Rainy Day

On November 6, 2021November 6, 2021 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles7 Comments

Rainy Day – Re-marks – 1000 pieces

This was my first 1000 piece puzzle since I got my some of my mojo back, and the worst part was opening the box and seeing that very big pile of pieces – it was a bit overwhelming. But because this is a collage, it wasn’t as difficult as it could have been. Thankfully it was a joy to assemble and helped get me back in the swing of things. 🧩💗

Re-marks is about middle-tier quality (in my opinion), and they’ve got a great catalog of collages to choose from. In that sense, they’re about where I place White Mountain puzzles on my list; there are sometimes quality issues, but it’s easier to deal with when I’m in love with the image – which is how I usually feel about collages.

Re-marks puzzles can sometimes have a LOT of puzzle dust and hanging chads on the pieces, and occasionally the fit is loose or wonky. Only once has there been an issue with the image reproduction, otherwise the images are usually very nice. Overall though, they’re good puzzles and I love their catalog.

These are 3 of my favorites, the pattern on the background in the left was easy to pick out, and the whole image is very calm and pretty. LOVE was the most difficult of the three – at least for me. And the musical notes and rain in the background were so fun to assemble!

I almost wish this has been made into a 2000 piece puzzle, each block was so entertaining that it would have been great for them to be even bigger.

Street Food

On October 19, 2021October 19, 2021 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles10 Comments

Street Food by Shanghee Shin – Re-marks – 300 pieces

This puzzle sat on my board from the middle of August last year when I took my break, until January, 2021 – that’s when I finally photographed it and put it away. Talk about just walking away from puzzles. Yeesh!

Re-marks puzzles seem to range from very good to fair quality. I’ve had a couple of their puzzles that were full of “hanging chads”, that extra paper hanging on the backs of pieces; a very spongy fit that you have to work at, etc. But I’ve also done several of their puzzles that have been very good quality as well. The deciding factor for me is normally the image. I can put up with a lot of quality “issues” if the image is one that delights or informs, or just makes me happy. Their collage puzzles are a joy to assemble. 👍

Tuna flavored hot dogs? Ew! There are so many words in this image, but these jumped out at me, new tuna flavor? No thank you. 🤢

Perhaps some of you will remember that when the fit of a puzzle is particularly tight, Stacey likes to stand it up on it’s end and photograph it standing on it’s own. Apparently, this also causes Stacey to speak about herself in the third person. Interesting.

This was the last puzzle I assembled before I took my break; so it’s the last puzzle I’m posting about that I don’t remember assembling. From now on you can be sure any puzzle I post about I will have some memory of the assembly. Unless I fall down and hit my head or something.

It’s entirely possible. I fall a LOT. 🤕

Street Food…In Progress

On August 15, 2020August 15, 2020 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzling3 Comments

Street Food IP — Street Food by Shanghee Shin – Re-marks – 300 pieces

I not only finished yesterday’s puzzle, another one got started too. That, ladies and gentlemen, is progress! (For me)

Re-marks may not be a “premium” brand, but I appreciate their catalog of fun and interesting collages; and to be honest I can overlook a bunch of puzzle dust or a slightly spongy fit if it means having images that are fun and exciting to assemble. 🙂

Hubby is off fishing this morning (thank goodness for hobbies that get him out of my hair for several hours at a time), and so hopefully this puzzle shouldn’t take long at all. I won’t be hearing “Honey where is my…” and “Babe, do you remember where I put…” or “Could you come at look at…..”

Here’s to a productive weekend of puzzling and relaxation!

Childhood Favorites

On July 27, 2020July 26, 2020 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles13 Comments

Brace yourselves everyone, you’re in for a shock – I LOVED THIS PUZZLE! I know, it’s unbelievable, isn’t it? Who’d have thought that this collage (my favorite type of image) of book covers (I love books and reading) in puzzle form (my absolute favorite hobby) would be such great fun? I know, it bowled me over too! 😉

I was quite a prolific reader as a kid, in addition to being quite a tomboy. Playing outside and getting dirty was so much fun for me, and I was always climbing the big tree in the backyard with a book in my pocket. I’d get to the good branch and sit there, out of sight of my sisters and my mom, and spend as much time as I could reading. I love to re-read books too, and I couldn’t tell you how many times I’d re-read my favorites books – sometimes as soon as I finished a great book I’d flip right back to the beginning and start over again!

So put my love of books together with my love of puzzles, and add that it’s a collage – that’s puzzle bliss for me!

The fit of this Re-marks puzzle was a bit loose, and the piece shapes are quite prominent. The loose fit can be a bit of a pain to work with, but it wasn’t so loose as to be much of a problem. Otherwise the puzzle was good quality; the offset grid cut made for a more interesting assembly and the chipboard is a good thickness. Overall, other than the fit, the puzzle quality was very good.

Childhood Favorites 1

Charlotte’s Web was one of my favorite books as a child, not only because of the story, but also because I loved the illustrations. They were done by the same man who did the illustrations of the Little House series of books. Speaking of Little House on the Prairie, why aren’t any of those books shown here? I ADORED them as a child, and still do – I just re-read them all a couple of months ago!

Childhood Favorites 2

Most girls in the US have a memory of this book. I know I sure do. Ain’t it great being a lady and dealing with menstruation?

Childhood Favorites 3

My sister told me about this book when I was younger, and it sticks with me to this day. What a fabulous story, told by a talented author! Just looking at this book cover makes me want to get myself a copy of this book and re-read it; it’s been a few decades since I last read this one.

I wonder to myself sometimes if you guys get tired of me doing so many collages, I’m not ashamed to tell you that I worry about stupid stuff like that. I’m an accomplished worrier. I try to keep telling myself to just post the puzzles I do and not fret about doing puzzles to make others happy or to give them more variety – but I’m not always successful in convincing myself.

Happy puzzling everyone! I hope you’re still finding and assembling some fantastic puzzles!

Review: Willard & Margaret*

On July 23, 2020 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews, Thrift Store Puzzles8 Comments

This is another puzzle that I have named (with a little help), because there is no title on the box anywhere. After some discussion with my puzzle pal Penny we have decided to name this one after the characters in a silly Ray Stevens song “It’s Me Again Margaret”. Willard & Margaret. I just love the sound of their names; and the names absolutely do NOT seem like the right ones for these pups, which makes the title even more funny to me. 😁

Re-marks has a large catalog of puzzles to choose from, and I find that because many of the images are ones I enjoy assembling I am willing to overlook some quality issues that come up from time to time. I have had the odd problem here and there, but overall I find their puzzles to be good/very good quality. The pieces are a good thickness with a very good variety of shapes that fit together well (although sometimes loosely). The image reproduction is very good as well, with beautiful colors and sharp lines.

The quality of these smaller 100 piece puzzles from Re-marks is very good, and reminds me of a White Mountain puzzle in both the quality of the chipboard used and the shapes of the pieces. They fit together well and I’ve seen no image lift on any of the pieces even though this is a second-hand puzzle. They’re fun to assemble too, and the images makes me smile – they’re both silly and entertaining to put together. 🙂

It is always my intention to be objective, although I freely admit that I am not perfect. I do try to remind the readers that all reviews are basically subjective; it is my impression and opinions about the puzzle I am assembling, nothing more. Take every review with a grain of salt – ultimately you have to decide for yourself which aspects of a puzzle’s quality are most important to you. I’m just trying to provide my perspective in the hopes that it might help you decide which puzzles you do or do not wish to try.

Happy puzzling! 🧩

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