Tag: Puzzle reviews

Review: Vintage Baker

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews16 Comments
vintage baker
Vintage Baker by Aimee Stewart – Holdson – `1000 pieces

I’ve been wanting this image for a while now, but I’m thinking I should have waited to find it from a company whose quality I was familiar with. Terrible fit, horrible to work with, too shiny causing lots of glare – quite disappointing. 😦

Holdson Puzzles are made in New Zealand, and although I’d heard good things about the quality I found myself pretty let down by this puzzle. The finish was very shiny, the glare was hard to work around and the fit was awful – so loose that you couldn’t even pick up two pieces together. I work on a fabric covered board so it’s a little more difficult for the pieces to slide around, but these pieces managed it well enough somehow. On the positive side the chipboard was a good thickness and the image reproduction was very good.

I love the look of  this vanilla bottle; not only is it cool looking, but it also shows the detail in the artwork and the quality of the reproduction.

vintage baker 1

The handwriting in the recipe below looks like my Grama’s, although I know it isn’t. I have noticed that many older people’s writing seems almost identical. Of course schools used to teach things like penmanship and cursive writing. Sigh. I’m old.

vintage baker 2

I try not to make a final decision about new brands until I’ve worked at least 2 or 3 of their puzzles. I’d work another Holdson puzzle if we found it in a thrift store, but I’m not going to go out of my way to buy one retail. If I find one second-hand perhaps it’ll be great quality. Who knows?

Details:

  • Title:                  Vintage Baker
  • Artist:                Aimee Stewart
  • Brand:               Holdson Puzzles
  • Piece count:     1000 pieces
  • Size:                  Approx. 19 x 27 in. (49 x 69 cm)
  • Purchased:      New

Quality:

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

Overall Rating:      Fair, not recommended

 

Review: Feeling a Little Blue

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews9 Comments
Feeling a Little Blue
Feeling a Little Blue by Denyse Klette – StandOut Puzzles – 750 pieces

This puzzle was quite a challenge, but the image is so adorable that I knew it would be completely worth it – thankfully I was right!

StandOut Puzzles are a new brand to me, and I enjoyed this one very much. The quality is very much like Cobble Hill puzzles; linen finished randomly cut pieces that are pleasantly thick and fit together well, if somewhat loosely. They only produce 750 piece puzzles, and showcase “standout artwork from standout artists”. Their catalog is lovely, with images that you haven’t seen before – they stand out! And just for kicks and giggles they add a packet of “standouts” in every puzzle….

Feeling Blue 4

In case you were wondering, I wasn’t feeling particularly daring. Ralphie wasn’t around to triple-dog-dare me. 😋

I think the two little birds on the left are trying their best to cheer up the bear who’s feeling a little blue. The two on the right, though, are having their own discussion – I think the male bird was out too late eating fermented berries the night before; he seems to be getting quite a talking to!

Feeling Blue 3

What is it about a grumpy face that’s so cute? Or is it just me? It makes me smile every time I look at him!

Although much of the image was quite dark, I found the assembly to be entertaining and the overall puzzle to be of excellent quality. They’re on the pricey side, but I believe in supporting smaller companies with great products; their production and shipping costs are different for smaller batches and result in higher prices. (You can find them through retailers at a lesser cost than from the StandOut website, that’s where I purchased mine)

Great puzzle with great quality and an adorably beautiful image!

Details:

  • Title:                  Feeling a Little Blue
  • Artist:                Denyse Klette
  • Brand:               StandOut Puzzles
  • Piece count:     750 pieces
  • Size:                  Approx. 24 x 18 in. (61 x 46 cm)
  • Purchased:      New

Quality:

  • Board:               Very good
  • Cutting:             Very good
  • Image:               Excellent
  • Box:                   Sturdy cardboard tube
  • Fit:                     Good, somewhat loose
  • Puzzle Dust:     Moderate amount
  • Piece cut:          Random cut
  • Piece shapes:   Very good variety
  • Finish:               Slightly shiny finish, lays flat

Overall Rating:      Very good, recommended

Review: Desserts

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews4 Comments
This post is sponsored by eeBoo.
Desserts
Desserts by Monika Forsberg – eeBoo – 1008 pieces

Desserts is one of those collages puzzles that is so much fun to assemble that I find it difficult to walk away. Back when I could sit for long periods of time this is exactly the kind of 1000 piece puzzle I could have finished in one day – I absolutely LOVED IT❣

eeBoo puzzles have excellent quality, and I have thoroughly enjoyed every one that I’ve assembled. Their catalog is full of bright, interesting images and I find them extremely entertaining to construct. The pieces are pleasantly thick and sturdy, with a good variety of shapes, and the fit is excellent. The image reproduction is stellar, with clean lines and bright colors; my only small criticism is that the finish is quite shiny. If you’re working under artificial lights glare can be a problem, even with the lighter colored pieces. Overall though, they are wonderful quality puzzles. Click on the link above to check out their current puzzle line. (I’m so looking forward to their spring 2019 releases, they have some AWESOME puzzles coming out – including a round 500 piece Votes for Women puzzle that looks amazing!)

The square 1008 piece puzzles they carry have all sides pointing towards the center, they’re great for assembling with family or friends – there’s no bottom or top, whichever side you’re working on is the right side. 😍

Desserts eeBoo Day 1
Desserts eeBoo Day 2

There are only 2 in process photos because I was too caught up in the assembly to stop and take pictures – these are at the end of days one and two, day three had me finishing it. Each small section led to another and I didn’t want to get up from the puzzle table!

The green teapot was my favorite part of the assembly, and the gorgeous cake in the center came in a close second. It didn’t make me hungry for desserts though, it made me hungry to get another puzzle!

Desserts 3

One of the many things I like about this brand is that not only do you get a small poster of the image to use during assembly, they also have an unobstructed image on the back of the box – whichever works best for you. I really dislike it when puzzle companies cover the image with logos and piece counts, and other trivial stuff – we want to see what the WHOLE puzzle looks like! eeBoo gives you the entire image two different ways, and this puzzler is extremely grateful!

I enjoyed this puzzle so much more than I thought I would, it was an absolute delight. It gets two cake slices WAY up! 🍰🍰

Details:

  • Title:                  Desserts
  • Artist:                Monika Forsberg
  • Brand:               eeBoo
  • Piece count:     1008 pieces
  • Size:                  25 x 25 (64 x 64 cm)
  • Purchased:      N/A, sent for review

Quality:

  • Board:               Excellent
  • Cutting:             Very good
  • Image:               Excellent
  • Box:                   Very good
  • Fit:                     Excellent
  • Puzzle Dust:     Small amount
  • Piece cut:          Grid cut
  • Piece shapes:   Very good variety
  • Finish:               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: The Nutcracker

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews2 Comments
The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker by Anie Maltais – JaCaRou Puzzles – 1000 pieces

The Nutcracker is a beautiful image and puzzle, and although there was a slight quality issue I enjoyed it’s assembly very much. It’s the first puzzle of this brand that I’ve tried, and I was impressed.

JaCaRou Puzzles are a relatively new brand to the market, but I have to say for someone like myself who enjoys bright, interesting artwork they have an amazing catalog! All the artwork is done by Anie Maltais, who also the owner of the company. I surprised myself by choosing this Christmas image with all the other gorgeous, colorful puzzles they have, but something about this one spoke to me that day.

The pieces are a good thickness and quite sturdy with a very good variety of shapes that fit together well. I had some damaged pieces along with an image reproduction problem (the filigree along the edges was very blurry in contrast to the rest of the puzzle). I admit I was disappointed, but my email to the company prompted an unbelievably fast reply from Anie herself; and the excellent customer service I received leads me to believe that my damaged puzzle was an anomaly. I won’t hesitate to try another JaCaRou.

The puzzle comes in a special edition book box of very nice quality, with what seems to be a switch to turn on a small “music box” that I’m assuming plays The Nutcracker by Tchaikovsky. It didn’t work (dead batteries), but I’m not holding that against them – it’s a great idea!

I started out assembling this puzzle in bed, on my trays. It went together pretty darn quickly.

Trayed puzzling

Now that it’s been moved to the board and filled in some it’s looking fantastic.

The Nutcracker 1

The top edge was easy to distinguish from the rest of the edges, and went together quite easily. The cord down the center was a little more of a challenge, but not too much so.

The Nutcracker 2

The filigree pattern around the edges was the most difficult part for me, but I love the look of the puzzle as a whole – all that’s left now are the edges!

The Nutcracker 3

Close-up of the presents under the tree…

The Nutcracker 4

The beautiful colors and patterns on these presents make me want to try one of the other JaCaRou puzzles with the bright artwork, the only problem is which one to choose. 😉 I’m leaning towards either Hearts of Glass or Home Sweet Home. I can’t decide!

Details:

  • Title:                  The Nutcracker
  • Artist:                Anie Maltais
  • Brand:               JaCaRou
  • Piece count:     1000 pieces
  • Size:                  Approx. 27 x 20 in. (70 x 50 cm)
  • Purchased:      New

Quality:

  • Board:               Very good
  • Cutting:             Very good
  • Image:               Good, blurry filigree
  • Box:                   Excellent, book box
  • Fit:                     Very good
  • Puzzle Dust:     Small amount
  • Piece cut:          Grid cut
  • Piece shapes:   Very good variety
  • Finish:               Slightly shiny finish

Overall Rating:      Very good, recommended

**I don’t normally contact companies about small quality problems, things happen. It’s been my experience though that puzzles with specialty packaging have their own unique problems and are sometimes manufactured at different facilities. I thought that JaCaRou should be made aware of the quality issues I had, especially because of the packaging; I believe the damaged pieces were most likely the result of how they were placed in the box. Anie was apologetic, and graciously offered to replace either the damaged pieces or the entire puzzle (I declined both). She was also appreciative that I mentioned the fuzzy border, so that she can address the issue. I love that she cares so much about making sure the puzzles she produces are the best quality they can be, and that she took so much of her time to correspond with me about resolving any problems.

Review: Oh My, What a Pie!

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews4 Comments
This post is sponsored by Puzzle Warehouse.
Oh My, What a Pie!
Oh My, What a Pie! – Ceaco – 300 pieces

This was the most difficult puzzle so far from the Sweet & Salty multipack. It took me at least 10 times longer than a 300 piece normally does. Wow. And I have to say it looks amazingly real – if it were also a scented puzzle I wouldn’t be able to keep my son away from it!

Again, I’m naming these myself as they aren’t named on the box or in the foldout poster enclosed. I started the first few with just plain, boring, descriptive names like Donut and Macaroons. Yawn. Then I decided to punch it up a bit with What, No Chocolate?! and today’s Oh My, What a Pie! I’m hoping to keep finding more fun and interesting names, and perhaps I’ll come up with some enigmatic, bizarre sounding name that has absolutely nothing to do with the picture. 😁

Ceaco puzzles have a great selection of images to choose from, although sometimes I find the quality to be lacking. The quality of these puzzles has been better than I expected, especially from a multipack. The fit is excellent, the images are beautifully reproduced, and the pieces are a good thickness. Sometimes the chipboard is fanning on the backs of the pieces, and there are some that aren’t cut all the way through; overall though, the quality is good. Click the link above to see their puzzles currently in stock at Puzzle Warehouse.

This image was quite difficult, and had me working it completely differently than I normally would. I started off by separating all the pieces by shape, which is something I usually only do near the end of the puzzle or when there are large areas of one color. It doesn’t look as though it would be so challenging, but it really was! So much so that it overwhelmed me and I set it aside for several days and only worked on it a few pieces at a time.

As usual though, the closer you get to the end, the more you get excited to finish and see the entire puzzle completed. It’s not an easy one, but I was so proud when it was done! If you enjoy a challenge, consider the Sweet & Salty multipack by Ceaco, I’m enjoying it very much! 4 down, 4 to go. 👍

Details:

  • Title:                  Oh My, What a Pie!
  • Artist:                iStock
  • Brand:               Ceaco
  • Piece count:     300 pieces
  • Size:                  Approx. 14 in. (36 cm)
  • Purchased:      N/A, sent for review

Quality:

  • Board:               Good
  • Cutting:             Good
  • Image:               Very good
  • Box:                   Average, 8 puzzles in 1 box
  • Fit:                     Very good
  • Puzzle Dust:     Moderate amount
  • Piece cut:          Grid cut
  • Piece shapes:   Good variety
  • Finish:               Slightly shiny finish, lays flat

Overall Rating:      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.