Tag: Jigsaw Puzzles

Frenchie

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles4 Comments

Frenchie by Karen Burke – MasterPieces – 1000 pieces

I really had a good time with this one, I love the artwork by Karen Burke, and it was relatively easy with bright colors and sections that were easy to pick out and put together. The random cut makes it very interesting (at least for me) and I enjoyed it from beginning to end.

MasterPieces has impressed me very much lately, there hasn’t been any quality issues with any of the puzzles I’ve assembled. That’s rare really, at least for me. I can be quite the puzzle snob, and very exacting about what characteristics of a puzzle are important to me. The MasterPieces puzzles I’ve worked since I started back up in April have all been excellent quality all around. Either I’ve been very lucky or their puzzles are getting better – whichever it is, I’ll take it!

Everyone doesn’t love dogs as much as I do, but for those who do – how do you not love that face?! The smooshy little face just makes me want to give belly rubs and kisses!

There were a lot of flowers in this image, and they are usually difficult for me. The colors and placement of each different flower made it easier for me this time around. I might actually start liking them. 😮

Overall this puzzle was entertaining, beautiful, and excellent quality – couldn’t ask for more.

Twilight Flight

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles10 Comments

Twilight Flight by Alan Giana – MasterPieces – 300 pieces

Isn’t this a beautiful relaxing image? Wouldn’t you love to sit on the porch with an ice cold glass of lemonade just watching the swans at twilight? Sigh. I picked this one up after a doctor’s appointment, and was pleased as punch to find many different puzzles to choose from, most from MasterPieces. Since I returned to puzzling a few months ago, MasterPieces puzzles have continued to impress me with their excellent quality. I picked up several of their puzzles of 300, 500, and 1000 pieces. Excellent day of shopping!

The tightest fit that I’ve worked with in a very long time. I knew immediately when I had only put three or four pieces together that this puzzle would stand up when it was complete. Amazing fit! This would be a great puzzle for a senior center, I think the oldsters would really enjoy this one.

Pride & Prejudice

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles7 Comments

Pride & Prejudice – Professor Puzzle – 252 pieces

This adorable little puzzle was just what I needed after a challenging 1000 piece, and even though this too was a little difficult it made me happy to be able to figure it out. Double-sided puzzles can sometimes be lacking on the quality side, but not this one. I had no problems with it at all, and definitely recommend it.

Most puzzles I’ve done by Professor Puzzle have been mini or micro puzzles, this was the first one I can remember that had normal sized pieces, and I was very happy with the quality. There are a variety of shapes, they fit together well, the image reproduction is beautiful, and the second side image is just as good as the first. Overall, I wish there were more of these puzzles available close by me, I very much enjoyed this one!

I love that this looks like an actual page from an old book, the color isn’t flat, there is some yellowing that you can see – I loved it! You all know how much I enjoy putting words together, so I took it apart and put this side together without using the cover image at all. It was more difficult at the beginning, but as each piece went into place it got easier and easier. (Just think how much faster it would have gone together if I’d ever read this book before!)

I’m giving myself credit for 504 pieces, because I did this puzzle twice. I’ve done one or two other puzzles that were only words, and even though they’re always a challenge they make me happy. There are eight different puzzles in this series, all of classic books with a cover image and one page on the second side; Jane Eyre, Little Women, The Great Gatsby, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Romeo & Juliet, Alice in Wonderland, and A Christmas Carol.

Here’s hoping I can find more of them out in the wild, this one was so much fun!

Life’s A Beach

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles9 Comments

Life’s A Beach by Lars Stewart – Buffalo (Night & Day series) – 1000 pieces

This puzzle was MUCH more enjoyable than it looks, and it looks like so much fun! It was more of a challenge than I thought, but I enjoyed that; easy puzzles can be pretty boring sometimes. This was the perfect amount of difficulty for me, and as an added bonus my son helped me along the way, and at the very end he put in a lot of pieces. I love that he helps me out lately, it does an old lady’s heart good.

Great quality Buffalo puzzle, as usual. The image reproduction was gorgeous, and I was surprised at how my picture of the completed image looks pretty much exactly like the box top. Most times they don’t, the colors are a little different or duller, but this one looks like a mirror image. The fit was very nice on this puzzle as well, almost good enough to stand up but not quite there.

Is that not a gorgeous view? I loved this section and it was the very first thing I assembled after the border. I just can’t stop looking at it. 😍

Looks like a great place to spend an afternoon, doesn’t it? Drinks, pillows, a roof so the sun isn’t beating down on you – lovely. All it needs is a massage therapist (my brain doesn’t want to let me spell mah-soose at the moment – I swear I’m not an idiot, truly, I’m just old).

It isn’t an easy puzzle, but it isn’t too difficult either – it’s Goldilocks.

Great Old Ads

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles4 Comments

Great Old Ads by Lois B. Sutton – White Mountain – 1000 pieces

I had such a good time with this puzzle! I chose it because even though it is a collage, it doesn’t immediately look like it’ll be an easy one – this image has more intricate sections and some softer colors and is a little bit of a challenge – but completely worth it.

This was a very good quality White Mountain, and if I was very careful I could have gotten a picture of it standing up. The most surprising to me was the image reproduction; when there is an image with older products, ads, etc. the reproduction can many times be fuzzy and difficult to work with. The reproduction on this puzzle, however, was excellent! There were one or two sections where it seemed much less crisp than others, but that was the artwork on the ad itself rather that the reproduction. On the ads with lots of small printed text you can read every word! (If your eyes are good enough that is).

Um, do you remember hamburgers in a can?? I certainly don’t! Of course my mom made as much from scratch as she could, for no other reason than it was less expensive to make things yourself. She would take ground beef, add a package of onion soup mix, cut up green peppers and mix it all up. She made them into patties with a hamburger press she got from Tupperware or something and those were our burgers. Even though I was NOT a fan of the peppers in my burger, it seems 100 times more palatable than one out of a can!

(Thankfully mom always used green peppers, so the color was easy to spot in my burger and I picked out as many of those little buggers as I could find! Yes, I was and am THAT picky.😋)

I like this section for some reason I can’t really articulate, other than it makes me think of my childhood. We didn’t drink Borden milk, or really use any of their products that I can remember; but it still makes me smile to see this.

How adorable is this? I love the matching aprons on mom and daughter, the little candle holders on the cake that also remind me of my childhood, and the dish itself on top of the image. I have several of my mother’s Pyrex dishes and I think of her every single time they get used.

Even though this was a more challenging image than many of White Mountain’s collages, it was so entertaining that it went together in less than 24 hours. When I know there’s a fun puzzle on the board I can’t help myself and keep sneaking back to it to put in just a few more pieces…

just one more section…

just empty this one tray…

just….