Tag: Review

Review: Donut

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews1 Comment
This post is sponsored by Puzzle Warehouse.
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Donut – Ceaco – 300 pieces

Technically this puzzle doesn’t have a name, according to the box – I have named it Donut. It came in a multipack called Sweet & Salty. I think this is without a doubt the most challenging 300 piece puzzle I have ever assembled. It looks amazing though, doesn’t it? I’m not one for sprinkles, but a chocolate frosted donut sounds so good right now! 🍩

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of this puzzle, especially since it was in a multipack. My experience with many puzzles in one box has been that the quality was quite poor. This is the first one from this box that I’ve assembled, but the quality of this particular puzzle was better than expected.

The pieces were thicker than I remember from other Ceaco puzzles I’ve assembled, and the fit was excellent. There was a good variety of piece shapes, and the image reproduction was very good as well. The cutting leaves a bit to be desired, as all the pieces weren’t cut completely through; and although the thickness was better than I remember there was still some fanning of the chipboard on some pieces. Still, overall, I found the quality to be good. Click the link above to see all the Ceaco puzzles currently in stock at Puzzle Warehouse.

The obvious place to start was with the edges and the center, and they went together pretty quickly. I don’t normally work this way, but I separated the pieces by shape and worked from center to edge all the way around. The image is pretty challenging, but I enjoyed it anyway and the finished product is very cool looking!

Although Ceaco isn’t a premium brand, getting 8 puzzles for $16.99 is a pretty good bargain in my opinion. And even though the chipboard isn’t the thickest around, they have beautiful images and an excellent fit. I enjoyed this first puzzle very much – keep an eye out for the remaining 7 puzzles, I hope they’re as much fun as this one was.

Details:

  • Title:                  Donut
  • Artist:                iStock
  • Brand:               Ceaco
  • Piece count:     300 pieces
  • Size:                  Approx. 14 in. (36 cm)
  • Purchased:      N/A, sent for review

Quality:

  • Board:               Good
  • Cutting:             Good
  • Image:               Very good
  • Box:                   Average, 8 puzzles in 1 box
  • Fit:                     Excellent
  • Puzzle Dust:     Small amount
  • Piece cut:          Grid cut
  • Piece shapes:   Good variety
  • Finish:               Slightly shiny finish, lays flat

Overall Rating:      Good, recommended

 

I received this product at no cost in order to facilitate this review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are truthful and 100% my own.

 

Review: Bombs Away!

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviewsLeave a comment
This post is sponsored by Puzzle Warehouse.
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Bombs Away! by Tom Wood – SunsOut – 550 pieces

Bombs Away! by SunsOut is an adorable puzzle that was great fun to assemble, and an excellent way to unofficially kick off autumn. It’s still pretty warm and humid here, and it doesn’t feel much like fall; but it’s my favorite season so I wanted to get myself in the mood with a seasonal puzzle. This one was a great choice!

SunsOut puzzles are usually good quality, with thick pieces that have an excellent variety of shapes. Normally their puzzles are randomly cut, but this puzzle was more what I would call semi-random; the edges of each piece don’t line up exactly, but the pieces are cut in lines as opposed to completely randomly. The image reproduction is very good, with beautiful fall colors and a slightly shiny finish. The fit of SunsOut can sometimes be extremely tight, but this one was more a normal snugness. The fit itself seemed a bit “spongy” rather than snapping into place, but I didn’t find it distracting. All in all, the quality of this puzzle was very good. Click the link above to check out all their puzzles currently in stock at Puzzle Warehouse.

After assembling the edges, I started with the sign – words are some of the most entertaining things to assemble for me. The sky and grass were next, and they went together more quickly than I anticipated. The face of the jack-o-lantern was next and then it was on to the naughty cat atop the wheelbarrow. The dogs took a bit more concentration than I thought they would, but they were still lots of fun to put together. Interestingly I found the pumpkins less difficult than the wheelbarrow, although I’m not sure I could say why that was. Overall the assembly was challenging (the brush strokes added to the difficulty) but loads of fun and the finished puzzle is just too darned cute!

This was my first puzzle by Tom Wood, and I very much enjoyed the artwork. The brush strokes made for a little more of a challenge, but the finished image is beautiful and perfect for kick-starting the fall (even if it isn’t official until September 22). He’s known for his playful portraits of cats and dogs, and I think he captures their personalities extremely well…

Look at those faces! One is so sweet and non-confrontational, the other is naughty and looking to make trouble – typical dog and cat if you ask me. I’m looking forward to working more images by this artist, and his puzzles have plenty of cuteness to choose from. Click here to see all the puzzles available by Tom Wood at Puzzle Warehouse – and if you’re looking for other cute autumn/Halloween puzzles, check out Boo Cat – it’s so sweet!

Bombs Away! was an entertaining puzzle that I had a great time assembling. Unfortunately it’s discontinued and there are only a few left so if you’re wanting to put together this fall themed puzzle you should order very soon.

Details:

  • Title:                  Bombs Away!
  • Artist:                Tom Wood
  • Brand:               Sunsout
  • Piece count:     550 pieces
  • Size:                  Approx. 15 x 24 in. (38 x 61 cm)
  • Purchased:      N/A, sent for review

Quality:

  • Board:               Very good
  • Cutting:             Very good
  • Image:               Very good
  • Box:                   Average
  • Fit:                     Good, slightly spongy
  • Puzzle Dust:     Moderate amount
  • Piece cut:          Semi-random cut
  • Piece shapes:   Very good variety
  • Finish:               Slightly shiny finish, lays flat

Overall Rating:      Very good, recommended

 

I received this product at no cost in order to facilitate this review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are truthful and 100% my own.

 

Review: Chevy Gold

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews2 Comments
This post is sponsored by Gearheads Puzzles.
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Chevy Gold by Laura Hatcher- Gearheads Puzzles – 1000 pieces

Chevy Gold was a challenging image, but once I got myself under some good lighting it didn’t seem as difficult as I first thought. It’s definitely a puzzle I recommend, but please be sure you have adequate lighting, and be forewarned that it’s trickier than it looks!

Gearheads Puzzles is a new puzzle company that is woman/veteran owned – yay for us ladies and an even bigger YAY for a veteran owned business! (also, please accept a heartfelt thank you for your service 💖) They currently only have this one image, but a new 500 piece puzzle is in the works and should be available in about a month – it will be grid cut for those of you who aren’t random cut fans. They also offer custom photo puzzles and have recently added custom photo t-shirts as well. Click the link above to check them out.

I was impressed with the quality of the pieces; they were a good thickness with an excellent variety of shapes and have a good feel in your hands. The image reproduction is excellent with wonderful detail; though the finish is slightly shiny, which can cause glare under artificial lights. The fit did seem a little loose, but not too much so and you can see above that the finished image is almost seamless.

There were several pieces that weren’t completely separated, but I attribute both that and the loose fit to the puzzle being near the end of a run when the die is starting to dull. I’ve found this with every puzzle manufacturer and I don’t consider it a flaw in quality unless I’ve worked several different puzzles and they all have this problem. With this being the only Gearheads puzzle I’ve assembled I like to err on the side of positivity and say it was most likely the end of the run.

The first two sections (after the edge) that I assembled are shown above. This puzzle certainly gave me a run for my money, it was more difficult than I bargained for! There’s a lot of gray, brown, and black in the image and you have to sit with the pieces for a bit to familiarize yourself with the colors and shades before you start seeing where they belong. It’s not a puzzle for beginners, but it’s completely worth the effort. It would look AMAZING glued and framed for a lover of classic cars!

The random cut had me convinced several times that I had definitely, absolutely, without question lost a piece – I hadn’t. With a random cut you may think you know what piece shape you’re looking for, but many times it’s something completely different! It keeps my gray cells limber (hopefully) and makes me focus more on colors, shades, and textures to find the piece I’m looking for. Completely engrossing!

Chevy Gold is a challenging puzzle, and not for the faint-at-heart. Both the random cut and the color scheme add to the difficulty; so be sure you’ve got lots of good lighting and make sure your brain cells are ready for the random cut. Bottom line – if this image revs your engine it’s definitely recommended. 👍

Details:

  • Title:                  Chevy Gold
  • Artist:                Laura Hatcher
  • Brand:               Gearheads Puzzles
  • Piece count:     1000 pieces
  • Size:                  Approx. 19 x 27 in. (48 x 69 cm)
  • Purchased:      N/A, sent for review

Quality:

  • Board:               Very good
  • Cutting:             Good
  • Image:               Excellent
  • Box:                   Average, quite compact for 1000 pieces
  • Fit:                     Very good, though somewhat loose
  • Puzzle Dust:     Small amount
  • Piece cut:          Random cut
  • Piece shapes:   Very good variety
  • Finish:               Slightly shiny finish, lays flat

Overall Rating:      Very good, recommended

 

I received this product at no cost in order to facilitate this review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are truthful and 100% my own.

Review: More Ice Cream Please

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment
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More Ice Cream Please – Cobble Hill – 500 pieces

This was quite fun, but very challenging. It’s got a few missing pieces, but them’s the chances you take when you purchase used. It didn’t detract much from my enjoyment of the assembly, and the puzzle was such good quality that I didn’t mind that much. Fun puzzle!

For being a used thrift store puzzle, the quality held up quite well. The pieces still had a great feel and fit together very well. Sometimes you buy a pre-loved puzzle and it’s been beat up by it’s previous owner; this one seems to have been taken care of (if you don’t count the missing pieces). I do love a Cobble Hill puzzle, especially the smaller piece counts – the quality is excellent!

Once the edge was assembled it seemed that there may be a few missing pieces, but you can never be sure with a random cut – sometimes the edges don’t look like edges. Blue ice cream was the first to be assembled, and when those were finished I knew for sure that there were some pieces that seem to have melted away  😉

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Mom came over and helped me finish this one up, with her help the pieces seem to fly into place! For me it’s so nice working a puzzle with someone else; there’s the fun of working together on a common goal, good conversation, and just spending time together. In the words of one of my favorite puzzle companies – Sit long. Talk much. Turn off that screen.

It’s more challenging than it looks, but absolutely worth it! Definitely recommended, two sundaes way up! 🍨🍨

Details:

  • Title:                  More Ice Cream Please
  • Artist:                Not credited
  • Brand:               Cobble Hill
  • Piece count:     500 pieces
  • Size:                  Approx. 18 x 24 in. (46 x 61 cm)
  • Purchased:      Used, thrift store

Quality:

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

Overall Rating:      Very good, recommended

 

Review: Peace Love (POP Art)

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviewsLeave a comment
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Peace Love (Pop Art) by Howie Green – Ceaco – 550 pieces

This is a wonderfully colorful image that was extremely challenging to assemble. I love the look of this puzzle, but it was much more difficult to assemble than I bargained for.

Ceaco puzzles do not always get a recommendation from me, but this one does. The pieces were on the thinner side, but they were sturdy and fit together very well. The image reproduction was very good, with bright colors and clear lines. Altogether the puzzle had very nice quality for a Ceaco, and I even commented on it while we were assembling it.

I assembled this together with my mom and son. It wasn’t a puzzle that went together quickly, but it was still entertaining – although mom wasn’t as entertained as I was (she commented when we were finished that she did not find it much fun). We started with the blue coat and the long, flowing hair. After that, there were so many colors and lines that we had to let the pieces guide us on where to go. It took a bit longer than a 550 piece puzzle would normally take, but the end result is a beautiful finished image.

The psychedelic color scheme is fun to look at, but not as much fun to assemble. The colors and lines everywhere make it hard to know what part of the puzzle you’re assembling, or where the piece you have in your hand may go. That said, if this image is one that you like, the quality was quite good and it’s definitely recommended. It would make a great wall hanging, perhaps for an old hippie in your life. Flower power! 🌻🌻

Details:

  • Title:                  Peace Love (POP Art)
  • Artist:                Howie Green
  • Brand:               Ceaco
  • Piece count:     550 pieces
  • Size:                  20 x 20 in. (51 x 51 cm)
  • Purchased:      New

Quality:

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

Overall Rating:      Very good, recommended