Tag: Puzzle Warehouse

Review: Canned Veggies

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews1 Comment
This post is sponsored by Puzzle Warehouse.
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Canned Veggies – Springbok – 500 pieces

Canned Veggies makes me think of fall up north, canning fruits and vegetables with mom. There was a lot of peeling, cutting, and whining going on. (I didn’t always have a great time, especially when we were canning foods I don’t like) 🙂

This is another tight fitting Springbok puzzle. I’m not much of a fan of the super tight fit, but this wasn’t too bad, at least the sides aren’t curling up! Springbok puzzles are very good quality, and my preference for a slightly looser fit doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate that quality. The pieces are very thick, and fit together very snugly. The image reproduction on this puzzle was bright and crisp, and would be quite suitable for framing – it would be perfect in the kitchen! With the tighter fit, you most likely wouldn’t have to glue the puzzle, just frame it as is. Click to see all Springbok puzzles currently in stock at Puzzle Warehouse. They have some beautiful images, including Off the Vine – a gorgeous collage of wine labels – beautiful! (And I don’t even like wine 😐 )

I enjoyed this assembly, although I wasn’t prepared for the challenge of it. It looks pretty straightforward, but the darker areas made me slow down and I had to concentrate more. That’s probably a good thing though! I think this puzzle may end up framed and in my mother’s kitchen, she loves the look of it; and it reminds me of her. ❤

Details:

  • Title:                  Canned Veggies
  • Artist:                Allied Products
  • Brand:               Springbok
  • Piece count:     500 pieces
  • Size:                  Approx. 18 x 24 in. (46 x 60 cm)
  • Purchased:      n/a

Quality:

  • Board:               Very good
  • Cutting:             Very good
  • Image:               Very good
  • Box:                   Average
  • Fit:                     Good, very tight
  • Puzzle Dust:     Moderate amount
  • Piece cut:          Random cut
  • Piece shapes:   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: Dream Cottage Retreat

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviewsLeave a comment
This post is sponsored by Puzzle Warehouse. 
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Dream Cottage Retreat by Cra-Z-Art – Kodak (Lafayette Puzzle Factory) – 1000 pieces

Dream Cottage Retreat is a gorgeous puzzle! Several family members commented on it while I was assembling it, that isn’t something that usually happens around here. They all said how colorful and pretty it was and I agree. 🙂

This was my first experience with Kodak, according to Puzzle Warehouse they are manufactured by Lafayette Puzzle Factory. I was impressed with the overall quality although I did have some minor issues. There were several sets of pieces that weren’t fully separated; this is not a major issue as it’s easy enough to separate them without damage to the pieces. There were, however, 3 sets of pieces that weren’t cut completely through and couldn’t be separated without damage. Both of these issues are most likely the result of the puzzle being the end of the run when the die isn’t as sharp. This didn’t lessen my enjoyment of the puzzle, and the overall quality of this puzzle was very good. The pieces are a good thickness and fit together well, if somewhat loosely. The image reproduction especially is excellent and looking at the other puzzles in the series, the images they’ve chosen look to be amazing as well. Click on the link to see all the Kodak Premium Puzzles in stock now at Puzzle Warehouse.

This was a random cut puzzle, which I find is a nice change every once in a while. It takes my brain a few minutes to make the switch, I solve these puzzles differently than grid cut. It’s good exercise for my brain, keeps me on my toes! Being random cut, some of the pieces of this puzzle seemed quite small, so if fine motor skills or eyesight is an issue it’s something to consider.

I love cottage/cabin puzzles, they are what the British would call “chocolate box” puzzles. I had to look it up, but it means an image or picture that is pretty in a idealized or conventional way. They seem pretty ideal to me; places that I would love to go, or a cottage that would be my dream getaway. Wouldn’t it be lovely to sit in the gazebo with a puzzle on a beautiful summer day?

I enjoyed this assembly, and it went quicker than most 1000 piece puzzles for me. It was hard to stop working on it to do all those annoying life things like eating, walking, etc. As always, I come back to my puzzling – it keeps me sane. ☺

Details:

  • Title:                  Dream Cottage Retreat
  • Artist:                Cra-Z-Art
  • Brand:               Kodak (Lafayette Puzzle Factory)
  • Piece count:     1000 pieces
  • Size:                  Approx. 19 x 27 in. (50 x 68 cm)
  • Purchased:      n/a

Quality:

  • Board:               Very good
  • Cutting:             Fair
  • Image:               Excellent
  • Box:                   Very good, small and square
  • Fit:                     Good, somewhat loose
  • 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: Fall: Joy of Puzzles with Bob Ross

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews4 Comments
This post is sponsored by Puzzle Warehouse.
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Fall: The Joy of Puzzles with Bob Ross – Wellspring – 500 pieces

I’m not usually one for landscape puzzles, but this one looks serene and calming, Fall: (The Joy of Puzzles with Bob Ross), it’s quite a lovely image. And the fact that it’s Bob Ross is an added bonus – just thinking about his show makes me smile. “We don’t make mistakes, we just have happy accidents” 🙂

This was a fun assembly that I took on immediately after a more challenging puzzle, it was the perfect palate cleanser. I needed something fun and a little bit simpler – this was absolutely the right puzzle at the right time.

I was glad to be able to try out the new Bob Ross puzzles from Wellspring. I’m not sure if they’re an offshoot of Sunsout, or if they’re just manufactured at the same place; the box is the same size and shape of a Sunsout with the number stamped on the bottom and the slip of paper inside from Sunsout Customer Service. The quality seems about the same as a Sunsout puzzle, but the puzzle is grid cut instead of random. The chipboard is nice and thick and the fit seems the same as well – good quality overall. If you’re a fan of his artwork there are 4 puzzles in this series, one for each season; click the link above to see the ones currently available at Puzzle Warehouse.

I definitely recommend this puzzle. It went together quickly but wasn’t too easy, and was a nice change of subject matter for me. Landscape puzzles aren’t normally what I would choose, but I see the draw. As usual when I review a puzzle I try to look through other puzzles of that genre, and as usual I’ve added more puzzles to the wishlist. Check out a beautiful and VERY interesting Pomegranate puzzle called Enassamishhinjijweian. No, I did not fall asleep face first onto my keyboard – that’s really the name! I provided a link so no one else has to struggle to spell that. 😉

I guess I have to rethink my preferences, apparently I do like landscapes.

Details:

  • Title:                  Fall: The Joy of Puzzles with Bob Ross
  • Artist:                Bob Ross
  • Brand:               Wellspring
  • Piece count:     500 pieces
  • Size:                  Approx. 18 x 24 in. (46 x 61 cm)
  • Purchased:      n/a

Quality:

  • Board:               Very good
  • Cutting:             Good
  • Image:               Very good
  • Box:                   Average
  • Fit:                     Very good, a bit tight
  • Puzzle Dust:     Small amount
  • Piece cut:          Grid cut
  • Piece shapes:   Good variety
  • Finish:               Slightly shiny finish, lays flat

Overall Rating:      Very good, recommended

 

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

Review: Mandala Fruit Tree

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews1 Comment
This post is sponsored by Puzzle Warehouse.
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Mandala Fruit Tree by Paul Heussenstamm – Pomegranate – 500 pieces

I chose Mandala Fruit Tree to review, and I wasn’t disappointed – it’s just beautiful! I also enjoyed learning about mandalas from the information of the back of the box. I had no idea they were spiritual and used for meditation, or that they are a mystical symbol seen by many as the doorway to the soul.

The artist, Paul Heussenstamm, believes that soul patterns are manifested in mandalas, and his works often contain them. All of that makes this image even more striking and interesting for me. Click the link above to see all of this artist’s puzzles currently available at Puzzle Warehouse. (They even carry a couple of Peaceful Wooden Puzzles of his work! Click to see my post on my wooden puzzles with a review of Peaceful Wooden Puzzles)

Pomegranate is one of my favorite brands. The pieces are wonderfully thick and the finish feels almost soft in your hands. The fit is tight, but not too much; you won’t have to use your upper body strength to put them into place. 😉 Their catalog of puzzles is mostly fine art, and the image and color reproduction is superb. I don’t normally comment on puzzle boxes, but even the boxes of Pomegranate puzzles feel amazing – you know you’re holding a premium puzzle in your hands when you’re holding a Pomegranate.

This puzzle was more of a challenge than I anticipated, but I was up for the task. Once I assembled the edge and the plain blue background I had to come up with a strategy for the tree itself. I decided to separate the pieces by shape and work by piece shape first and then color/pattern. It worked wonderfully and I thoroughly enjoyed the entire assembly. Mandala Fruit Tree was even better than I thought it would be, I highly recommend it! 👍

Details:

  • Title:                  Mandala Fruit Tree
  • Artist:                Paul Heussenstamm
  • Brand:               Pomegranate
  • Piece count:     500 pieces
  • Size:                  Approx. 24 x 18 in. (61 x 46 cm)
  • Purchased:      n/a

Quality:

  • Board:               Excellent
  • Cutting:             Excellent
  • Image:               Excellent
  • Box:                   Excellent, short bio of artist on back
  • Fit:                     Very good
  • Puzzle Dust:     Moderate amount
  • Piece cut:          Grid cut
  • Piece shapes:   Good variety
  • Finish:               Matte finish, lays flat

Overall Rating:      Excellent, highly recommended

 

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

Review: Lighthouse 1

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviewsLeave a comment
This post is sponsored by Puzzle Warehouse.
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Lighthouse 1 by Karla Gerard – Educa – 1000 pieces

I love the artwork of Karla Gerard and thought Lighthouse 1 would be quite a fun puzzle to assemble. Oh my. I was not prepared for how difficult this was! Still, I am very proud that I finished it. Hey Ma – look what I did! 🙋High five!

This is only the second Educa puzzle that I’ve completed, the first was a collage of sorts and so much fun that I didn’t really take notice of the piece shapes. There is not much variety (most of the pieces are 2 prong/2 hole *ballerinas*), so a puzzle like this one with large areas of the same color/pattern is quite a challenge. The overall quality is good; the pieces are a good thickness and fit together well, although a bit loosely. I guess I would say that it might pay to be careful of the image you select when purchasing an Educa puzzle – your favorite image might be more challenging than you expect! There are plenty of busier images, collages, and smaller piece counts that might help lower the challenge level. But if you’re up for a challenge there are plenty of Educa puzzles that would keep your brain cells limber too – click the link above to see what’s available now at Puzzle Warehouse.

Still, after I changed my method of attack I did enjoy the assembly. I would normally just pull all the pieces for a section and start assembling them, but that didn’t work very well here; so many of the pieces were the same shape that it was a bit tedious. So after some thought and a nice coffee break I decided that I needed to complete all the smaller sections first, and then assemble all the edges/outlines. It helped tremendously, and I was ready to conquer this gorgeous puzzle. I conquered, and it looks amazing. 🙂

If you like this image check out the other Contemporary Art Puzzles in stock now at Puzzle Warehouse. Several have made it onto my wishlist, including several by Kandinsky, Charley Harper, and Alphonse Mucha. So many puzzles, so little time!

Lighthouse 1 would be a great gift for that avid puzzler in your life who enjoys a challenge – or challenge yourself – you can do it! 👍

Details:

  • Title:                  Lighthouse 1
  • Artist:                Karla Gerard
  • Brand:               Educa
  • Piece count:     1000 pieces
  • Size:                  Approx. 27 x 19 in. (68 x 48 cm)
  • Purchased:      n/a

Quality:

  • Board:               Very good
  • Cutting:             Very good
  • Image:               Very good
  • Box:                   Average
  • Fit:                     Good – somewhat loose
  • Puzzle Dust:     Moderate amount
  • Piece cut:          Grid cut
  • Piece shapes:   Not much variety, pieces can fit in wrong spot
  • Finish:               Matte finish, lays flat

Overall Rating:      Very Good, recommended (challenging)

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