Retro Dogs

On January 16, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles3 Comments

Isn’t this an adorable puzzle? Look at all the cute puppies! My oldest son gave this to me for Christmas, and my daughter helped me put it together on Christmas Day while waiting for Christmas dinner. A super fun puzzle that was made even better because I got to work on it with my baby girl.

Easy to sort, easy to assemble, adorable dogs and a great finished image. Re-marks makes some great collages. There were lots of words to assemble, which is always fun for me, and I also loved that my dog’s breed is represented there too (a cute little Boston Terrier, second from the left in the bottom row).

I’ve really been having a good time with the 300 piece puzzles lately, and glad that one of my Christmas present puzzles was 300 pieces too! I still enjoy larger piece counts, but there’s nothing quite like a smaller puzzle that’s still a little bit of a challenge that can be finished in one day. So fun!

The quality was pretty good; thick, sturdy pieces that fit together well. I enjoy the larger size of the 300 piece puzzles, and I enjoy being able to finish them quickly. This one was quick, fun, and cute as a barrel of puppies! Definitely recommended. 🐶

Moulin Rouge

On December 21, 2017December 22, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

This was an interesting thrift store purchase that mom and I assembled together. It looked more fun than it was; for me, anyway. I chose this one to assemble, but it didn’t meet my expectations for some reason. I’m not sure I can articulate why this was, I just know that it was.

The random cut was very interesting and kept us on our toes, and the pieces fit together well. The piece shape is very obvious in the finished puzzle, which isn’t ideal but doesn’t really affect the actual assembly. It does make it more difficult to make out some of the words though.

I’m not usually so “blah” about a puzzle, it’s mostly yay or nay; either really loved it or didn’t like it. I have no idea what I was expecting, but whatever it was didn’t materialize. For the most part this one just makes me shrug my shoulders. Eh. The quality was good, it just lacked something for me. If I’m going on quality I would recommend this puzzle, if the image is something you like go for it. 🙂

Review: Dream

On November 10, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews4 Comments

Dream by Sascalia – Remarks – 250 pieces

I was shocked by the quality of this puzzle; it’s the first 250 piece Re-marks puzzle that I’ve done, and the quality was very very good. Such a pleasant surprise! This was a quick assembly, but fun and relaxing – perfect for a lazy afternoon.

I haven’t done a puzzle from this artist before, I like the image very much. Looking around online I see that there’s a whole series of 250 piece Re-marks puzzles by Sascalia. I like the looks of them. 🙂 Here’s hoping we find more of them in the thrift stores!

The pieces were about the same thickness as a Ravensburger puzzle, and had the waxy sort of feel of a Jumbo or Gibsons puzzle. I was definitely not expecting such lovely pieces! I’ve done several Re-marks puzzles, and their pieces are a good thickness, but I’ve never had any of this thickness, or with the same finish. Excellent image reproduction and fit, and just all around wonderful quality. The image is lovely and perfect for puzzling, I enjoyed it very much!

Details:

Title: Dream
Artist: Sascalia
Brand: Re-marks
Piece count: 250 pieces
Size: Approx. 11 x 14 in. (28 x 36 cm)
Purchased: New, thrift store unopened

Quality:

Board: Excellent
Cutting: Excellent
Image: Very good
Box: Average, small and square
Fit: Very good, can lift entire puzzle in one piece
Puzzle Dust: Small amount
Piece cut: Grid cut
Piece shapes: Good variety
Finish: Matte finish, lays flat

Overall Rating: Very good, highly recommended

Dog Hammock

On October 16, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

Another adorable dog puzzle, look at that face! What a sweet, sweet puppy!

I wasn’t feeling great when I did this, and because it was only a 200 piece puzzle I was able to work on it lying down in bed. It doesn’t take up much room and fits easily on my white board even though it’s a larger piece puzzle. They’re large for Re-Marks, but not the largest I’ve worked with.

These pieces fit together very well, and it was a fun puzzle all around. It really was an excellent image for puzzling, the hammock, dog, and flower were easy to find and assemble. There wasn’t too much plain white space, but enough that the puzzle wasn’t too easy to complete. Excellent quality puzzle, with a truly adorable image. They have more in the series, including 2 more puzzles with dogs, a cat, a hamster, and a frog. They’re all very cute, and I would love to find and assemble them as well. 🙂

Holiday Treats

On July 21, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

A nice collage from the thrift store, it was a bit of a challenge but we powered through only to find there were 3 missing pieces. Sigh. Oh well, those are the chances we take with thrift store puzzles – if we get a $20 puzzle for 69 cents then we have to expect that sometimes it won’t always be complete. It was still fun to do! 🙂

Another chilly puzzle for Christmas in July. It took us a while, but mom and I finally got this one finished last week. It was moderately difficult, but quite fun to assemble with a friend.

The cut was random which mom doesn’t really care for, I don’t mind it so much but I do prefer a grid cut most of the time. With the randomness sometimes you think you know what shape piece you’re looking for and it turns out you weren’t even close! It’s nice to change things up once in a while though, I think it makes my brain work differently – it takes me a bit to make the change in how I’m perceiving the pieces and how they fit together. It’s excellent exercise for the brain cells!

The pieces felt thick and sturdy and fit together well, the image reproduction was lovely and made me hungry for Christmas cookies! The finish was quite shiny, but the puzzle wasn’t dark so it didn’t present a problem.

All things considered a good quality puzzle that mom and I had fun assembling together, even with the 3 missing pieces. Merry Christmas in July!