chose universal, you can see them best in the picture below. There are several flowers, an owl on a tree branch, a hummingbird, dragonfly, ladybug, maybe a swan, and a beautiful lady with a parasol…..

In addition, Puzzle Warehouse also carries this brand and you can order from their website too. This would be great for making sure your order is large enough to qualify for free shipping! 🙂

It will be no surprise that I thoroughly enjoyed this puzzle, the Victorian cut of the pieces and the stellar image made for a great afternoon of puzzling. This is definitely one I’ll be doing again and again. The image is so well-adhered to the wood that it almost looks like it’s been painted on. It’s such a great puzzle, I’m pretty pleased with myself for choosing this image. Way to go me!

If you’re looking for a special gift for a puzzler in your life, I would definitely recommend checking out Peaceful Wooden Puzzles by clicking either of the links above. Beautiful puzzles!

Details:

Title: Einstein’s Rainbow
Artist: Edward Kinnally
Brand: Peaceful Wooden Puzzles
Piece count: 260 pieces
Size: Approx. 10 x 12 in. (25 x 30 cm)
Purchased: New

Quality:

Board: 1/4″ wood
Cutting: Excellent
Image: Excellent – outstanding even!
Box: Excellent
Fit: Excellent
Puzzle Dust: None
Piece cut: Victorian/whimsies/very intricate
Piece shapes: Excellent variety
Finish: Matte finish, lays flat

Overall Rating: Excellent, highly recommended

Dolphin Cove

On November 16, 2017November 16, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

I’m not normally one for ocean or jungle animals puzzles, although I’m not sure I could articulate why; they just aren’t my favorite. Still, it was a relaxing and wonderful quality puzzle – which I suppose is the point. Relaxing entertainment, right? I think I chose this one to assemble because I wasn’t feeling like my brain was working well enough to work a 1000 piece puzzle. Some days I just don’t feel like all the gray cells are firing properly. 😐

This image is bright and full of movement and color, an excellent image for puzzling. It took longer than I expected, but it wasn’t because of the image, it was my fault. Either I didn’t feel much like puzzling at the time, or I just wasn’t feeling well. Whichever was the culprit, it took me a couple of days to get this one done.

The fit was looser than normal for a Ravensburger, but it wasn’t too terrible. Although I usually take things like that with a grain of salt if it’s a thrift store purchase and I’m familiar with the brand. Good find though, and all pieces present and accounted for!

Review: Tulip Field

On November 15, 2017November 15, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews7 Comments

Tulip Field – Sibbett Studio – 363 pieces

This was the third wooden puzzle I purchased, Sibbett Studio is the manufacturer. The company is run by the Sibbett family – Peter and Jeannie, and their 4 children in Washington state. They don’t maintain a website from what I found, but you can find their puzzles on Amazon; or if you’re in the area you may find them at a local market or fair.

As you can see by the picture, Sibbett puzzles are grid cut. I have to say, it was a little bit of a bummer for me. Part of the fun of wooden puzzles has been working with the wonderfully intricate and detailed whimsies, or even just crazy piece shapes. The Sibbett puzzle I worked with had the standard 6 different piece shapes of a grid cut. Many people prefer the standard shapes rather than a random cut; I even prefer it sometimes, on a cardboard puzzle. If you’re looking to purchase a wooden puzzle and you prefer the grid cut pieces, Sibbett Studio may have the right puzzle for you.

Piece cut aside, these puzzles are very well made. They use salvaged and re-purposed cedar, white fir, and maple logs, and they also construct the boxes the puzzles are stored in! The box design is patented and contains no hardware or glue.

The heft of the pieces is lovely, and even though they’re the same 1/4″ thickness as other wooden puzzles, they feel thicker. The images are all “handmade” as well, all are photographs taken by Peter Sibbett. There are plenty of wildlife, landscapes, and nature puzzles to choose from – or they can craft a puzzle for you from your own pictures.

These are well crafted, handmade wooden puzzles. I enjoyed the assembly, although there were a few times where pieces seemed to fit where they did not go, and there was the smallest bit of image lift on one of the pieces. Still, it is a lovely image and a well made puzzle!

Details:

Title: Tulip Field
Artist: Sibbett Studio
Brand: Sibbett Studio
Piece count: 363 pieces
Size: Approx. 7.5 x 22.5 in. (19 x 57 cm)
Purchased: New

Quality:

Board: 1/4″ wood
Cutting: Excellent
Image: Very good
Box: Excellent – handmade cedar box
Fit: Good, pieces sometimes fit in wrong place
Puzzle Dust: None
Piece cut: Grid cut – no whimsies
Piece shapes: Good variety
Finish: Matte finish, lays flat

Overall Rating: Good, recommended

The Bug Collection

On November 14, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

Very nice pieces on this 100 piece kid’s puzzle, and the fit was exceptional! Nice snug fit without being too tight. This is a perfect puzzle for a little one who loves bugs and creepy crawlies. My daughter was the one of my three children who loved bugs, worms, and everything that crawled, slithered, and flew. She would have enjoyed this puzzle when she was younger. 🙂

I enjoyed the puzzle itself, but the glow was a bit of a disappointment. With all the bugs it should make an excellent glow in the dark puzzle, but even after letting it sit in the sun for a few minutes to “charge it up” there was barely any glow. Perhaps it dims with age? I’ve done so many children’s puzzles that glow in the dark, but never one that didn’t really seem to have any glow left. Bummer!

Still, a nice puzzle with enough challenge that it won’t be boring for the younger puzzlers out there. And here’s hoping if you find this puzzle that it’s still got it’s glow mojo! 😉

Review: Incidental Music for a New Year’s Eve Party

On November 13, 2017November 13, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews5 Comments

Incidental Music for a New Year’s Eve Party by Dr. Suess – Liberty Puzzles – 527 pieces

This was the most entertaining puzzle I’ve ever assembled – it was so much fun! The image, the piece shapes and that it was a wood puzzle made it wonderful. Liberty Puzzles have so many interesting images to choose from, many I’ve never seen before, like the gorgeous one above. I love Dr. Suess!

When I was choosing which puzzle to purchase, I didn’t go for a smaller puzzle to try out the brand, I gravitated toward the larger piece counts from Liberty Puzzles. On their website they have several photos of each puzzle; including one of the whimsy pieces separately, and also a view of the assembled puzzle from the back so that you can see the intricate shapes of all the pieces. The shapes are amazingly detailed and interesting and I just had to splurge on myself and get a bigger one! Click the link above to check out their beautiful puzzles and stunning piece shapes.

Liberty has a dozen images from “The Secret Art of Dr. Suess”. They work with Dr. Suess Enterprises and choose 3 images each year to turn into amazing puzzles. I couldn’t resist Incidental Music for a New Year’s Eve Party – although that name is a mouthful. I love the colors, the characters and especially the piece shapes, they’re Suess-esque!

Before I started the assembly I pulled all the whimsy pieces I could find; look at these gorgeous pieces….

I enjoyed this puzzle immensely; and I took my time because I didn’t want it to end. The feel of the pieces, the beautiful detailed shapes, the gorgeous artwork, the excellent craftsmanship – they all contributed to this being my favorite puzzle ever! Liberty Puzzles have the best whimsies in my opinion, and there are many more than I’ve seen with other companies; about 15-20% of the pieces are whimsies.

I’ve noticed that I work more slowly and carefully when assembling a wooden puzzle. It’s almost like meditation – I’m completely in the moment and focused on the piece shapes, the colors, and on enjoying the puzzle. The pieces are the sturdiest you can find, but I find that I handle them with care, almost reverently. Perhaps it’s appreciation for the detail and excellent quality, or perhaps I’m just trying to stretch out the experience and make the fun last longer – I suspect that it’s most likely both of those things.

I’m in love with Liberty Puzzles and that’s quite dangerous, because I obviously have an addictive personality. My wishlist on their site is into the thousands of dollars! 😮 I won’t be able to get them all, but I’ve worked it out that I might be able to get a few every year. There’s my birthday, and Christmas, and Mother’s Day, and…um…Happy I Love You Day – that’s a holiday, right??

Details: