Tag: One Coffee Puzzles

Shining Brightly

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles7 Comments

Shining Brightly by Alan Giana – E&L – 100 pieces

This is exactly the type of puzzle image that puts me off, but it was a gift from a friend so of course I assembled it. Because it’s only 100 pieces I put it away to assemble with all my other little puzzles during December – and here it is. Sickeningly sweet snowfall, outside tree and all. 😐

It’s a thrift store puzzle, and you can tell it’s been assembled many times. It wasn’t the greatest quality to begin with, and the thing is falling apart. The fit is horrendous, and the image is lifting in several places. Not a great puzzle. But it isn’t surprising, E&L isn’t a brand I would ever recommend; even their new puzzles are lacking in the quality department.

This was one of those times where I don’t really enjoy the puzzle at all, but I very much want to finish. My brain almost goes into this mode where it isn’t about having fun with the puzzle, it’s only about finding the right piece. What is next? Where does this go? Do these colors match? Do I need a rounded knob or one that’s upturned slightly? It’s about completion, period. There aren’t many times when this happens to me, but this was one of them.

Normally I know (relatively) what puzzles and images will be enjoyable; I know the good brands, the artists whose work is enjoyable, and how many pieces make a fun assembly for me. Sometimes though, I run into a puzzle that puts me in the “must finish it” mode – usually they are gifts.

That being said, whether or not the assembly is enjoyable – every single puzzle that is gifted to me is appreciated – no matter the brand, condition, or image. If someone cares enough to think of me when they see a puzzle and they get it for me, I love that and am truly grateful. This puzzle wasn’t great, but I’m still thankful for the friend who gave it to me, and that she cared enough to give it to me in the first place. 💖

Gingerbread

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles4 Comments

Gingerbread – Paladone – 108 pieces

Isn’t this one cute? My puzzle pal Penny sent me this one a few years ago, and it’s finally been assembled! I always love trying out new brands, and Paladone is a company I hadn’t heard of before. There’s a sticker on it from Kohl’s (department store), perhaps it was made exclusively for them.

The quality was excellent, it was a very nice surprise. The pieces were thick and sturdy, there were a very good variety of piece shapes, it had a nice matte finish, and both the fit and image reproduction were excellent. My only problem was with the border – so many of the pieces didn’t connect with each other around the edges. That’s a pet peeve of mine, and I find it extremely irritating. But other than the crappy border it was a great quality puzzle!

By the time I’d found all of the pieces that connected the edges together so that they wouldn’t move apart with an accidental touch the puzzle was about halfway completed! I made sure to stop and take a picture of it once the final connecting piece was found. Pretty darned annoying.

*Maybe I haven’t had enough coffee yet this morning. It was actually a lovely puzzle with great quality.*

Ruby the Red Beaked Emu

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles4 Comments

Ruby the Red Beaked Emu by Susan Janson – Mr. Bob Puzzles – 40 pieces

Isn’t this an adorable and very different holiday image? I love it! Ruby the emu is looking so proud of her red beak and the fact that she’s out in front of the “sleigh”, so adorable!

This puzzle has been laying around the house here for at least a year, maybe more. However long it’s been, I’m so glad it’s finally gotten assembled, cause it’s so damn cute. Santa has on a t-shirt and some holiday trimmed shorts with sandals. So sweet. 😊

We all know how Stacey feels about Christmas puzzles and their sometimes sickly sweet cookie cutter images (🤢); this one certainly isn’t one of those, and that’s part of why it makes me so happy! It went together pretty quickly, and was entertaining and just difficult enough to be interesting. Perfect!

The whimsies aren’t overly Christmas-y, but I’ll take ’em. Love the teddy bear. 🧸

Are you feeling in the holiday spirit yet? I’m not. But maybe all these little puzzles coming up will get me there. 🧩💚

Happy Hanukkah this evening to all those who celebrate! 🕎

Advent Calendar Part Deux…

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzling14 Comments

Hubby was getting some groceries at Aldi a couple of days ago, and brought this advent calendar home to me – do I have a fantastic husband or what? What a sweetie pie!

This set is exclusive to Aldi, and retails in the US for $9.99 – not too shabby! The box tells me the puzzles were manufactured in China, but I’m hopeful that they’ll be good quality. If the box is any indication, they may be pretty good; the box is thick and feels quite premium. If you’ve got an Aldi nearby they may have this set available.

There are twelve puzzles, 80 pieces each. You can see that I’ve opened the first section to take a peek, but I haven’t taken the pieces out of their plastic bag or started assembling any of them yet. I will soon though, with the number of puzzles already in my queue it’s time for me to get to assembling puzzles with holiday images already!

Those of you that have been here for a while may remember the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad advent calendar of puzzles from 2019 – it holds bad memories for me. I’m still mad at Ceaco about it! But this was a gift from hubby so I’ll have to put those memories out of my head and assemble these puzzles with no preconceived ideas about their quality.

It’s Part Deux of my assembling an advent calendar of jigsaw puzzles and I’m hoping the sequel is better than the original. (You know, like Aliens or The Godfather Part II or Terminator 2: Judgement Day)

The Ceaco advent calendar of puzzles that I assembled in 2019 seemed like a comedy of errors; out of twelve puzzles four of them were missing pieces, one had extra pieces, and there was one puzzle missing entirely and substituted with another that had already been assembled. And for a set of puzzles with so many quality problems to find it’s way into the hands of a jigsaw puzzle blogger was just so bizarre. I was glad to be able to warn people away from purchasing it though. It was unbelievably frustrating to deal with so many problems in one set, and the customer service I received was even more upsetting. Ceaco hasn’t gotten one penny of my puzzle budget since, and they’re still on the naughty list.

Here’s hoping that this newest advent calendar does a better job in the quality department, you know how much I enjoy little “one coffee” puzzles.

I’m looking forward to happy puzzling! 🧩💚

Candy Calaveras

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles12 Comments

Candy Calaveras by Randy Wollenmann – Wentworth – 40 pieces

This amazingly detailed and gorgeous image made for a bit of difficult puzzling, even at only 40 pieces. But it’s so beautiful and my love for the decorative skulls (calaveras) and my appreciation for the holiday Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) made it even more fun, even with the tougher assembly.

The skulls are very cool, and the cactus is ok – but a taco and a chili? I’m not so sure about those two.

I enjoyed putting this little puzzle together; the bright colors and busyness of the image made it a little challenging, but having whimsy pieces makes it a bit easier. The odd shapes and the pieces that fit around them are always a good place to start if you’re having trouble with the image itself. Once you get a few pieces put together it becomes easier and before you know it you’ve got a completed puzzle. 🧩💚

The Day of the Dead is a two day Mexican holiday for remembering and praying for friends and family members who have died. I’m not of Mexican heritage, but I’ve always loved the meaning of the holiday and especially the traditional decorative skulls. The candy form, called sugar skulls (calaveras de azúcar) represent loved ones who have passed on and are used as an offering – they’re typically placed on an altar or a gravestone – to the spirit of the dead.

To me the skulls are beautiful, and what they represent is even more so. A day to remember the loved ones you’ve lost, what a wonderful holiday. To me, saying “Happy Day of the Dead” just seems wrong, so I’ll just send you good wishes today, and hope that the memories of your loved ones bring you happiness.💕