The Seven Chakras – Eagle Update #2

On January 31, 2022January 30, 2022 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles3 Comments

Well, I received my re-worked eagle chakra puzzle, and have finally succeeded in assembling the multipiece whimsy that represents the eagle itself – triumph!

I couldn’t be happier with the customer service I received from Liberty Puzzles, and am grateful for both their assistance with this problem and their fantastic puzzles. Once my request alerted them to my dilemma with the eagle chakra, they wasted no time in communicating with me and resolving the issue. If you ask me, they get an A+ for excellent customer service.

So, here’s the picture that tens of readers have been waiting for – all of the whimsies from the eagle puzzle – including the multipiece representation of an eagle……

See that eagle above our woman in the lotus position? That’s the little bugger that caused me so much grief; I had all the proper pieces pulled, I just couldn’t get them to fit together properly. But a little tweak from the puzzle designer to correct a slight miscalculation and voilà! Success!

This puzzle set was so fun and interesting to assemble, and I’ve also received a hint about how they all connect together (which was what I suspected you could do when it was put together the first time). So I will definitely be working with these beautiful puzzles again, especially so that I can try to connect them all together in the proper order.

And when I do, I will take a picture of the seven of them attached together as one – to show you these amazing puzzles again, and how much intricate design goes into one of their creations.

I’m still astonished by this set of stunning wooden puzzles and how much thought went into their composition and construction. Absolutely sensational!

Animal Selfies

On January 20, 2022January 20, 2022 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles8 Comments

Animal Selfies by Howard Robinson – Cra-Z-Art – 500 pieces

Normally I would post these puzzles in groups of three or four over multiple days, but I just wasn’t feeling it this time. There’s nothing wrong with the puzzles or the images, it just wasn’t in the cards for me right now. Don’t worry though, there are plenty more sets to be assembled and many more silly names and backstories to be shared.

If you’ve been here for a while you know how much I adore these sets of mini puzzles from Cra-Z-Art. With the colored backing you can separate them first and make each one it’s own little puzzle from start to finish. Or if you want to challenge yourself you can keep them all mixed up and assemble it as a 500 piece puzzle – the choice is yours. They’re good quality puzzles and I enjoy working with them every time.

I started these the day after Christmas, and was just completely worn out by the holiday, which is probably why I decided to do these as one post. Then a few days before the New Year I developed a serious infection (not the plague) that I am still not fully recovered from yet; all I can think of is getting back into bed and sleeping for another whole day – or seven. 💤🛌💤

Kellogg’s Fun Pack

On January 18, 2022January 18, 2022 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles16 Comments

Kellogg’s Fun Pack – Spin Master Games – 600 pieces (100 pieces each)

Another six-pack of cereal puzzles, but instead of General Mills cereals this time we have Kellogg’s. It’s been quite a while since I did the first set (by White Mountain), and although last time each little puzzle got it’s own post I don’t think it’ll be that way this time around. There are way too many puzzles in the queue to add 6 more all at once!

As far as I know this is my first Spin Master puzzle, and the quality was impressive. The pieces were on the thinner side, but not too much so; excellent reproduction, good fit, and nice variety of shapes too. The pieces are on the larger side, and each finished puzzle was approximately 9 x 13 inches – pretty big for only 100 pieces. All around they are a good quality set of puzzles, and were extremely fun to put together.

Ready for some cereal memories and critiques?

These used to be called Sugar Smacks when I was young, but nowadays we wouldn’t want anyone to think we’re feeding our little ones anything less than healthy. Changing the name but keeping the food inside the same doesn’t do much if you ask me. Oh well. Corporations. Whatchya gonna do?

I don’t recall ever having these, they never really appealed to me or my sisters; or maybe we did have them and I’m just too old to remember things accurately. 🤔

Here’s another one that I never cared for. Fruity and chocolatey cereals weren’t my thing as a child – and they still aren’t.

Ah, my old friend Toucan Sam; I enjoyed his commercials very much, but not his cereal. Again, not a fan of the fruity tastes. They all tasted the same to me – boring.

Now we’re getting to the good stuff if you ask me. Of the six cereals in this pack, this is really the only one I actually liked. It’s like Corn Flakes, but without the hassle of having to transfer the sugar bowl into cereal bowl to make it palatable. Every once in a while I get a craving for these and buy myself a box, but that doesn’t happen very often, and usually before the box is gone I’ve become bored with them.

Corn Pops were ok, in a pinch – they were sweeter than Kix, and the texture was slightly less like cardboard; but overall I’d rather have almost anything else (except Grape Nuts). If memory serves they were just puffs of squeaky cereal without much flavor. No thank you.

Rice Krispies are BORING as a cereal in my humble opinion, but excellent for making tasty treats with melted marshmallows and a little butter.

These little puzzles were lots of fun, and if you’re in the mood for some sweetened cereals without all the calories I can definitely recommend this pack of puzzles. 🥣

And tomorrow is the announcement of the winner of the Happy New Year Puzzle Giveaway – if you haven’t entered yet this is your last chance!

The Seven Chakras – Day 7

On December 6, 2021December 6, 2021 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles6 Comments

The Seven Chakras by Phil Lewis – Liberty Puzzles – approx. 94/661 pieces

This is the 7th chakra, Sahasrara, and it is the crown chakra. It was the second of these puzzles that I assembled – because of that fantastic color, it jumped right out at me. Absolutely gorgeous!

Today’s word is dazzling, this image is truly dazzling – the colors are perfection. Phil Lewis is an artist from Boulder, Colorado, where Liberty Puzzles is located. What a fantastic marriage of artist and puzzle maker! Another of his images is one of my favorite puzzles, Sugar Magnolia. (One of these days I should make a list of my top 10 or 20 puzzles ever assembled, that would be an interesting exercise, wouldn’t it?)

Dazzling! I love the images with deeper colors, because it’s more difficult to see the piece shapes in the finished puzzle unless you flip it over. I find that I prefer darker images in wooden puzzles because it’s harder to see the piece shapes, then it seems more like artwork than a puzzle – at least from the front. But even when the pieces are very evident, it’s the enjoyment of the assembly that matters most to me. And these seven little puzzles have given me so much joy!

For all of these puzzles the piece shapes are almost invisible, so I wanted you to see the amazing shapes and cutting by flipping them over. It’s always so interesting to see intricately cut wooden puzzles from the back don’t you think?

We have the final three yoga poses, what looks like the sun, and our chakra symbol inside. The lotus was the easiest multipiece whimsy for me to assemble, good thing it’s one of the first ones I did. I’m not sure I would have gotten that lion put together if it had been first – it was much more difficult! (And we all know what happened with the eagle 😳)

I had the best time putting all of these puzzles together, and am so thankful for my sweet, sweet husband who gave me this beautiful gift.

You may come off like a tough guy to rest of the world, but you’re the most thoughtful and kind man I know, and you would do anything to make me happy. I love you to puzzle pieces! 💖🧩

The Seven Chakras – Day 6

On December 5, 2021October 8, 2023 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles4 Comments

The Seven Chakras by Phil Lewis – Liberty Puzzles – approx. 94/661 pieces

I mean, what is there left to say? Today’s word from the thesaurus is striking; this is a striking image, and the puzzle that goes along with it is complex and amazing.

This is the 6th chakra, Ajna, and it is the third eye chakra.

These puzzles are wonderful to work with – compelling even – and the quality is amazing. They’re more expensive than some, but in my mind they’re worth every penny. I know they’re not for everyone, and they’re not in everyone’s budget. But I don’t feel bad about asking for this for my birthday, it makes me happy. Once a year on my birthday or for Christmas isn’t too much to ask for a little bit of joy. 😊

I must confess that although it looks like there are pieces that will make an eagle, I wasn’t able to figure it out. I got the bottom half of it assembled, but couldn’t get the entire thing constructed. There is definitely an eagle there somehow, I just couldn’t figure out the whole thing. I’m blaming pain and exhaustion and my doped up brain; being on painkillers 24/7 seems to have whittled away at my intelligence.

To be honest I felt a little defeated by it. It was a bad day. But I’m not giving up!

I may pull out this puzzle (I’ve stored each one separately wrapped up in tissue paper) and give it a go on a day where I’m feeling like all cylinders are firing. If I figure it out I’ll post it, I promise. And if after several tries it still isn’t coming together – I can always email Liberty to see if they can give me some help. 🦅