Paying the Price!

On June 9, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw PuzzlesLeave a comment

Another fun Wasgij, haven’t found one yet that wasn’t fun to assemble. They’re different and challenging and funny, and I have enjoyed the assembly of every single Wasgij that I’ve done.

This was a Destiny puzzle, the box shows a scene from a certain time, and you have to puzzle what the scene would look like now. The box for this puzzle shows a gas (petrol) station back in the good old days when there were attendants that pumped the gas, checked your oil, cleaned the windows, etc. So what would that same place look like today with our newfangled cars and automated pumps? Is the mechanic’s garage different? And how about the small convenience store?

As usual, things are very different, and pretty funny. It’s always entertaining for me to start assembling and try to figure out what will be different and what remains the same. How does that young man on the box look now – will he be balding with a paunch? The results are usually even better than my imagination.

The usual excellent Jumbo quality, and an it always makes me want to do another Wasgij right away. The feel of the pieces and the way they fit together makes for a great tactile experience and I always find myself running my hands across the puzzle, especially when I’m concentrating.

It’s the 20th anniversary of the Wasgij puzzles this year, and I have barely put a dent in the catalog of available puzzles. I still have a stack about 5 feet tall in my closet of Wasgij puzzles yet to be assembled. I’m working on them one at a time and thoroughly enjoying every single one! 🙂

Think Spring

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

It’s funny about random cut puzzles, I did this one immediately after the Springbok Monday’s Child puzzle. The Springbok puzzle was so difficult because it was all basically cream colored and random cut. It was so hard to figure out what piece I was looking for. But this puzzle was no problem at all even though it’s random cut too. This one had different colors and textures to help out and it didn’t seem difficult to me at all. I guess it’s all about the picture. 🙂

This was one of the better Bits and Pieces puzzles I’ve done in a while. The fit was very nice and the pieces clicked together instead of just sitting next to each other like in some puzzles. I hate that! There were one or two pieces that just sat next to each other until you found and adjacent piece that connected them, but for the most part they were all connected.

I think the simplicity of this image is part of what made it relaxing for me. Sometimes with an intricate or busy puzzle there’s too much to see and look for, but this one was just a simple image and I found it relaxing and fun to assemble. It’s not an image I would look at in a catalog or on a website and necessarily want to purchase, but it was an excellent assembly anyway. I think a lot of the time when you’re holding the box in your hand your perception is different than when you’re looking at a website or catalog. This is why mom and I need to take a trip to St. Louis to Puzzle Warehouse. 😎 Although I may need to save up more money before we go, it could end up being extremely pricey!

Thank goodness for thrift stores, mom finds the coolest stuff there and buys things I might not necessarily buy, but they end up being the most fun to assemble. Thrift store puzzles rock! (Mom rocks too!)

P****d as a Newt

On June 6, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw PuzzlesLeave a comment

Alljigsawpuzzles.com is where I purchase most of my European made puzzles, you can click that link to check them out. Their prices are excellent, the shipping is VERY fast and shipping is free when you order $75 worth of puzzles. (Getting free shipping usually isn’t something I have to worry about 😉 )

Lately I’ve been trying to order at least one puzzle from a company I haven’t tried before every time I place an order. I’ve been looking at these Party Animals by Mike Jupp and wanting to try them but I didn’t have any idea what the quality would be like. I’ve never seen a puzzle store/distributor that also sells their own puzzles. Interesting! This Party Animals collection finally tipped the scales for me and I jumped in with both feet and just ordered them all – there was a special. Normally I would only order one from a new company so I can check out the quality before I lay down any more cash. But these puzzles were too adorable and funny (and on sale if you bought all 4) so I went for it. I make no apologies. 😎

I was very impressed with the quality! The image reproduction is gorgeous – bright and sharp with a matte finish that feels good in your hands. The pieces are about the same thickness as Heye puzzles, and sturdy too, with a nice variety of piece shapes. They fit together well and the piece shapes aren’t glaringly obvious in the finished puzzle. I’m glad I bought them all and can’t wait to do the other three Party Animals. They have Drunk as a Skunk, Blind as a Bat, and High as a Kite. Drunken animals everywhere!

I enjoyed this puzzle very much and I would definitely recommend it. Mike Jupp’s artwork is crisp and funny and detailed, and just a great puzzle image. Butterflies, lily pads and liquor bottles everywhere break up the water and greenery and the assembly was never tedious. Loved it! 🙂

Legendary Landmarks

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

Another fun thrift store find! Circular puzzle with the top in the center and the bottom around the entire circumference , so every seat around the puzzle is a good one. 🙂

I like the concept of this puzzle brand, they make round table puzzles like this one and 4 fronts puzzles where the bottom is around the entire edge. According to their website “Now everyone gets the best seat around the puzzle”. They have some beautiful round and square puzzles, and a whole range of educational geography puzzles as well.

The quality was quite good – the pieces were sturdy and feel thick with a good variety of shapes, the image reproduction was very nice with no image lift, and the fit was excellent. I was pretty impressed with the quality and am always happy when I find another company whose puzzles I’m happy to do!

This was a fun puzzle that mom and I did together. It was easy to pick out pieces for one or two landmarks and turn the puzzle so that we were each working on the one in front of us. It took us only one afternoon to complete and it was very entertaining. I love it when a thrift store puzzle makes us happy and we get to spend time together working on a puzzle. ❤

A New Bad Boy In Town!

On June 2, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzling4 Comments

the-new-biggest-puzzle-in-the-world-travel-around-the-world-jigsaw-puzzle-48000-pieces-59033-1-fs — The New World’s Largest Puzzle!

Well look what I found wandering the web looking at jigsaw puzzles! This new puzzle is manufactured by a French company – Grafika, will be available in September of 2017, and will be 48,000 pieces!! 😮 I was sure Educa would be the next world’s largest! It seems I’m rarely right about anything these days. If my math is correct the price of this bad boy is 510 US dollars (395.99 British Pounds) Oh my.

The new puzzle is called Travel Around the World, and represents countries on every continent. The completed puzzle will measure 26.77 x 6.30 feet (8.16 x 1.92 meters). Apparently the puzzle will be delivered in a wooden box with wheels to haul the 55 pounds (25kg) of puzzle pieces! There are 24 separate bags of 2000 pieces each. It also comes with 2 posters of the puzzle image, and a poster showing a map of the world with the locations of the individual puzzle images.

The purists will say it’s not really a 48,000 piece puzzle unless you mix all the bags. I’m sure the purists are lovely people, but they should also try not to stomp on the feelings of others who might enjoy doing large piece puzzles in sections. Just my opinion. I say, if it makes you happy to mix the bags, go for it. I also say, if you want to do the puzzle in sections and still say you’ve completed the puzzle, go for it, and way to go! When my 40,320 piece puzzle is all laid out and connected I would like for someone to try and say something snarky about how I didn’t REALLY put together a 40,320 piece puzzle. I walk with a cane. It’s sturdy, and metal. Just saying. 😇

I’ve never heard of or tried Grafika, and haven’t seen any reviews of their puzzles either. Makes me want to get at least one of their puzzles to try it out and see what I think of the brand. Has anyone else tried this brand? I’d love to hear from you if you have.

I gotta admit, I’m super tempted! I still have 2 weeks to go before we assemble the current World’s Largest Jigsaw Puzzle and I know once I see it all laid out like that it’s gonna make me want to do the next one too! I should just cool my heels, find a Grafika puzzle and try it out and see how I feel about it, right?

I like the look of this one too! Help! I think I may have a problem. I still have no idea what’s going to happen to the Disney puzzle. *sigh*