Garden Traditions

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Garden Traditions by Jane Maday – Ravensburger – 500 pieces

This was a fun puzzle that went together pretty quickly. Again, it wasn’t a puzzle image that I would buy new, but it was definitely one that we’d buy at the thrift store. As usual, I enjoyed it immensely and ended up liking the image much more once it was all assembled.

A 500 piece Ravensburger is just about the perfect size puzzle for me when I haven’t been feeling well. I can only sit for a limited amount of time and a 500 piece is 4 times easier than a 1000 piece (according to conventional wisdom) and therefore doesn’t seem to require as much thought or time studying the pieces. I can pull the pieces for a section and put them together relatively quickly, giving me a sense of completion and making it easier for me to walk away for a while to take a break from sitting or standing to work on it.

I enjoy the 500 piece Ravensburger puzzles in both the smaller and larger piece sizes. The larger size seems to go together more quickly for me, but they’re both quite fun if you’ve got a good image. I’ve done a couple Jane Maday puzzles in the past month or so and find that they’re quite fun to do and just the right amount of challenge. I hope we find more of her puzzles at the thrift stores. 🙂 There’s an adorable 350 piece puzzle of hers from Cobble Hill called Christmas Train that I’ve seen on Puzzle Warehouse’s site, it looks like a great puzzle for next Christmas!

Review: Wild Animal Park

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Wild Animal Park – Ravensburger – 380 pieces (Family Puzzle)

I had no idea that my favorite puzzle manufacturer made family puzzles! It doesn’t look like they’re being produced anymore, but I was happy mom came across this beauty on one of her thrift store runs. I enjoy working a family puzzle once in a while, even for just one person I think they’re an entertaining departure from the “normal” puzzle.

The entire bottom section has the largest pieces (approx. 55) and are the easiest to assemble for the youngest children; the top left of the puzzle has the medium sized pieces (approx. 80) and are a bit more difficult, and the top right of the puzzle has the smallest sized pieces (approx. 250) and is the most challenging section. This section isn’t easy, and if you’re not someone who assembles puzzles regularly you may find this section a bit difficult. I really enjoyed the fact that the adult portion of the puzzle wasn’t super easy, which I’ve found to be the case with some family puzzles I’ve worked. I found every section entertaining to assemble and it was hard for me to walk away from working on it. I get a little obsessed sometimes. 😏

I’ve enjoyed every family puzzle that I’ve done, no matter who the manufacturer is. I think they’re an excellent idea and great fun to work with others. I’d love to find more of the series of family puzzles that Ravensburger produced, as I think they’re one of the best quality family puzzles that I’ve assembled. They’re not too simple, and I think that challenging images/puzzles are important to keeping a person’s interest; every different section was just the right amount of challenging. I would definitely recommend this puzzle, it’s extremely well done!

*This is post number 500 for My Jigsaw Journal, wow!*

Details:

  • Title:                  Wild Animal Park
  • Artist:                Unknown
  • Brand:               Ravensburger
  • Piece count:     380 pieces
  • Size:                  Approx. 27 x 19 in. (69 x 48 cm)
  • Purchased:      Used, thrift store

Quality:

  • Board:               Excellent
  • Cutting:             Excellent
  • Image:               Excellent
  • Box:                   Quite large to accommodate larger pieces
  • Fit:                     Excellent
  • Puzzle Dust:     Moderate amount
  • Piece cut:          Grid cut
  • Piece shapes:   Very good variety
  • Finish:               Matte finish, lays flat

Overall Rating:      Excellent, highly recommended

 

Review: The Christmas Library

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The Christmas Library by Aimee Stewart – Ravensburger – 1000 pieces

Aimee Stewart and Ravensburger, always a fantastic combination! Her artwork is beautiful and colorful and ever entertaining, and her puzzles have never disappointed. 🙂

The Christmas Library made for excellent puzzling – I enjoyed every single piece. Having words to assemble always makes me happy, and the style of the vintage books, ornaments, and images was absolutely gorgeous! The quality was excellent, as usual. It’s very rare that I have any quality issues with Ravensburger. The pieces look and feel like a premium puzzle, and fit together like one too. An all around fantastic Christmas image!

I’ve never really been a Christmas puzzle person, most holiday puzzles are so similar that they don’t interest me much. This year though, I’ve been lucky enough to find a few puzzles that are outside the norm, and they’ve been quite fun to assemble. I’m putting this one in that group, it’s more of a collage and that’s more to my liking then the standard Santa and the tree puzzles.

Stay tuned, the next 3 days will be all Christmas puzzles that I’ve assembled this season; I enjoyed every one. (I can hardly believe I just wrote that! 😮 )

Details:

  • Title:                  The Christmas Library
  • Artist:                Aimee Stewart
  • Brand:               Ravensburger
  • Piece count:     1000 pieces
  • Size:                   Approx. 27 x 20 in. (70 x 50 cm)
  • Purchased:       New

Quality:

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

Overall Rating:      Excellent, recommended

African Splendor

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African Splendor by Andrew Farley – Ravensburger – 500 pieces

Another beautiful 500 piece Ravensburger, mom and I started this one the day after Thanksgiving but didn’t finish it before I left. Mom completed it that night; isn’t that just like a mother – having to finish things for their children. 😉

The 300 and 500 piece puzzles have become a favorite for mom and I to do together. Unless it’s a remarkable image we usually don’t have enough time to finish a 1000 piece puzzle, so the smaller piece counts are perfect. That leaves plenty of time to chit chat, laugh, and even pull the Spot It game from my purse for a couple of quick hands. (If you saw us play this game you’d be shocked at the little old ladies cussing at each other while laughing hysterically, it’s so much fun!)

This was another puzzle that is easy to work with someone else. Easy enough to pick out one of the animals and work on it without getting in the other person’s way. It’s not an image that mom and I would normally choose, but we’ve found we’re not nearly as picky when the prices are amazing. Tightwads we are, and proud of it! It was a fun assembly but challenging; and absolutely worth the 69 cents we paid for it.

Mom and I work puzzles together every week, and I’m so glad we get that time. I enjoy being able to assemble puzzles with someone, and it’s even better when that someone is mom. 💗 We’re so lucky to have each other!

 

Hang Loose

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Hang Loose by Scott Westmoreland – Ravensburger – 500 pieces

This is a puzzle that I probably wouldn’t have purchased new; it’s not the typical artwork that interests me. But as usual I am proven wrong because this was so much fun to assemble! Will I ever learn? Probably not. But it is fun that I’m still getting surprised by how fun a certain image is to assemble, so I guess I’ll just keep on being me! 😉

In addition, it was a great puzzle to work with someone else (my mom ❤) – the towels and surfboards on opposite ends of the puzzle make it perfect for working with others. It’s easy to grab the pieces for one of the boards or towels and assemble it without getting in someone else’s way. We had a great time with this puzzle, and it was just the right amount of challenging with the sky and ocean. I highly recommend it!

This would be a great puzzle for a summer vacation with family, or even for a holiday get together where you’re snuggled in front of a fire wishing for the beach. Hang loose, and happy puzzling! 😎