The Conversation

On March 24, 2019 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles4 Comments

Here’s another puzzle I would not normally choose; it came in the lot of puzzles purchased from the marketplace. The artwork is phenomenal, it reminds me of Norman Rockwell with it’s precise and photo-like detail, but it makes for quite a challenging assembly – which is why this image wouldn’t be my first choice to puzzle.

It’s always a little bit of a wonder to me how the puzzle looks when it’s complete. When you’re assembling it the pieces seem muted and fuzzy with an image like this, but when finished it looks so crisp and clear you can’t believe you had a problem putting any of it together. At least I can say with this one I knew going in that it would be difficult, no surprise this time! 😉

The fit was slightly loose, but otherwise the puzzle was good quality; and even though it was challenging I enjoyed myself.

Many Travel Bags

On March 21, 2019March 20, 2019 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles10 Comments

My apologies for the cockeyed photo – I can usually do better than that. 😐 I like the alternative title for this puzzle shown on the box, “Valises a Gogo”. Sounds much more fun, doesn’t it?

The 300 piece Milton Bradley puzzle I posted yesterday was much better quality than this one, unfortunately. This 500 piece puzzle from the same brand had a very loose fit that was a difficult to work with early on in the assembly. The edges barely stayed together, and it wasn’t until quite a bit of the interior was done before I could trust that the pieces would stay connected if accidentally bumped. On the plus side it had very nice image reproduction, even if it was a tiny bit darker than the box showed.

I don’t know that I would have picked this puzzle out for myself, but it was more fun to put together than it looked. If you come across “Valises a Gogo” or “Many Travel Bags” it’s a fun picture to assemble, but I would recommend it from perhaps a different company if you’re not a fan of an extremely loose fit.

I Will Keep a Light On

On March 20, 2019 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles2 Comments

With such a lovely image and wonderfully thick pieces, this puzzle was an all around pleasure to put together.

Milton Bradley’s EZ Grip pieces are the thickest I’ve worked with, and that’s including premium brands. They’re sturdy and easy to pick up, hold, and maneuver; there are a nice variety of shapes and they fit together extremely well. The general quality of MB’s 300 piece puzzles is excellent and there’s never any hesitation to purchase or assemble one. If you find one while you’re out thrifting, you might want to give it a try! 🙂

Sunrise Colorful Country Quilt

On December 16, 2018December 15, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles4 Comments

This title makes me wonder why it isn’t “quilts” – plural. Perhaps because I used to be a secretary and I’m always wanting to make things grammatically correct. 🙂 Title aside, it was a very pretty, highly entertaining puzzle.

The quality was very good; thick pieces with a good variety of shapes that fit together well. The nature of the artwork with brushstrokes and the texture on the canvas made the assembly a little more challenging. I enjoy these premium quality Milton Bradley puzzles with the blue chipboard – they’re very pleasant to work with.

The artist, Cheryl Bartley, makes some colorful and interesting images that make for great puzzles. This is the second puzzle of her artwork that I’ve put together and I loved both of them. There’s something about folk art images that I find charming, they make such lovely puzzles!

I love the dog that’s treed the cat on the left, although it almost looks like a wolf to me; and this was my favorite of the quilts, although I’m not sure I have the vocabulary to explain why.

This puzzle was Goldilocks for me – not too easy and not too difficult – it was just right!

Balloons Over Cottage Cove

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

This hot air balloon image is very different to me than most of the others that you see on jigsaw puzzles. Most balloon images are very bright and colorful, this one is muted and understated; I love an image that’s different from the norm. 😉

Pastels and understated colors aren’t my first choice, but I find they’re fun to work with every once in a while.The nature of the artwork made this a bit more challenging, but in the end it’s such a pretty picture!

Doesn’t it look like a lovely place to visit? I love the look of the house, it feels so homey. And the balloon in the foreground has the brightest colors; but all the rest are very understated and more pastel-looking. It’s quite unusual for a hot air balloon puzzle; at least as far as the ones that I’ve seen.

All the greenery and flowers were much more difficult than I bargained for, and took more time than I thought they would. Being only 500 pieces I’d assumed it would go together quite quickly but that just wasn’t the case.

The quality was very good; there were a good variety of shapes, thicker pieces, and a beautiful image. The pale colors aren’t usually my thing, but I enjoyed this puzzle very much. It’s nice to step out of your comfort zone every once in a while. 🙂