Hershey’s Puzzle In Progress

On April 14, 2022April 13, 2022 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzling4 Comments

Hershey’s Moments – MasterPieces – 1000 pieces

I’m having a great time with this puzzle, it’s exactly what I need at exactly the right time. I’m working on the more difficult sections first – like all the large Hershey’s bars and darker areas. When sorting it I could tell it would be harder than it looks, and so I decided to get the more challenging stuff out of the way early. Now when it’s closer to being completed the sections that are brighter and more entertaining will be what’s left. My strategy may change the further into it I go, but that’s where I am for now.

Life is unbelievably stressful right now, and even if it wasn’t, my brain seems to think anxiety is always the way to go – even when things are calmer. Sometimes I just need to go and sit in front of my puzzle board and get away from almost everything; I put on my headphones, turn the music WAY up and only think about shapes, colors, text, and fitting pieces together.

If I didn’t have puzzles I fear life would be much darker for me. Thank God for puzzles!

Currently In Progress

On April 5, 2022April 4, 2022 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzling2 Comments

80s Shows – MasterPieces – 1000 pieces

Sorry about the glare at the bottom, I didn’t stand the board up to take the picture. I worked for a while on this puzzle yesterday and made some good progress – it’s taking shape!

Lots of nostalgia here for me, and you’ll be hearing all about it when it’s finished.

Moon Fairy

On February 6, 2022February 5, 2022 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles2 Comments

Moon Fairy by Garry Walton – MasterPieces – 300 pieces

This puzzle went together very quickly, it’s a beautiful image and was truly entertaining to assemble. It reminds me of a puzzle by the same artist that I completed almost five years ago called Dancing Fairies. Same colors, same fairy – they’re very, very similar – so much so that I remember it all these years later.

The puzzle had very good quality, with thick pieces that were slightly warped, but that could be because of where I live. The humidity does weird things to puzzles if you don’t store them properly (and this is a thrift store purchase). Otherwise I was quite happy with this puzzle and it’s assembly. Lots of fun!

Got a beautiful glow in the dark picture too!

I worked on this puzzle in bed, on my white board – and hubby helped. Of course, he had a bit of an ulterior motive for helping me finish it as soon as possible; we needed the board for something else and he didn’t want to have to wait.

We also use my white board as a table so that we can play Yahtzee in bed. I’m stuck there a lot of the time, and to keep our minds from going completely to mush from watching too much tv we also having a Yahtzee tournament going on. We play several games at a time, and keep track of our cumulative score; the first one to reach 100,000 points is the winner. Loser has to do the cooking on the winner’s night for a month (each of us in the family has one night a week where they are responsible for dinner). We’re up to almost 70,000 points at the moment.

Once we finish this tournament we’re planning on starting again – and we’re shooting for 250,000 points next time, although we haven’t thought about what the winner’s prize will be. It’s gotta be something good! 🎲🎲🎲🎲🎲

Puppy Party

On August 10, 2020 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

The puppies are having a party and they’ve invited all their friends – a good time was had by all. 😉 These sweet animal images by Jenny Newland are the perfect potion to brighten my day. The adorable faces make me smile, and we could all use more smiles these days; at least I know I could.

MasterPieces has some great 300 piece puzzles out there, they’re just right when you’re in the mood to puzzle but not ready to dive into a 1000 piece or larger. The quality is excellent, and the image reproduction is stellar. I’ve sometimes had issues with a super shiny finish on their puzzles, but this one was more matte and easier for these old eyes to work with.

Puppy Party 1

I cannot resist a sad puppy face, it makes me feel so protective and want to give them SO much love and snuggles!

Puppy Party 2

I love these lovebirds!

Puppy Party 3

There’s something about the almost deadpan look and smile on this fish – it cracks me up! Jenny Newland sure does know how to make animals look sweet.

Loved it. 💗

Toadstool Brook

On July 8, 2020 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles8 Comments

Toadstool Brook

This was such a fun puzzle, with absolutely beautiful artwork by Steve Read. It’s been on my shelf for quite a long time, I’m not even sure how long. While looking for a puzzle with less than 1000 pieces I spotted this one way in the back; thank goodness!

Quality-wise, this puzzle was only good/fair. The fit was pretty loose, which is always a bit disappointing. But, as a whole it was still entertaining to put together, that is more than half the battle! The artwork by Steve Read is stunning, and I’m kicking myself for not getting a good closeup picture of the fairies’ faces – they are absolutely gorgeous!

Toadstool Brook 1

There are 22 fairies in total for you to find, some of them took me quite a while to locate. If you’re not paying attention this fairy hidden in the toadstool is easy to pass over. Of course you’re seeing it right away – I’m showing you right where it is! 😉

Toadstool Brook 2

This fairy wasn’t too difficult to find, but it did take me a little longer than I’d like to admit. My glasses needed to be cleaned. I’m not old. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

I got a really great glow in the dark picture with this one, which surprised me. This puzzle has been on the shelf for at least 2 years, possibly more. I was pretty sure that the chemical that makes it glow would have petered out, but this puzzle produced an awesome picture.

Toadstool Brook 3