Tag: Jigsaw Puzzles

Review: Santa’s Highway

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviewsLeave a comment
This post is sponsored by Puzzle Warehouse. 
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Santa’s Highway by Jim Todd – Sunsout – 1000 pieces

Santa’s Highway is a great shaped puzzle from Sunsout. It was so much fun that it went together more quickly than normal for a 1000 piece puzzle. Another puzzle for Christmas in July! 🎅🤶

While I’m not a big fan of the way Sunsout rectangular puzzles fit together, their shaped puzzles are altogether different. The fit of their rectangular puzzles is very tight and you have to work at putting two pieces together – really press down on them. The shaped puzzles they produce fit together differently and I enjoy the fit much more. Sunsout has an excellent catalog of shaped puzzles, click the link above to see Sunsout puzzles available at Puzzle Warehouse.

Sunsout quality is very good in my opinion. The pieces are thick and sturdy and fit together well with a random cut that gives you a wide variety of piece shapes. The image reproduction is excellent with a slightly shiny finish that can cause glare under lights. Their boxes are large and square with the name of the puzzle, artist, and manufacturer along with the piece count on all four sides – making it easy to shelve either vertically or horizontally.

The finished puzzle is 27 x 32 in. (68 x 81 cm) which is an impressive size! It’s one thing to read the number and have an idea in your head of how big it is, and it’s another thing to actually see it. It definitely makes a statement, and would look amazing framed – or even better, glued and mounted on foam backing that is cut to fit the shape. It would make more of a statement in it’s highway sign shape I think. This puzzle is part of The Highway Series by Jim Todd – gorgeous puzzles shaped like highway signs with scenes from along the route; they’d make a great wall hanging for a car enthusiast or frequent traveler! Click the link above to see all the Highway Series puzzles and others from this artist available at Puzzle Warehouse.

Santa’s Highway went together quickly as it was easy to pull out sections to assemble. Unlike rectangular puzzles it isn’t as easy to start a shaped puzzle with the edge. I started with the cactus and reindeer flying across the moon, then moved on to the map and pictures. One after another each section went into place quickly because it was so much fun to assemble that I couldn’t leave it alone! Also, I loved how the edge looks beveled; it makes the puzzle even more striking and distinctive. I had a great time with it and am now looking at getting Lincoln Highway from this series to assemble next – it has gorgeous scenes from Historic Pennsylvania Highway 30. Another one added to my wish list, which is getting quite large! 😉

This puzzle was a wonderfully entertaining assembly and I enjoyed it from start to finish! If you enjoy Christmas or shaped puzzles, or even want to give shaped puzzles a try I highly recommend Santa’s Highway. Two thumbs way up! 👍🎄👍

 

I received this product at no charge in return for an honest review, all opinions are truthful and 100% my own.

 

Shells of the South Atlantic Coast

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment
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Shells of the South Atlantic Coast – Heritage Puzzles – 550 pieces

Another interesting thrift store find, and a very nice puzzle! There’s something unusual and fun about this image, for me at least, and I wanted to do it right away when I saw it!

Another new company for me to try, Heritage Puzzles. They specialize in coastal and nature puzzles, it’s a very interesting catalog! The pieces of this puzzle were very nice and I was impressed with their overall quality. I’d love to do more of their puzzles, here’s hoping we find more at the thrift stores. 🙂

The pieces were thick and sturdy and feel good in your hand, there were a nice variety of piece shapes, and they fit together quite well. The finish was matte and didn’t cause glare, and the image reproduction was sharp and detailed. All in all, an excellent quality puzzle.

If you read this blog regularly you know I love having words to assemble, I have no explanation for why this is; all I know is I love it when there are a bunch of words to put together, and I almost always start with them. There were PLENTY of words here and that’s part of the reason this puzzle was so much fun for me, plus I got to learn the names of many, many shells. King Helmet, Finger Sponge, Leafy Jewelbox, Minor Jackknife and lots more. The most challenging part of this puzzle was the edge, almost every piece was entirely white. 😮

Great puzzle that I enjoyed very much, if you find a Heritage Puzzle with an image you like I definitely recommend giving it a try!

Polar Bear Plunge

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment
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Polar Bear Plunge by Michael Searle- Sunsout – 63 pieces

Another fun kid’s puzzle, and the first I’ve done from Sunsout. I thought it was very good quality! With the temperatures around here lately it was nice to think about a brisk plunge into chilly water to escape this oppressive heat. 🙂

The pieces were extremely sturdy and a good size for kids and they fit together very well. For some reason it looks like the puzzle didn’t lay flat in the picture, but it did. I’m not a photographer, I just do the best I can. The image reproduction was nice and crisp, with beautiful colors. The box is very large for only a 63 piece puzzle, though it’s been my experience that most Sunsout boxes are larger than the norm. All around a very nice kid’s puzzle!

I’m enjoying assembling all these thrift store kid’s puzzles. It’s fun to put one together in only a few minutes, and I’m enjoying checking out the quality of so many different brands. I think all kids should do jigsaw puzzles, it’s a great activity for your brain! Mom finds so many amazing puzzles at the thrift stores, it’s a cost-effective way of trying out different brands – or for keeping up with the demands of a child who loves puzzles!

 

Review: Puppies in a Basket

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviewsLeave a comment
This post is sponsored by Puzzle Warehouse.  
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Puppies in a Basket by Susan Brabeau – Ravensburger – 500 pieces

Puppies in a Basket is an adorable 500 piece puzzle from Ravensburger – my favorite puzzle company! Click the link above to see all the puzzles available from this manufacturer at Puzzle Warehouse. Their catalog is large and varied, and there’s something for everyone – from 10 pieces to the world’s largest puzzle at 40,320 pieces! (I don’t want to brag too much, but the 40,320 piece puzzle?–I did that! 😎 )

This puzzle full of puppy cuteness was an entertaining assembly from start to finish! The pieces for this 500 piece puzzles are little bigger than their average pieces, which I enjoy. They feel good in your hands and make for a nice size finished puzzle.

Ravensburger pieces are about the nicest, most premium pieces on the market and they are what I compare all other puzzles to. The fit is excellent and their “softclick technology” makes it so that you know when you’ve found the correct piece and the finished puzzle is absolutely smooth. The variety of piece shapes is excellent and makes for a fun puzzling experience. Their quality is exceptional in my opinion and I never hesitate to purchase a Ravensburger puzzle because I know I’ll be getting wonderful quality.

The artwork by Susan Brabeau feels homey and warm, and is an excellent image for puzzling. There are plenty of different colors and textures to help with assembly, and enough sameness so that it isn’t so easy that it’s boring. Susan’s artwork is nostalgic and beautiful and has been made into many puzzles by several different manufacturers. Click the link above to see all the puzzles available from this artist at Puzzle Warehouse.

These puppies made for a fun puzzle that was quick to put together. I started with the light blues of the window frame and pillow, and then assembled the basket. It was easy to pick out colors or textures to assemble without having to check the box image for reference; the quilt was fun with some repeating fabrics and colors. An excellent puzzle that made me smile every time I looked at it. The picture still makes me smile. 🙂

Dogs (especially puppies) are a popular puzzle image – who can resist all that sweet cuteness? I sure can’t! Unfortunately this puzzle is no longer available, but with almost 20 pages of dog puzzles to choose from at Puzzle Warehouse you’re sure to find an adorable four-legged friend to puzzle with. 🙂

 

I received this product at no charge in return for an honest review. All opinions expressed are truthful and 100% my own.

 

 

 

Glen Canyon

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment
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Glen Canyon – Bela Baliko (America’s Parks Collections) – 1000 pieces

Another new puzzle company we’ve tried! This isn’t our usual puzzle, mom and I prefer cartoon puzzles and collages, but this one was pretty, it was a thrift store purchase, and the pieces were so nice!

The Bela Baliko quality was good-ish. Beautiful image reproduction with nice, thick pieces and no hanging bits of paper or puzzle dust. On the downside, the fit was unusually loose, probably the loosest fit we’ve worked with. The slightest brush with your hand or arm and the pieces were upset. That seems to be happening a lot lately with the new companies we’ve tried. Perhaps it was just the end of the run, I’ve only worked the one puzzle from Bela Baliko so I can’t judge their entire catalog by this single puzzle. I’m just saying how this one was to assemble.

Mom and I assembled this puzzle over several days. It wasn’t too difficult, but could be tedious at times as there was quite a bit of rock that was the same color. Still, it makes for a lovely image and it was fun to try a new company. And you can’t beat the price – 69 cents! 😎