Children’s Globe

On March 29, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles3 Comments

Mom found another puzzle ball for children, as usual she couldn’t help herself even though the last two puzzle balls we’ve gotten had pieces missing. Always the optimist! Luckily for us not only were all the pieces there, we liked the image much more than the last one and it was a lot of fun to assemble.

The quality of these 3D puzzles is very good and I find them quite entertaining. The pieces are made of thick plastic and fit together very snugly so that they stay together without glue. All the pieces are also numbered on the back with an arrow underneath the number pointing in the direction that the next number should go. You can assemble the puzzle using only the numbers, only the image, or a combination of the two.

I like to separate the pieces by the numbers in groups of ten, then flip them over and use the image to put them together. We’ve put them together only using the numbers before, and it’s just not as satisfying for us. But puzzles are supposed to be fun, and whichever way makes you happy is the way you should do it.

Ravensburger has puzzle balls from 54 to 540 pieces, and I think they’re a lot of fun. If you come across one in a thrift store give it a try, you just might have a great time!

Paw Patrol (3)

On March 26, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

This is the last of the 3 puzzles in one box we purchased at the thrift store. Beautiful Ravensburger puzzles that are cute, premium quality, and quite fun to assemble.

I always enjoy putting together a small piece count puzzle, whether it’s for children or adults makes no difference. It’s nice to be able to complete a puzzle from start to finish in one sitting, and it brightens up my mood. Fortunately my mother has a moderate thrift store shopping addiction and there is definitely no shortage of puzzles for me to choose from! She has gotten better though at being a little more choosy about the puzzles she buys, but she can still go a little crazy once in a while. 😉

If you read this blog regularly you already know that Ravensburger puzzles are my favorite brand, their quality is absolutely excellent. If you buy puzzles for children the brands I recommend most are Ravensburger, Cobble Hill, and Eurographics; although in my mind buying puzzles for kids is a fantastic idea whatever the brand.

You’ve heard it from me before, assembling jigsaw puzzles is good for your brain and especially for the developing brains of children. It promotes hand/eye coordination, spatial awareness, problem solving skills, patience, and perseverance along with many other benefits. Give a child a puzzle and you’re helping to grow a young mind, what better gift could you give?

Paw Patrol (2)

On March 23, 2018March 23, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

This is the second of three puzzles that come in one box. They’re absolutely wonderful quality, and even when there are only a few pieces like this one they are so much fun to put together.

I love that each puzzle has it’s own poster to help with assembly and that the backing of each has a different pattern so you can sort them easily. They fit together easily but with enough of that signature Ravensburger “click” that you know you’ve got the right piece in the right place. Puzzles like these are great for beginning puzzlers, they stand up to rough handling and have great images that kids love.

Paw Patrol is crazy popular right now, so if you’ve got a little one in your life who loves them I definitely recommend these cute little puzzles – we loved them!

Paw Patrol (1)

On March 20, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

Mom found this box of 3 Paw Patrol puzzles, 49 pieces each at the thrift store. She cannot pass up a Ravensburger at the thrift store, I think it may be physically impossible for her. Since they’re going to be donated to the school my daughter works for we always assemble them to be sure no pieces are missing; all 3 puzzles were complete. 🙂

Ravensburger puzzles are premium quality and their kids puzzles are no exception. The pieces are thick and sturdy, fit together wonderfully, and the image reproduction is crisp and clean with bright, fun colors. With this box of 3 separate puzzles you also get posters of each of the images to help with assembly since the box top images are small. Also, the backing of each puzzle is different so that you can separate them easily; one is the traditional blue chipboard of a Ravensburger, and the other two have symbols added to each (triangles, circles).

The puzzles themselves are basic and easy to assemble, but it doesn’t matter to me – I love assembling puzzles no matter the size. I do have to confess that I’m always happy to put together a bunch of kids puzzles not only for the enjoyment; I can assemble a BUNCH of them in a day, so they’re helpful in making sure that I’ve always got a good backlog of puzzle posts for the blog. 😇

These puzzles are cute, fun to put together, and excellent quality. If you’ve got a little one in your life who loves Paw Patrol I highly recommend these puzzles. Two little old ladies had fun putting them together!

Unicorns

On March 13, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

If the first puzzle ball we found at the thrift store hadn’t been complete I don’t think we’d have bought anymore. That first globe we assembled was lots of fun for us and all the pieces were there, now mom can’t seem to pass up a puzzle ball if she finds any at the thrift stores. 🙂

5 missing pieces from a 96 piece puzzle is a lot, and it makes assembling a ball quite difficult. Fortunately we were able to get a pretty picture without having to show the glaring holes. This was our first time putting together a kid’s puzzle ball, and the fit seemed a bit odd. The pieces didn’t seem to want to click or stay together as well as the other ones we’ve assembled, the finished image isn’t as smooth as you’d want a ball to be. I don’t know if that’s the puzzle itself or the fact that it’s been assembled before (perhaps many times); those are the chances you take purchasing from thrift stores I guess.

Other than the fit, the quality was excellent. The pieces are thick and plastic and are numbered on the back to assist with assembly. There is an arrow underneath the number to tell you in which direction the next piece will be placed, this is extremely helpful when you’re assembling it by the numbers. You don’t have to use them though, you can put it together using the image just like any other puzzle – it’s completely up to you.

I hate saying that the quality was good “other than the fit”, fit is pretty darned important with a puzzle! Although those of us who are hard core puzzle practitioners will sometimes put up with a lot to be able to get a fix of that sweet, sweet puzzle magic. At least I would. I’ve got a full-blown addiction going on here!