The Bug Collection

On November 14, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

Very nice pieces on this 100 piece kid’s puzzle, and the fit was exceptional! Nice snug fit without being too tight. This is a perfect puzzle for a little one who loves bugs and creepy crawlies. My daughter was the one of my three children who loved bugs, worms, and everything that crawled, slithered, and flew. She would have enjoyed this puzzle when she was younger. 🙂

I enjoyed the puzzle itself, but the glow was a bit of a disappointment. With all the bugs it should make an excellent glow in the dark puzzle, but even after letting it sit in the sun for a few minutes to “charge it up” there was barely any glow. Perhaps it dims with age? I’ve done so many children’s puzzles that glow in the dark, but never one that didn’t really seem to have any glow left. Bummer!

Still, a nice puzzle with enough challenge that it won’t be boring for the younger puzzlers out there. And here’s hoping if you find this puzzle that it’s still got it’s glow mojo! 😉

Dear God, Friends are Forever

On November 8, 2017March 10, 2020 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles2 Comments

This is an extremely adorable kid’s puzzle found at the thrift store. There were 3 there from the same series, we still have 2 of them to assemble. I love the artwork, but it makes for a much more challenging puzzle than it seems!

The quality was fair/average; the pieces were a little thin and there was some image lift. The fit was very nice, however, and the image reproduction was crisp and clear.

I’m looking forward to assembling the remaining 2 of these puzzles next time I’m hanging out at mom’s house. Although after putting this one together, we didn’t really want to do the next 2 right away; I think we got our egos a little bruised because it was more challenging than we thought! Some days we assemble all the kid’s puzzles she’s found so we can get them out of the house and donate them. We’ve done more than 5 puzzles in one day, sometimes including a 300 or 500 piece!

Dragon Rider

On October 28, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

What a gorgeous puzzle, and how disappointing that there’s a piece missing! Such beautiful artwork by Lynton Levengood, it is an absolutely stunning puzzle.

Ravensburger kid’s puzzles have the same excellent quality as their adult puzzles, yet another reason they’re my favorite puzzle company. The pieces are always thick and sturdy and feel good in your hand. The image reproduction is excellent and you can see above how well they fit together, it’s almost seamless.

I’m bummed that this one isn’t complete, my little “grandson” would have loved it. Oh well, I suppose it’s better than if I gave him an incomplete puzzle; it’s very frustrating for him when he can’t find a piece. At least I’ve got enough smarts to be sure and check them first. 🙂

Wouldn’t most kids (especially little boys) love to ride a dragon? I would. I need to ride side-saddle though, and the dragon has to promise to spew fire on a few places that have earned my wrath! Oops. Got a little off track there. Apologies. 😇

If you’ve got a little one who loves dragons, I highly recommend this puzzle! (Be sure you find one with all the pieces though)

Pam

On October 26, 2017October 26, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

Pam by Michael Hague – Great American Puzzle Factory – 100 pieces

This puzzle was so interesting! It came in a very small box about 4 inches (10 cm) square, was produced in 1981, and it was still shrink wrapped! 😮

Michael Hague is a well known illustrator famous for his teddy bears. I hadn’t heard of the Michael Hague teddy bears before; they’re adorable, and unlike illustrations of other teddy bears that I’ve seen. In this puzzle, we meet Pam – a well dressed Panda bear from what I can see.

Being only 100 pieces it didn’t take long for mom and me to put this little puzzle together. The pieces were extremely loose, as you can see by some of the gaps in between pieces; we had to be very careful while assembling it because brushing the edge with your arm or hand would upset many pieces.

The image itself was a bit challenging with all of the fence in the background, it definitely wasn’t a super easy puzzle for kids – this one took a little bit more brain power. Still we had fun, and it was very cool to open a puzzle that had been sealed for 36 years!

Troll Hair Puzzle

On October 21, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles1 Comment

This was a weird little puzzle. I like the shaped edge, but I’m stumped regarding the reason that one of the trolls has hair. I suppose it could be to make the puzzle more attractive to young children, but in my opinion it obscures the shape of the piece and it isn’t easy to fit into the puzzle. I’m probably just being a cranky old lady, right? You kids get off my lawn!! 👵

Otherwise this is a cute kid’s puzzle that only took a few minutes to assemble. I haven’t seen the movie, so I don’t know who is who in this image, but I think they’re cute. The pieces are moderately thick and sturdy and fit together very well. There are a few spots where the tabs are sticking up a bit from the puzzle, but I think that’s due to it being a thrift store puzzle that’s been loved rather than from the manufacturing.

I’m enjoying all these kid’s puzzles even if it only takes a few minutes to assemble. It’s interesting to me the broad range of quality that kids puzzles have, not to mention so many manufacturers! I’m always intrigued when we find a new manufacturer and I love to check out their quality.

This was a well-made, cute, simple puzzle….that needs a hairbrush! 😉