Tag: Jigsaw Puzzling

Christmas Spirit In Progress…

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzling, Thrift Store Puzzles8 Comments

Christmas Spirit by Susan Winget – Ceaco – 577 pieces

Yesterday I got a text from my puzzle pal Penny, that said “Stop the presses! Stacey has a very Christmasy/Santie Claus puzzle on her board??? Am I in the Twilight Zone?” No ma’am, it isn’t the Twilight Zone and you’re not having a stroke, I am working on my Christmas puzzles right now!

I’ve got one going in the bathroom, and this one on my board; and there are a couple of them finished already too! (You can see them on the November page if you don’t believe me – but I really did do them 😎)

This puzzle is a special edition Ceaco puzzle with a red velvet backing and whimsy pieces. Mom got it at the thrift store (she was the thrift store ninja), and it still has the sticker on it – she paid 99 cents for it! Unfortunately even though I just got started it is obvious it won’t be complete…

This lovely piece was in the box. It has obviously been chewed up by a pet; the velvet backing is gone, and the front of the piece looks like this. Sigh. Maybe it’s just me, but I think I’d rather a person just tossed this piece in the trash and didn’t put it in the box to be donated. It would be better to get to the end and realize there’s a missing piece than to find this while you’re laying out pieces and know for sure this puzzle won’t be complete. That’s just my opinion of course, but that’s how I feel.

Anyway, I won’t get much work done on this today as I’m off to deliver a birthday cake to a friend and probably spend a little time visiting. When I get back I’ll most likely be wiped out and spend the rest of the day in bed. So, I’ve got an hour or so this morning to puzzle, and then I’m off.

Happy puzzling today my friends!

Went Shopping!

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzling, Miscellaneous11 Comments

My daughter and I went shopping on Sunday, and while wandering around the store we found these two books – each with nine 96 piece puzzles inside – and even better, they were only $2.99 each!

I looked through the books and realized that even though the pieces are extremely thin (almost like cardstock) I didn’t care. The fit seems to be quite good, so even if they’re thin it shouldn’t be too difficult to assemble each one. Plus, the images on the puzzles are interesting, beautiful, and look like they would be fun to put together.

And who doesn’t smile when they think of Bob Ross? I actually used to sit and watch his show when I was younger, and was amazed at how quickly he could put together a stunningly beautiful image. He made it look so easy! And I was a rambunctious, always-on-the-go kind of kid; there was something special about the man himself, something that made hyper little me (who was usually only interested in the fast paced commercials rather than the actual programs) sit down and just watch a man paint.

So on those days when I’m wanting to puzzle but feeling like a 500 or 1000 piece puzzle is too much, I can take a little 96 piece puzzle out of one of these books and put it together. They are “one coffee” puzzles that are larger than what I usually assemble, and it looks like they’ll be lots of fun.

I’m not ashamed to tell you I was almost giddy when we found these. Basically I got eighteen 96 piece puzzles for less than $6.00; you can’t beat that, even if they aren’t premium quality pieces.

Doesn’t matter, I’m still pleased as punch to have found them, and just looking at them puts a great big smile on my face. 😎

Advent Calendar Part Deux…

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzling14 Comments

Hubby was getting some groceries at Aldi a couple of days ago, and brought this advent calendar home to me – do I have a fantastic husband or what? What a sweetie pie!

This set is exclusive to Aldi, and retails in the US for $9.99 – not too shabby! The box tells me the puzzles were manufactured in China, but I’m hopeful that they’ll be good quality. If the box is any indication, they may be pretty good; the box is thick and feels quite premium. If you’ve got an Aldi nearby they may have this set available.

There are twelve puzzles, 80 pieces each. You can see that I’ve opened the first section to take a peek, but I haven’t taken the pieces out of their plastic bag or started assembling any of them yet. I will soon though, with the number of puzzles already in my queue it’s time for me to get to assembling puzzles with holiday images already!

Those of you that have been here for a while may remember the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad advent calendar of puzzles from 2019 – it holds bad memories for me. I’m still mad at Ceaco about it! But this was a gift from hubby so I’ll have to put those memories out of my head and assemble these puzzles with no preconceived ideas about their quality.

It’s Part Deux of my assembling an advent calendar of jigsaw puzzles and I’m hoping the sequel is better than the original. (You know, like Aliens or The Godfather Part II or Terminator 2: Judgement Day)

The Ceaco advent calendar of puzzles that I assembled in 2019 seemed like a comedy of errors; out of twelve puzzles four of them were missing pieces, one had extra pieces, and there was one puzzle missing entirely and substituted with another that had already been assembled. And for a set of puzzles with so many quality problems to find it’s way into the hands of a jigsaw puzzle blogger was just so bizarre. I was glad to be able to warn people away from purchasing it though. It was unbelievably frustrating to deal with so many problems in one set, and the customer service I received was even more upsetting. Ceaco hasn’t gotten one penny of my puzzle budget since, and they’re still on the naughty list.

Here’s hoping that this newest advent calendar does a better job in the quality department, you know how much I enjoy little “one coffee” puzzles.

I’m looking forward to happy puzzling! 🧩💚

Burma Road In Progress…

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzling9 Comments

Burma Road by Charles Wysocki – Buffalo (Silver Edition) – 1000 pieces

Although I am very much enjoying this Wysocki image, my first impression of this Buffalo Silver Edition puzzle is one of disappointment. The only difference I can see so far is the box; it’s much fancier than a regular Buffalo puzzle and the pieces come in a resealable plastic bag – that’s it.

The fit is VERY loose, the cut is a bit odd, and I’m just not that impressed with it at all. I was hoping it would have thicker pieces, or a more snug fit, or a different cut – something to make it different from their regular puzzles. This Silver Edition puzzle is underwhelming. 😥

Still, it’s a very nice image and I’m enjoying myself even if the puzzle quality isn’t up to my snobby standards.

Battleship In Progress…

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzling6 Comments

Battleship – Spin Master – 1000 pieces

Finally got myself out of bed and back at the puzzle board – Battleship got sorted and started yesterday, it’s looking good already!

So far this one has been more entertaining than both Clue and Scrabble (I haven’t posted about Scrabble yet, but it’s coming up in a few weeks). I’m not sure my muddled brain can express exactly why this one is more fun, but whatever the reason I’m just trying to enjoy it.

Any other oldsters out there remember the commercials for Battleship? I do. There are two old men at the opera – their wives are watching the performers and the men are behind them playing the game. Of course once one sinks the other’s battleship the loser stands up and yells “You sank my battleship!” causing everyone to stare and shush them. Those commercials from the 70s have that phrase imprinted in my brain.

Commercials were always more important to me than the actual programs when I was young. Mom always told me that I would be playing in the house, ignoring the television, but when the commercials came on I would run into the living room and stand there transfixed until the commercials were over. Once the show was back on I would leave the room and go back to whatever it was I was doing.

My parents used to love to tell the story of little 4-year-old Stacey at the grocery store walking along beside my mother, stopping at the products I recognized and reciting the commercials. Everyone in the store thought it was adorable, but for my mother it became exasperating. She had her three young girls with her, she was just trying to finish her shopping, and I was holding things up with my relentless in-person advertising. My poor momma.

I probably should have saved that story for my post about the finished puzzle, but it was right at the front of my brain this morning so why not share it, right?

Anyway, I hope whatever puzzle you’re working on right now is interesting, good quality, and most of all entertaining. Happy puzzling!