Tag: Ravensburger

Star Wars

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles2 Comments
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Star Wars – Ravensburger (Silhouette) – 1098 pieces

This giant puzzle was a monster! 42 inches tall, so I had to work it sideways on my 3×4 foot board. My boys both love Star Wars, so this puzzle was for them. My oldest says he wants to hang it on his bedroom wall. I think rather than framing it, it would be more striking the way it is, so I’m going to have to learn how to attach it to foam board to make a wall hanging out of it. 🙂

Honestly I’m glad he wants to keep it, because it was a quite a challenge for me and I don’t know if I would want it taken apart – it gave me a run for my money! The darkness of the mask and around the edges is actually in shades of blue, purple, and black and it was sometimes very challenging to see which piece was the right color. I only have artificial lighting in my puzzle area so there was a glare issue. That being said, what a gorgeous puzzle! It’s beautiful and I’m proud of myself for sticking with it. The force was with me. 🙂

As usual, the Ravensburger quality was excellent – thick pieces, quality finish, nice variety of piece shapes. The fit for most of the puzzle was very good, but there were a lot of pieces just sitting next to each other (pet peeve! 😦 ), I am not a fan of that. Having whimsies makes it so that you’ve got to create a space around them, and that means not every piece connects. I know it’s part of the package when assembling with a puzzle with whimsies – so I deal with it. The edge pieces that just sit next to each other though, that is so frustrating!! I don’t know the difficulties of manufacturing and cutting a shaped puzzle, so perhaps there’s a reason for not all the edges connecting. But wouldn’t it be lovely if they could all click into one another? Just my opinion.

Aside from the connecting pieces issue, this puzzle was a challenge – but worth it. It’s a stunning puzzle that my sons love, and one of them gets to keep it in his room. And apparently I’m going to learn something new, how to mount it on foam board! 🙂

The Racehorse

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw PuzzlesLeave a comment
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The Racehorse – Ravensburger (What If #8) – 1000 pieces

The picture on the box shows Jim Luckless buying himself a racehorse, the puzzle shows what happened after that. What if his horse had a very special talent, what if things took an unexpected turn? As usual with these type of puzzles I don’t show the entire finished image, I don’t want to spoil anyone else’s fun figuring out what happened to poor Jim. 😉

Ravensburger puzzle, with it’s usual excellent quality. It’s so nice to “come home” to my favorite puzzle company after working with other brands. They’re just such wonderful quality and I always enjoy working with them.

Geoff Tristam’s artwork is excellent and I love his sense of humor. Oh sorry, he’s from the United Kingdom so I should say I love his sense of humour! 😉 I also enjoy the bio on the back of the box which is always accompanied by a picture of Mr. Tristam with accessories related to the puzzle – on this box he’s next to a beautiful horse. A lot of work goes into these puzzles and it’s very much appreciated.

If you haven’t tried a What If puzzle, give it a shot. They’re fun and the right amount of challenging; I highly recommend it!

 

Review: Puppies in a Basket

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviewsLeave a comment
This post is sponsored by Puzzle Warehouse.  
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Puppies in a Basket by Susan Brabeau – Ravensburger – 500 pieces

Puppies in a Basket is an adorable 500 piece puzzle from Ravensburger – my favorite puzzle company! Click the link above to see all the puzzles available from this manufacturer at Puzzle Warehouse. Their catalog is large and varied, and there’s something for everyone – from 10 pieces to the world’s largest puzzle at 40,320 pieces! (I don’t want to brag too much, but the 40,320 piece puzzle?–I did that! 😎 )

This puzzle full of puppy cuteness was an entertaining assembly from start to finish! The pieces for this 500 piece puzzles are little bigger than their average pieces, which I enjoy. They feel good in your hands and make for a nice size finished puzzle.

Ravensburger pieces are about the nicest, most premium pieces on the market and they are what I compare all other puzzles to. The fit is excellent and their “softclick technology” makes it so that you know when you’ve found the correct piece and the finished puzzle is absolutely smooth. The variety of piece shapes is excellent and makes for a fun puzzling experience. Their quality is exceptional in my opinion and I never hesitate to purchase a Ravensburger puzzle because I know I’ll be getting wonderful quality.

The artwork by Susan Brabeau feels homey and warm, and is an excellent image for puzzling. There are plenty of different colors and textures to help with assembly, and enough sameness so that it isn’t so easy that it’s boring. Susan’s artwork is nostalgic and beautiful and has been made into many puzzles by several different manufacturers. Click the link above to see all the puzzles available from this artist at Puzzle Warehouse.

These puppies made for a fun puzzle that was quick to put together. I started with the light blues of the window frame and pillow, and then assembled the basket. It was easy to pick out colors or textures to assemble without having to check the box image for reference; the quilt was fun with some repeating fabrics and colors. An excellent puzzle that made me smile every time I looked at it. The picture still makes me smile. 🙂

Dogs (especially puppies) are a popular puzzle image – who can resist all that sweet cuteness? I sure can’t! Unfortunately this puzzle is no longer available, but with almost 20 pages of dog puzzles to choose from at Puzzle Warehouse you’re sure to find an adorable four-legged friend to puzzle with. 🙂

 

I received this product at no charge in return for an honest review. All opinions expressed are truthful and 100% my own.

 

 

 

Antique World Map

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles2 Comments
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Antique World Map – Ravensburger (Wood Finish) – 1000 pieces

I thought this wood finish would be cool when I ordered it. It wasn’t cool.  It was AWESOME!

I had probably assembled about 20 pieces of the edge when I texted my mom and told her I wanted every single wood finish puzzle that Ravensburger has. I absolutely love the way the pieces look and feel. Especially on this antique map, it gives it something extra and it looks amazing! I can’t stop running my fingers over the puzzle, it’s something special. Either that, or I really need to get out of the house more. Maybe a little of both? 😊

This wasn’t a easy puzzle, the entire map is very muted with very little bright color and lots of shades of brown. It took me 4 days to complete,  though some days I wasn’t able to work on it much. Still it was moderately difficult, but I would definitely recommend it! This is a gorgeous puzzle when complete and would be beautiful framed.

I love the look of antique map puzzles, I think most of them are beautiful and always exclaim over them when I’m puzzle shopping or browsing. But for some reason this is the first one I’ve actually purchased and assembled! Mom did find a 4000 piece Educa map at the thrift store, but I haven’t gotten to it yet. None of them look easy, but I just find them stunning to look at; I’m proud of myself for finally ordering and assembling one. 🙂

If you’re not intimidated by the difficulty of this puzzle I highly recommend it! The texture of the pieces is fabulous and the finished product is definitely frame-worthy!

 

 

 

The Portrait

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw PuzzlesLeave a comment
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The Portrait by Geoff Tristam – Ravensburger (What If #7) – 1000 pieces

What if Leonardo Da Vinci never painted the Mona Lisa? Would he still have become a famous artist? What would he be famous for? I don’t show the entire image for these types of puzzles because I don’t want to spoil the fun of solving the puzzle for anyone else. When I was just starting to find and order these puzzles I Googled one of them and clicked on a link and was presented with the finished image – I didn’t want to see that!

As usual, I completely enjoyed working this puzzle; Geoff Tristam’s artwork and sense of humor are on display here and make for an excellent puzzle. I love the added difficulty of not having a reference image to work from, it makes me pay attention even more than normal to the pieces and where they might connect. The What If collection by Ravensburger hits the mark every time and I always find myself happy with the end result.

I’m going to have to make sure I type up my post for a completed puzzle on the day I complete it! I finished this puzzle almost 2 weeks ago and I’m just writing it up now. It’s been so long, and I don’t take a picture of the entire puzzle – I’ve almost forgotten the finished image! 😮

This was one of the slightly more difficult What If puzzles I’ve completed. Usually you can tell what the background might look like or what people are wearing from the image on the box, but not so with this one. The box image shows Da Vinci painting portraits on the street long ago, and the finished image is in a more modern setting – not even close to the same background or people. Still, I was up to the challenge and enjoyed it thoroughly!

I love Ravensburger puzzles, the quality of the puzzles themselves is stellar, and they have an excellent catalog of puzzles to choose from. They are one of the companies I never hesitate to purchase if I like an image because I know I’ll be getting a quality product.

The What If puzzles are completely entertaining with an extra challenge to keep you puzzling. I highly recommend them!