Bee Farm

On February 13, 2022February 11, 2022 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles4 Comments

Bee Farm by Tom Wood – SunsOut – 300 pieces

There’s something about this image. I don’t know why, but it’s just compelling. I’m not much of a SunsOut fan, but when I saw this puzzle at the thrift store I had to get it.

The puzzle itself was good quality, I loved the random cut pieces – it’s a nice change from grid cut. It takes a few minutes for my brain to catch up and remember how to look at the pieces and see how they could fit together; but it’s nice to switch things up and keep my gray matter on it’s toes, so to speak. The fit was on the loose side, but it’s a pre-loved puzzle and that’s to be expected sometimes.

The assembly didn’t take very long, and the most difficult part was the two beehives. I enjoyed it very much and it was completely worth the $1.99 I spent on it. Excellent image by Tom Wood, and it made for a great afternoon of puzzling.

Dogs

On February 11, 2022February 9, 2022 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles13 Comments

Dogs – Cavallini & Co. – 1000 pieces

Isn’t this a great image for a dog and puzzle lover like myself? I absolutely adored it and had a great time putting it together. My apologies for the glare on the picture, the shiny/slick backing made it so that I couldn’t stand my board up for a good pic of the completed puzzle – it kept trying to slide off!

This was a new company for me. All of their puzzles that I’ve seen are in tubular containers and a little more on the pricey side. The quality is good/very good; good thickness, excellent fit, good reproduction and variety of shapes. They have a nice hand feel on the front of the puzzle, but use that slick/sharp coating on the back – I am not a fan of this type of backing.

Again, my apologies for the pictures. They’re at an angle so you could see the image without glare, it isn’t optimal but it was the best I could do.

Of course if there’s a Boston Terrier I’m gonna take a close up. Actually there are two sections with Bostons in this image, this was my favorite of the two.

I mean, how cute is this? A choir of adorable dogs giving a performance – love it. 💚

Cavallini & Co. – from what I’ve seen – make good quality puzzles. I’ve only done this one so I can only speak for this puzzle specifically until I’ve done at least one more. They’re a bit on the pricey side from what I’ve seen, so unless one of their images grabs me and I HAVE to get it, I’m not sure I’ll be getting another one any time soon. Not because there’s anything wrong with them, I’m just watching my puzzle spending at the moment.

Roz*

On February 10, 2022February 9, 2022 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles4 Comments

Roz* – Brother Sister – 100 pieces

This is an unnamed puzzle, so I have christened it “Roz”. That stern face reminds me of the character Roz from Monsters, Inc. Roz here is a no nonsense kinda gal who doesn’t take crap from anybody; she’s smart and fair, but short on patience. Do what she says and no messing around!

Brother Sister Design Studio is the house brand for Hobby Lobby. I don’t shop there, but the few puzzles of theirs that I’ve done (from swaps/thrift stores) are good quality. Somewhat thin, sturdy, good reproduction and a variety of shapes. They have some great images that I’ve seen and I’ve been impressed with each of their puzzles that I’ve assembled.

Winter Wonderland

On February 8, 2022February 7, 2022 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles7 Comments

Winter Wonderland by Jen Cameron – MicroPuzzles – 150 pieces

This was one of the more difficult mini puzzles. Much more of a challenge than I thought it would be. Hubby and I both enjoyed it immensely though; there’s something about working with the small pieces, and only working a little bit at a time. So entertaining!

There is constantly a puzzle going on in our bathroom, and I love that it’s always there when I need a break from whichever puzzle is on my board. I also enjoy being able to share the assembly with my husband even though we aren’t working on it at the same time.

MicroPuzzles can sometimes have a fit that’s slightly loose, but for the most part it’s a very good fit. So much so that…..

I can do this with all their puzzles, but I thought it was time I actually took a picture of it. MicroPuzzles make excellent puzzles and I’ve enjoyed every single one of them so far.

Blacklight Bowling

On February 7, 2022February 6, 2022 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles22 Comments

Blacklight Bowling by Aimee Stewart – Buffalo – 1000 pieces

This beauty was either a Christmas or birthday present from my fellow P.A.D.S. sufferer and Aimee Stewart fan, Penny; I absolutely adored it, and am so thankful to have people in my life who help me feed the beast that is my puzzle addiction. 👹🧩👹

It was outstanding quality all around – Buffalo puzzles have almost never let me down. The fit, chipboard, piece shape, and reproduction are excellent and make for truly fun puzzles. I’m so thankful that my favorite artist licenses her work to a company that cares about it’s product; if I could only get Aimee Stewart images from Ceaco or Galison I think my poor heart would break!

Aimee and her husband Lars seem to have gone bowling with their fur baby (a Shiba Inu named Miso) – how in the world did Miso get a better score? And who programmed the computer to keep score? There is obviously a glitch somewhere; those are clearly not calculated properly.

And yes, I’m a nerd who checked to see if they were tallied correctly. 🤓