Introducing Frenchy!

On February 3, 2019 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

A cute little kids puzzle, with the added fun of glitter! I love the Fancy Nancy images, they’re adorable, and remind me of myself. I’m all about being who you are, especially if you don’t fit in – who wants to be just like everyone else? Not me! 🙂

This is the fourth Briarpatch puzzle that I’ve assembled, and they’ve all had differing levels of quality; it makes me wonder why that is. This puzzle had thick enough pieces, but the chipboard used wasn’t very sturdy at all, and the way the pieces fit together was……odd. It wasn’t too tight, it wasn’t spongy, it simply felt very weird. I’m not sure I can properly explain it; you could plainly see that the piece was in the correct place, but it didn’t feel as though it was. Not a good fit, bent and flimsy pieces, and the puzzle didn’t lay flat.

Questionable quality aside though, Fancy Nancy is adorable!

Ocean Life

On December 27, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles2 Comments

This was one of those thrift store puzzles that almost breaks my heart. We love finding fantastic quality kids puzzles, assembling them, and then donating them. When we find one of such excellent quality that’s missing a piece it’s so much more of a disappointment than regular missing pieces to me.

This Mudpuppy puzzle was one of the best quality kids puzzles I’ve seen in quite some time. Extremely thick pieces, beautiful colors, excellent fit – and it even had a little extra something – a search and find aspect. All the pictures around the edges are also shown in the main image and they’re not all easy to find.

What a bummer that it’s missing a piece! It makes me sad, as a lover of puzzles, that they aren’t taken care of. (But I do remember childhood too, vaguely, so I also understand.) But for some strange reason these missing pieces makes me wish that I could go back to my childhood and take MUCH better care of all of my toys and things. If I had, not only would they be worth some big time cash right now, I’d still have some of the things I loved to play with as a child. How awfully sweet and uncharacteristically sentimental of me, right? I know!

Happy Nautilus World

On November 29, 2018November 28, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw PuzzlesLeave a comment

This is one of the Peapod puzzles from the children’s line at Zen Art & Design. I wanted to try some new wooden puzzle companies, ended up buying this one because it was on sale and I thought I’d compare it to an “adult” puzzle from Zen. I really love the silky feel of the pieces, but I do wish they were more interestingly shaped.

The pieces weren’t as large as I expected for a children’s puzzle, they’re about the same size (or smaller) than some Liberty pieces. Still, I think it’s great to have such lovely puzzles for kids. And the whimsies came in a small mesh bag – very cool; but why do the kids get more whimsies than the adults do? The 50 piece adult puzzle I assembled only had one whimsy. No fair.

Happy Nautilus World whimsies

It was a fun puzzle! 🙂

Highland Cow

On October 17, 2018October 17, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

Although the quality wasn’t great on this kids puzzle, it was a bit of a challenge and took my mind off of things for a little while. Isn’t that one of the great things about puzzles? It is for me. 😎

This isn’t your typical image for a kids puzzle, which is part of the reason that I really like it. It’s different, like me. It’s more difficult than normal too, like me! LOL

The pieces were thinner than I like, especially for a children’s puzzle. The fit was good though, and the entire puzzle could be picked up in one piece once it was finished. There wasn’t any variety in the piece shapes, which added to the difficulty; but it was still an entertaining assembly, and I think the finished image is pretty darn cool.

Crafty Critters

On October 11, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

I haven’t posted a kids puzzle lately, and luckily I found a couple here that I hadn’t yet assembled. Crafty Critters was a quick, fun puzzle that was fair quality and makes for a very cute finished image.

This is only the second puzzle from this manufacturer that I’ve assembled, and overall I would say their quality is good to fair. The pieces are somewhat thin, but sturdy. There are a good variety of shapes and the fit is very nice. The colors are bright and fun; although the finish is a bit shiny. Good enough quality, although I wish the makers of puzzles for children would make them a bit more tough to withstand the sometimes not-so-gentle way children play.

As an added note, the first Creative Edge puzzle I assembled had the absolute BEST GLOW IN THE DARK IMAGE I’ve ever done or seen. It was also the best “glow” picture I’ve ever gotten. Check out Creepy Crawlies! if you’re interested, I got some great images!