Tag: Puzzle reviews

Review: Pixels

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews3 Comments
Pixels
Pixels – Cloudberries – 1000 pieces

I absolutely loved this puzzle! The image is so pretty to look at, and everyone knows how much I enjoy blocks of color – that’s all this puzzle is! The assembly wasn’t too difficult, but it wasn’t always easy either; it was Goldilocks – just right. 😎

Cloudberries is a small, family owned UK company, and they have a wonderfully interesting catalog. Their images are so varied and different than the usual puzzles you normally see, I would love to do pretty much any of their puzzles! Click the link above to see what gorgeous images they have available now, and even some that are coming soon. (When Geometry and Patchwork are available, I’m definitely getting them!)

The puzzles are manufactured in the Netherlands, which is why I think the pieces feel similar to a Jumbo puzzle (also manufactured in the Netherlands) its almost a waxy feel; they just feel great in your hands.  They have a very good fit, although some pieces can seem to fit where they don’t belong – but with this image that was more my fault because sometimes you think you know the right color and your brain is just wrong. The majority of pieces were ballerinas (2 prong/2 hole), but there was a variety of shapes; and the image reproduction is gorgeous.

I had a great time with the assembly, and I completely adored this puzzle, both the image and the quality. It is definitely recommended – 2 thumbs way, way up! 👍👍

 

*Just a note from a personal perspective – This was the first 1000 piece puzzle I assembled after losing my mom, and I have to say that the assembly just drew me in and allowed me to stop thinking and just become absorbed with the puzzle and which piece came next. It was a lovely respite from everything that was going on, and was exactly what I needed – the perfect puzzle at the perfect time. *

Details:

  • Title:                  Pixels
  • Artist:                Cloudberries
  • Brand:               Cloudberries
  • Piece count:     1000 pieces
  • Size:                  Approx. 19 x 27 in. (48 x 69 cm)
  • Purchased:      N/A, sent for review

Quality:

  • Board:               Excellent
  • Cutting:             Excellent
  • Image:               Excellent
  • Box:                   Very good, sturdy
  • Fit:                     Very good
  • Puzzle Dust:     Moderate amount
  • Piece cut:          Grid cut
  • Piece shapes:   Good variety
  • Finish:               Slightly shiny finish, lays flat

Overall Rating:      Excellent, highly recommended

 

I received this product at no cost in order to facilitate this review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are truthful and 100% my own.

Review: God’s Comfort

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews2 Comments
He Who Comforts You
God’s Comfort – Promise Puzzles – 300 pieces

This is a beautiful image, and a very good quality puzzle. This was the first puzzle I assembled after mom passed, and I was worried that puzzling without her would be too difficult emotionally. I was happily surprised that once I started the actual assembly, my “puzzle brain” took over and I was engrossed with the picture and the pieces. I’m not usually someone who enjoys photographic puzzles, but I found this one both entertaining and calming.

FairHope Promise Puzzles is a subscription service where you get a new puzzle every month with a 30 day devotional included; but it seems you can also just purchase the puzzles without the subscription by clicking here. Their catalog is small, but they do have some interesting and very pretty images. They also make and sell a variety of other Christian themed items, including greeting cards and music cds.

The quality was very good – the pieces are a good thickness with a nice variety of shapes and they fit together extremely well. The image reproduction is beautiful, with lovely bright colors; though the finish is somewhat shiny. There weren’t many dark areas in the puzzle though, so the shiny pieces weren’t too difficult under artificial light. In addition, each puzzle includes a poster to help with assembly, which I love. My eyesight is getting worse by the day it seems, and having the poster as a reference definitely helps!

I enjoyed this assembly very much, and it was an excellent choice for the very first puzzle I did after losing mom. Although I know these puzzles won’t appeal to everyone who reads the blog – we puzzlers are a wonderfully varied group – for those who might be interested I can definitely recommend these puzzles. 👍

Details:

  • Title:                  God’s Comfort
  • Artist:                Promise Puzzles
  • Brand:               Promise Puzzles
  • Piece count:     300 pieces
  • Size:                  Approx. 18 x 24 in. (46 x 61 cm)
  • Purchased:      N/A, sent for review

Quality:

  • Board:               Very good
  • Cutting:             Very good
  • Image:               Very good
  • Box:                   Average
  • Fit:                     Very good
  • Puzzle Dust:     Small amount
  • Piece cut:          Grid cut
  • Piece shapes:   Very good variety
  • Finish:               Shiny finish, lays flat

Overall Rating:      Very good, recommended

 

I received this product at no cost in order to facilitate this review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are truthful and 100% my own.

Review: Fall’s Bounty

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviewsLeave a comment

Fall's Bounty

Fall’s Bounty was an entertaining puzzle with beautiful artwork by Marjolein Bastin. And I have to say it was one of the best quality Ceaco puzzles I’ve done. Shocked? I was too!

I’ve done Ceaco puzzles with very good quality and some that were awful, it’s always a guess whether or not you’ll be getting a good one. That’s why it’s normally a brand we only purchase from thrift stores. This puzzle though, and another from this series that I’m currently working on, are very good quality and I was quite impressed. The pieces are a good thickness, with a wonderful fit and beautiful reproduction.

The assembly went quickly, but the image had enough challenge to make it interesting at well; I enjoyed placing every piece. Marjolein Bastin’s beautiful nature artwork makes for great puzzling and is definitely recommended. 👍

Details:

  • Title:                  Fall’s Bounty
  • Artist:                Marjolein Bastin
  • Brand:               Ceaco
  • Piece count:     300 pieces
  • Size:                  Approx. 24 x 18 in. (61 x 46 cm)
  • Purchased:      Used – thrift store

Quality:

  • Board:               Very good
  • Cutting:             Very good
  • Image:               Very good
  • Box:                   Good
  • Fit:                     Excellent
  • Puzzle Dust:     Moderate amount
  • Piece cut:          Grid cut
  • Piece shapes:   Good variety
  • Finish:               Slightly shiny finish, lays flat

Overall Rating:      Very good, recommended

 

 

Review: MOMA Frank Stella (Firuzabad)

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews6 Comments
Firuzabad
MOMA Frank Stella (Firuzabad) by Frank Stella – Galison – 750 pieces

MOMA Frank Stella is a gorgeous geometric puzzle that caught my eye immediately, and I was so happy to be able to assemble it for review. The image is fantastic for puzzling, and I enjoyed the assembly very much!

I was happy to see that on the Galison website most puzzles have a picture of the actual assembled jigsaw so that you can see the shapes of the pieces. You can clearly see that this puzzle doesn’t only have one piece shape; in fact, it’s a random cut. Even better!

This puzzle had very good quality; the pieces are a good thickness and fit together well with an excellent variety of shapes. My one issue was that many of the edge pieces didn’t connect together, they merely sat next to one another until interior pieces made connections. I saw when initially sorting the puzzle that this would be the case, and didn’t try to start with the edges as I normally would to avoid unnecessary frustration.

Blocks of color in a puzzle make me very happy, so you can imagine how much I enjoyed this assembly! It was a Goldilocks assembly; not too hard, not too easy – just right! This was after one day of work…

Firuzabad 1

Color by color is how this one was put together, and it made for extremely fun puzzling! The colors are bright and beautiful, the shaped aspect made it more interesting, and the overall assembly was highly entertaining.

Firuzabad 2

I loved this puzzle, and if the image looks like one you’d enjoy it’s highly recommended!

Details:

  • Title:                  MOMA Frank Stella (Firuzabad)
  • Artist:                Frank Stella
  • Brand:               Galison
  • Piece count:     750 pieces
  • Size:                  Approx. 24 x 16 in. (61 x 41 cm)
  • Purchased:      N/A, sent for review

Quality:

  • Board:               Very good
  • Cutting:             Very good
  • Image:               Excellent
  • Box:                   Excellent
  • Fit:                     Very good
  • Puzzle Dust:     Small amount
  • Piece cut:          Random cut
  • Piece shapes:   Very good variety
  • Finish:               Slightly shiny finish, lays flat

Overall Rating:      Very good, recommended

 

I received this product at no cost in order to facilitate this review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are truthful and 100% my own.

Review: Ideal Bookshelf – Universals

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews10 Comments
Ideal Bookshelf
Ideal Bookshelf: Universals by Jane Mount – Galison – 1000 pieces

Ideal Bookshelf: Universals was a completely entertaining puzzle that I couldn’t seem to walk away from – just…..one…..more……piece!

This is my kind of puzzle image, it’s a collage (of sorts) full of bright, fun colors. For me this type of picture is the wonderfully engaging and I have a problem stopping to do other mundane things like sleeping and eating. The pieces of one book lead to the next, and they’ll be so easy to find – I can’t stop just yet!

Galison puzzles have very good quality. The pieces are a good thickness, thinner than some brands, but very sturdy and difficult to bend. The fit is very good and holds together well; and the image reproduction is crisp and clean with no blurring or fuzziness. They have a great catalog of images to choose from, you can click the link above to see their current lineup of puzzles. (There’s a new puzzle very similar to this image that I would LOVE to assemble called Bibliophile Books Club Darlings – looks like great fun!)

My one issue with this puzzle was the lack of variety in the piece shapes, all the pieces are what I call ballerinas (the standard 2 prong/2 hole shape). There is enough variety within this shape to be sure you’re not placing pieces where they do not go, but I normally prefer puzzles with a little more variety. Having only one shape makes large areas of one color or pattern more difficult to complete….

Ideal Bookshelf 1

You can see above where I separated the pieces by “long” ones and “fat” ones, and had to try them one at a time to fill in the polka dot book. In the puzzle community we call this using “brute force”, it’s something most puzzlers have done at one time or another. I do it a little differently though; instead of picking up each piece and trying to fit it into place I pull the piece from the assembled section and try it against all the pieces I have lined up. I find it much easier and less time consuming, and therefore it seems a little less frustrating. The only books in this image that I had to do this for were the red polka dots, and the dark blue “Book That Makes Me Look Smart”.

Even with the lack of variety in shapes I thoroughly enjoyed this puzzle and would definitely assemble it again. It had enough challenge to keep things interesting, was easy enough to not feel tedious, and the image is beautiful and bright. If this image turns your page, it’s absolutely recommended – two book stacks way up! 📚📚

Details:

  • Title:                  Ideal Bookshelf
  • Artist:                Jane Mount
  • Brand:               Galison
  • Piece count:     1000 pieces
  • Size:                  Approx. 20 x 27 in. (51 x 69 cm)
  • Purchased:      N/A, sent for review

Quality:

  • Board:               Very good
  • Cutting:             Very good
  • Image:               Excellent
  • Box:                   Excellent
  • Fit:                     Very good
  • Puzzle Dust:     Small amount
  • Piece cut:          Grid cut
  • Piece shapes:   No variety, all 2 prong/2 hole
  • Finish:               Slightly shiny finish, lays flat

Overall Rating:      Very good, recommended

 

I received this product at no cost in order to facilitate this review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are truthful and 100% my own.