(What If #10) The Birthday

On November 12, 2017July 26, 2023 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw PuzzlesLeave a comment

Another puzzle where I don’t show the whole image, it’s more fun when you get to figure it out for yourself! I loved this puzzle, it was relaxing and so good at helping me relieve stress. More and more these days I seem to need my puzzles to help me stay calm and get rid of some anxiety, there’s only so much pharmaceuticals can do. 😉

I adore the Ravensburger What If and the Jumbo Wasgij series. The image on the box is only a clue to what the puzzle image is, you have to figure it out as you puzzle along. I find that I pay more attention when I assemble these types of puzzles, you can’t figure out where things fit into the image by just checking the box top!

All the What If puzzles are illustrated by Geoff Tristram, who seems to have exactly my sense of humor. The images are precise and detailed and always full of fun, artists like Mr. Tristram are the reason I fell in love with cartoon puzzles. In this edition, the box shows our hero Derek’s dream birthday dinner – the puzzle is what happens if the champagne is a little too lively. As usual, chaos is the result! 🙂

If you haven’t tried a Wasgij or What If puzzle, I highly recommend giving it a go. You use your brain differently I think, and it’s a very nice challenge. What If…..you ended up loving it??

Tudor Portraits

On November 11, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles2 Comments

Portrait of an Unknown Lady (French School) – Past Times – 500 pieces

Isn’t this a lovely puzzle image? I think so, and there’s another image on the back; although he’s not as pretty as she is. Mom and I don’t usually do fine art puzzles, but this beauty spoke to me and I just had to assemble it on our puzzle/visit day. It seems as if there have been more double-sided puzzles in my orbit lately, and I’m really enjoying them. Plus, there’s the added bonus of being able to flip it over and use the opposite image for help with assembly. (When we got down to only black background on the Unknown Lady, we were able to flip it and use the wording along the edge of The Earl to help us finish! 😉 )

Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester by Nicholas Hilliard

I loved assembling this puzzle with mom, we had a great time. The images are so different from what we normally puzzle, it made it a little more interesting for us. I still love my cartoon and collage puzzles, but there’s nothing wrong with switching things up every now and then to keep it fresh. I’ve learned from reviewing puzzles that I can’t always tell whether or not a puzzle will be an entertaining assembly. Many times I’m surprised by how much I enjoy puzzling an image that I would not normally choose for myself.

It was a bit of a challenge with all the darkness on both sides, but we got there in the end. The pieces were of a good thickness and fit together well. (It wasn’t difficult to lift and flip over) I’ve found it’s nice to have a friend to help when you’re working on a more challenging image, I’m less likely to give up or become frustrated if there’s someone sitting next to me working on it too. Plus, every piece they put in is one less you have to look through, right? And there’s no one better for me to assemble puzzles with than my mom – she’s the best!

My puzzle “dealer” always find the most interesting and different puzzles to feed our addiction. We’re very lucky to have so many thrift stores in our area, and even when there are slim pickings they usually have at least a puzzle or two that looks like fun. I try not to take it for granted, I know many places don’t have thrift stores/charity shops; we’re certainly fortunate to have so many close by!

Review: Dream

On November 10, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews4 Comments

Dream by Sascalia – Remarks – 250 pieces

I was shocked by the quality of this puzzle; it’s the first 250 piece Re-marks puzzle that I’ve done, and the quality was very very good. Such a pleasant surprise! This was a quick assembly, but fun and relaxing – perfect for a lazy afternoon.

I haven’t done a puzzle from this artist before, I like the image very much. Looking around online I see that there’s a whole series of 250 piece Re-marks puzzles by Sascalia. I like the looks of them. 🙂 Here’s hoping we find more of them in the thrift stores!

The pieces were about the same thickness as a Ravensburger puzzle, and had the waxy sort of feel of a Jumbo or Gibsons puzzle. I was definitely not expecting such lovely pieces! I’ve done several Re-marks puzzles, and their pieces are a good thickness, but I’ve never had any of this thickness, or with the same finish. Excellent image reproduction and fit, and just all around wonderful quality. The image is lovely and perfect for puzzling, I enjoyed it very much!

Details:

Title: Dream
Artist: Sascalia
Brand: Re-marks
Piece count: 250 pieces
Size: Approx. 11 x 14 in. (28 x 36 cm)
Purchased: New, thrift store unopened

Quality:

Board: Excellent
Cutting: Excellent
Image: Very good
Box: Average, small and square
Fit: Very good, can lift entire puzzle in one piece
Puzzle Dust: Small amount
Piece cut: Grid cut
Piece shapes: Good variety
Finish: Matte finish, lays flat

Overall Rating: Very good, highly recommended

Perpetual Puzzles Pesky Parrots

On November 9, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles3 Comments

Awesome puzzle in a puzzle by The Lagoon Group! There are 36 parrots, 18 facing one direction and 18 facing the opposite. There are several ways to assemble it according to the box. The first way that we tried was the picture above. Make a 6 x 6 “square” where no parrot is touching another parrot of the same color. Not really difficult to do, but the pieces were so fun to work with!

The pieces are extremely thick and the colors are bright and fun. Mom and I didn’t take long to assemble this first puzzle, but we enjoyed it all the same. 🙂

Onward to the next solution….

In this picture is the same “square” 6 x 6 puzzle with no parrot touching another of the same color AND any beaks and feet that touch cannot be the same color. This solution took a little bit more time, and I almost let it beat me; but actually my dad stepped in and moved a few pieces for us! 😮 Puzzles aren’t his thing at all, and he never works puzzles with us – but for some reason he wanted to help with this one. Yay dad!!!

The last way to assemble it is called “Desktop Diversion”, place the pieces however you want, in any order or any shape. You could make a long line of the pieces or an interesting mosaic – it’s all up to you! A lovely way to clear your head and relieve stress if you ask me.

There were at least five different puzzles in this series by Makoto Nakamura, I’d love to find them all! There are Canine Capers, Brilliant Beetles, Lively Lizards, Feline Frenzy, and Pesky Parrots. It doesn’t look like they’re still being produced, but hopefully we find more of them, I loved it!

Dear God, Friends are Forever

On November 8, 2017March 10, 2020 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles2 Comments

This is an extremely adorable kid’s puzzle found at the thrift store. There were 3 there from the same series, we still have 2 of them to assemble. I love the artwork, but it makes for a much more challenging puzzle than it seems!

The quality was fair/average; the pieces were a little thin and there was some image lift. The fit was very nice, however, and the image reproduction was crisp and clear.

I’m looking forward to assembling the remaining 2 of these puzzles next time I’m hanging out at mom’s house. Although after putting this one together, we didn’t really want to do the next 2 right away; I think we got our egos a little bruised because it was more challenging than we thought! Some days we assemble all the kid’s puzzles she’s found so we can get them out of the house and donate them. We’ve done more than 5 puzzles in one day, sometimes including a 300 or 500 piece!