Tag: Kids Puzzles

Spider-Man 3

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment
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Spider-Man 3 – Milton Bradley – 98 pieces

This was purchased from the thrift store the day mom spent the morning “Driving Miss Stacey”. I thought my younger son would enjoy it as he is a Spider-Man fan so we decided to take a chance. This puzzle is made of foam and the package said it fits together so well you don’t need glue, you can just hang it up when you’re done. While this is true, unfortunately I wasn’t impressed.

The fit of this puzzle is weird, and although it’s true that you can pick up the entire puzzle without glue I don’t think it would make a good hanging decoration. The pieces will not lay flat, not even close to flat. I tried to adjust them all so that it wouldn’t be so noticeable, but you can tell in the picture above that I was unsuccessful. Even if all the pieces had been there this isn’t a puzzle I would have kept.

Milton Bradley in my experience usually has good quality puzzles, but this one just didn’t pass muster. I will still enjoy their more traditional cardboard puzzles, but I don’t think we’ll be purchasing any more puzzles made of foam. It was fun to try out a new type of puzzle though. 🙂

Humpty Dumpty

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles3 Comments
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Humpty Dumpty – Milton Bradley – 60 pieces

This gorgeous puzzle was excellent quality and it has the most stunning colors! The pieces are thick and incredibly sturdy and fit together very well. It’s a really well made children’s puzzle from the late 90’s – if you can find one cheaply I would definitely recommend it for a little one in your life.

We don’t come across many Milton Bradley puzzles anymore. I remember when I was young and doing puzzles with my grandma she didn’t have much variety to choose from as far as brands go. Most of the puzzles she assembled (from what my aging brain can remember) were Big Ben puzzles from Milton Bradley. There wasn’t much variety in the images either, most were photographic puzzles of landscapes, cabins, lighthouses, etc. I wonder what she’d think of all the different brands I’ve tried and all the different types of artwork. I’m sad she isn’t here to try out all these wooden puzzles and brands from across the globe, but it also makes me appreciate that I have my mom to share them with. ❤

With the internet and our ability to shop puzzles from around the world we have so many more brands and images available to us now – I take it for granted most of the time, and I really shouldn’t. It’s amazing that I can get online and browse through puzzles from Germany, Japan, England, Australia, Holland, Turkey, France and too many more to name! I can “talk” to other puzzlers from around the world, translate any webpage to English with a click of the mouse, and order puzzles for myself from almost anywhere on the planet – amazing! We are truly blessed to have so much available to us and it barely fazes us anymore; we don’t really stop to think how awesome it is and how wonderfully lucky we are. I try to remember that when I’m feeling whiny.

I’m not sure how a children’s puzzle started me off on this tangent, but oh well. My brain takes me on wild adventures sometimes, and I’m not always able to trace them back to the starting point.  Oh yeah – Milton Bradley! Miss you Gram, love you mom. 💗

 

Ballet Recital

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment
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Ballet Recital – Melissa & Doug – 100 pieces

The picture of this puzzle doesn’t do it justice at all, it’s gorgeous! Sometimes these children’s puzzles surprise me. I enjoyed this puzzle more than I usually enjoy kid’s puzzles – it was fun and so lovely to look at!

Melissa & Doug puzzles generally have very good quality. This puzzle did as well, thick pieces that fit together very nicely. All the pieces are what I call ballerinas 😉 , but there was enough variety in shape that it wasn’t difficult. I appreciate companies that make their children’s puzzles with such good quality. Puzzles are excellent for helping develop young minds; they are good for spatial awareness, fine motor skills, problem solving, self esteem and much more. Puzzles are great for young and old alike.

This would be an excellent puzzle for a little dancer in your life, I loved it! Definitely recommended. 👍

I Spy Blue

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles1 Comment
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I Spy Blue (Colorful Kids) – Briarpatch – 100 pieces

This puzzle is so interesting! There are 6 in the set of different colors, and if you line them up it looks like they’re holding hands. Really cool! The poem around the edge tells you what to look for once it’s assembled; it’s also quite handy for assembling the edge itself.

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The pieces are thin, but very sturdy. It’s not an easy kid’s puzzle, but it’s worth the challenge in my opinion. If you can find these for a good price, I’d highly recommend them. They’re excellent for assembling with kids, you can help each other find pieces and then compete to see who can find everything first.

It was an entertaining puzzle for the elderly ladies of My Jigsaw Journal, we had fun! 👵

Dear God I Nearly Missed the Bus

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment
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Dear God I Nearly Missed the Bus by Annie Fitzgerald – Vista Puzzles – 100 pieces

This adorable 100 piece puzzle is deceptively difficult! We knew after completing the first of three that were purchased together at the thrift store that these little puzzles take a little more brain power than your average 100 piece kid’s puzzle. I look at the finished image and think “how in the world was it that hard?” I don’t have the answer, all I know is that it was a little bit of a challenge.

They’re very cute, and although a little thin the pieces are sturdy and fit together well. I haven’t come across any other Vista Puzzles before, these are the first I’ve seen. For a kid’s puzzle, I’d say they were about mid range, quality wise. A quick search online leads me to believe Vista Puzzles aren’t in production any more. (I could be wrong, I haven’t yet had my entire first cup of coffee)

There’s one more of these for us to complete so we can donate it, perhaps we’ll get it taken care of on our next visit day. 🙂