Review: Baked With Love

On April 19, 2020April 19, 2020 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews, Thrift Store Puzzles2 Comments

Unfortunately I don’t have a lot of good things to say about this puzzle, other than the thickness of the pieces was very good. It’s a pretty picture I suppose, but it’s really not my cup of tea/pile of pieces. Those are all the good things.

Usually MasterPieces has good quality; in fact, the puzzle completed immediately before this one – Quilting Country – was a MasterPieces puzzle with excellent quality. This one however, perhaps because it was a special edition (The Cake Boss), was less than optimal. There was terrible cutting, imperfect image reproduction, and not a great fit.

Baked With Love 1

You can see that the cutting was not up to par. Not that the pieces weren’t cut all the way through, it looks as if the die wasn’t even and it didn’t come close to getting the whole piece cut completely through. And this happened on many pieces, not just this one.

Box Image

Actual Puzzle

You can see the color difference between the box image on the left and the actual puzzle on the right. Actually the box image flowers look much more pink than even my picture shows. It doesn’t show as much here, but there was a big difference between the color on the box and the completed puzzle. In addition, while you can see each of the petals in the box image, on the puzzle itself they are just fuzzy, indistinct blobs of color.

Again, I have found that MasterPieces puzzles are normally good quality, but this special Cake Boss edition puzzle fell below their usual standards. In my mind they’re still a company that puts out good puzzles and it won’t stop me from continuing to buy them.

But if you run across a Cake Boss puzzle from MasterPieces, be wary. Baked with Love is definitely not recommended.

Details:

Title: Baked with Love
Artist: Unknown
Brand: Masterpieces
Piece count: 500 pieces
Size: Approx. 18 x 24 in. (46 x 61 cm)
Purchased: Used, thrift store

Quality:

Board: Very good
Cutting: Poor
Image: Poor
Box: Fair, opens at the top
Fit: Fair
Puzzle Dust: Small amount
Piece cut: Random cut
Piece shapes: Very good variety
Finish: Slightly shiny finish, lays flat

Overall Rating: Poor quality, not recommended

Quilting Country

On April 17, 2020April 17, 2020 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles2 Comments

This is another thrift store puzzle that mom found for us, she got this one especially for me because she knew how much I love puzzles with quilts. I’ve had this around for probably a couple of years, and last month was when it looked like it was the right time for this puzzle. I’m glad I finally got this one done, it was lovely!

I’m still surprised at how my mind works when I’m deciding what puzzle comes next. I can purchase a puzzle new, be excited about it and look forward to putting it together, but can put it off for months or even years because it just isn’t the right time. I have to be in the right mood, but there’s no way for me to explain what constitutes the right combination of time and mood – I don’t even know! I love quilt puzzles, but for some reason it took me more than two years to get this puzzle done because the time and mood weren’t right until now. 🤷‍♀️

It’s beautiful image by Eric Dowdle and his symmetrical style makes for truly fun but challenging puzzles. The image reproduction was gorgeous, and the overall quality was very good. The offset grid cut made it a little more difficult, but it kept me engrossed and involved – keeping my mind off the stresses and frustrations of the world.

Quilting Country 1

The chicken in the mailbox made me laugh! It’s something you don’t notice when looking at the entire picture, but a closer look shows some more humor and fun.

Quilting Country 2

Love this quilt! The colors and the pattern are beautiful, but really all of the quilts are.

Quilting Country 3

If you notice there are a lot of kids eating watermelon in this image, and there are even watermelons in this quilt. Again, it’s something you don’t notice until you’re studying patterns while putting together the pieces.

I’ve always had an appreciation for quilters and their ability to combine patterns and colors in such a beautiful way. I don’t think I have the artistic chops to be able to do that, combining different fabric patterns like they do. It’s amazing to me and I wish I had that talent; I don’t, so I’ll just have to be content with assembling beautiful quilt puzzles instead. 🧩😉🧩

Air Mail

On April 16, 2020April 16, 2020 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles6 Comments

As per my usual with all collages, I adored this one. Thank goodness I stocked myself up on my beloved collages before lockdown went into effect, they make my little puzzling heart very happy. 💗

I was having a great time with the assembly from the beginning, but it started to go together a little too quickly for my taste. It wasn’t that it was too easy, it was just too much fun! So I put the box away and worked it with no reference; it made the fun last a bit longer and made me pretty proud when I finished it too.

Re-marks and White Mountain have the best catalogs of collage puzzles around in my opinion. For my money, the image reproduction is much better on Re-marks puzzles, but White Mountain has a much bigger catalog of images to choose from. They both have the occasional difficulties with quality problems with the cut and/or fit of their puzzles, but in general they are both good companies that put out good quality jigsaws. (Honestly though, unless they were complete trash I would still buy their collages, I’m hooked and they make me unbelievably happy!)

This stamp looks almost exactly like a puzzle I did about 3 years ago! All it’s missing is the wording; Woodstock was an awesome looking image, but an extremely difficult puzzle. Although, without the wording it would have been even more of a challenge.

Air Mail 2

This stamp makes me extremely happy. Not only is it very pretty, it’s my home state. I miss it sometimes, especially in the fall and at Christmastime. At the moment Michigan is being overrun with the coronavirus, so I’m praying that my family and friends still there, and really all the Michiganders remain safe and healthy.

In addition to having a great time assembling this puzzle, it led me to a tip to share with you all. Running low on puzzles? Wishing they could last longer? I stretched this puzzle out an extra day by putting away the box image and just using the pieces and colors. Don’t be afraid to make it a little more challenging, if you feel like you’re in the weeds or you’re just not enjoying it as much you can always pull out the image again. But you just might enjoy the added obstacle, you never know until you try!

Cheerios

On April 14, 2020April 14, 2020 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles6 Comments

These mini puzzles are so much fun, I’m sad that they’re coming to an end. After this one there are only two left. I don’t normally buy multipack puzzles, but this one was too much fun to resist. 🥣

The quality is much better than my last multipack of 100 piece puzzles; so far all the pieces have been there and each box contains the correct image! See? It’s possible to take care with your manufacturing and quality control and do things properly. Well done White Mountain!

Cheerios isn’t a favorite, but it’s a staple when there are small children around. They’re the perfect size for little fingers to grab and eat, it’s easy to take with you, and it is relatively healthy. When I was growing up and having cereal for breakfasts, I only liked eating Cheerios if you put sugar on it. Lots of sugar.

I know not everyone has the same palate and many people don’t care for the amount of sweetness we Americans do; but I’m here to tell you that when I put sugar on my cereal, I put SUGAR on my cereal! And when you were finished and got to the end of the bowl, there was a heap of sugar on the bottom. This was only when my mom wasn’t hanging around the breakfast table of course, if she was there she didn’t allow the pouring on of great amounts of sugar. You could put a couple of spoonfuls on, and that’s it.

This was pre-Honey Nut Cheerios of course, I’m old enough to remember a time when Cheerios only came in the original flavor. Back in the olden days there was no multi-grain, blueberry, oat crunch, or honey nut flavors – just plain old Cheerios. I must really be old!

It’s a wonder my ancient fingers are still able to pick up puzzle pieces, isn’t it?

Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas

On April 13, 2020April 13, 2020 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles2 Comments

This Vegas puzzle was purchased on one of the last puzzle shopping trips before everything shut down; there were a few 300 piece puzzles with images by Charles Fazzino, and this one jumped right out at me. It’s quite busy and full of detail, and I’m happy to report the quality was excellent.

It was very good quality for a TCG puzzle; nice thick pieces, with excellent fit and image reproduction. There was only one piece shape, which is a bit disappointing, but the image is so detailed that it didn’t make putting it together any less engrossing. The assembly was entertaining, and as someone who’s been to Las Vegas I found it great fun to see the representations of some of the Vegas landmarks and hot spots.

Fabulous Las Vegas 1

Motel with waterbeds, porno movies, 24 hour drive up weddings, slot machines – where else could you be but Vegas? 😉

Fabulous Las Vegas 2 And if you want to get out of town you can go see the Hoover Dam, or visit the Chicken Ranch – two VERY different sights to see. If you haven’t heard about The Chicken Ranch, um…. it’s a place where some “ladies of the evening” work.

Fabulous Las Vegas 3

I have a special place in my heart for Circus Circus. Mom and Dad went to Vegas when I was younger, and she talked about it a lot and told us how much fun it was. She thought it was the best place in Vegas (at least for her), and my memories of her stories still make me smile. 🙂 When I went there about 10 years ago, we stayed across the street at the Riviera, and I couldn’t wait to go to Circus Circus and see what she was talking about. It was a pretty fun place, and they had great buffets too!

Fabulous Las Vegas 4

My only problem with this puzzle was this bit at the top, where the image was ripped. It’s just an anomaly, one of those things that happens. I’m not mad or wanting my money back; it didn’t make the assembly any less fun, I still had a great time!