Ludicrous Lighthouse

On May 10, 2017May 18, 2023 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw PuzzlesLeave a comment

This lighthouse is so much bigger than I thought it would be! To be honest I never even looked at the size when I ordered it; I just saw Colin Thompson and Ravensburger and ordered it without another thought. It’s over 3 feet tall! 38 inches x 25 3/4 inches. It’s pretty awesome though, no matter how tall it is. 🙂

Excellent Ravensburger quality, fun shaped puzzle, and Colin Thompson’s artwork = a happy, happy puzzler! I’m not a shaped puzzle aficionado, this is technically only the 2nd one I’ve completed, but I enjoyed this one very much. I did like that the sides going up the lighthouse were pretty much straight so I could at least pull out some of the edge pieces and keep to my puzzling routine, even if just a little bit. This puzzle has “specially shaped pieces” as well, which might be called whimsies. There aren’t many of them, but enough to be fun and make for some interestingly shaped pieces that surround them.

There are so many things to discover in this puzzle that it may take several observations to find them all! The usual Colin Thompson humor, worlds within worlds, and plenty of little pink people throughout. This is a puzzle that I’ll definitely be doing again – it was loads of fun!

If you’re a shaped puzzle fan or if you love Colin Thompson’s artwork, this puzzle is an excellent one! Make sure you’ve got a big enough board though, it’s pretty darn tall!

At The Vets

On May 4, 2017May 18, 2023 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw PuzzlesLeave a comment

I’ve been in a What If and Wasgij mood lately, I keep switching from one to the other. I like the added challenge of not having a picture to work from and I suppose I’ve been wanting to use my brain to prove it’s still there and functioning. 🙂

So for this puzzle, the picture shows what Brett the vet hopes the surgery (they say surgery in Europe instead of office) would look like if he stops making house calls and everyone has to come to the surgery instead. The puzzle is what actually happens when everyone has to come to the surgery/office. It doesn’t turn out to be as calm as Brett had hoped!

This puzzle was really fun for me as I didn’t even use the box for clues. Usually you can tell what certain characters are wearing and where they might be in the image and use those clues to assist in the assembly. I put the box away completely and just started working the puzzle and I must say it was a great time! I didn’t know who was wearing what or where anything was supposed to be so it was all just assembling and paying attention.

I can’t really put into words how much I enjoy taking a few pieces of a certain color and looking how they may fit together and putting them where they’re supposed to be. It’s a sense of pride almost, but also it’s just a good time for me. Again, this is clumsily worded and it doesn’t convey how much I adore doing jigsaw puzzles, but it’s the best I can do for today. Apparently my brain is helping with puzzles today, but not vocabulary. 😉

Let’s Golf

On April 26, 2017May 18, 2023 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw PuzzlesLeave a comment

So I got a big surprise the other day, hubby apparently ordered a couple of puzzles for me to do. They’re for him when they’re done, I’m just supposed to assemble them. Two golf puzzles for his golf room! Of course I’ve taken over some real estate in that room for puzzle assembly so perhaps it’s the golf/puzzle room? Nevertheless, two puzzles arrived that day; this 500 piece Ravensburger and a 1500 piece puzzle by Mandolin. I’ve never heard of Mandolin before. Oooh, interesting!

The first of the two puzzles he got is this adorable collage image. There are even golf valentines in there, how cute is that? This is a large piece puzzle, so it’s impressively sized, and that’s also part of the reason I wanted to do this one first. There’s something about the large pieces that makes me want to work them. The large Ravensburger pieces have the best tactile feel to them, it’s heavenly!

This one didn’t take long at all, especially because hubby helped a little bit. It’s hard for him to stay away from anything golf related. 😐 It was nice to have him help me, he’s been tied up with work and other things for a while and hasn’t assembled a puzzle with me for quite some time. I enjoyed having him help with the assembly, especially since he wants to frame the puzzle for himself.

There were lots of words to assemble, which I love, and lots of golf balls to find and assemble too. The colors are very bright and cheery, but old timey and cute as well. Hubby was even pleased to find some maps or whatever you call them of holes at the “Old Course” in Scotland. There were so many interesting little things to see everywhere that made it so much fun that it went quickly and was super enjoyable!

He wants to frame both puzzles when they’re completed, so I’ll be gluing this one together today. Mom will be so pleased to have something to hunt for at the thrift stores, we need to find a frame. 🙂

Higgledy-Piggledy House

On April 24, 2017May 18, 2023 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw PuzzlesLeave a comment

I started this puzzle in the evening at 9 pm, and before 4 pm the next day it was finished! This is another one of those puzzles that is just too much fun to do. 😎

Colin Thompson’s artwork is great for puzzling, there is always something interesting that you didn’t really notice at first, but right there in the room is a whole other house or a doorway that leads to who knows where. Even the most common looking scene has interesting things in it that you don’t notice right away, it’s always entertaining. And this image is almost like there are 12 smaller puzzles to assemble, what could be more fun?

I’ve enjoyed assembling some of his other cupboard puzzles by Ravensburger, and sometimes there is almost too much going on for my taste – it gets a little too crowded with things. (just my opinion, of course). But this puzzle has just the right amount of crowded space balanced out with some more plain areas . I thought it was the perfect combination!

Each room in the Higgledy-Piggledy House has different wallpaper or paint color, so you start there and before you know it the whole darn house is finished. At least that’s how it was for me. Excellent Ravensburger quality as usual, I can’t recommend this puzzle enough!

What If #3 Home Makeover

On April 13, 2017May 18, 2023 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw PuzzlesLeave a comment

Another fun puzzle where I won’t show the entire image. You have to puzzle it out for yourself!

This What If shows what actually happens when the family tries to do all the home improvements themselves. Not good. You can tell by the cat’s face that he certainly isn’t impressed! They’re hoping for a great new room, but what if they get something else altogether? 😉

This one seemed more difficult for me than the other What If puzzles I’ve worked, or it may just be that my brain hasn’t been working properly lately. That’s a distinct possibility! Whatever the reason, it took a little extra brain power from me but it was still a super fun assembly. I enjoy the puzzles where I don’t have a picture – it adds an extra challenge and I feel quite proud when I’m done.

Usual great Ravensburger quality, although I think this puzzle may have been near the end of the run, because the fit was looser than normal for a Ravensburger and the piece shapes stand out in the final image more. But I’ve seen that several times with many different companies, it happens. It doesn’t diminish my enjoyment of the assembly much, and they still have great image reproduction, excellent artwork with clean lines, thick pieces – you know, the usual amazing Ravensburger puzzle. (I’m a fan, can you tell?)

I loved this puzzle and highly recommend it, even if it did require extra use of the brain cells. It’s always fun to figure out What If something else happened?!