Tag: Review

Review: Fall: Joy of Puzzles with Bob Ross

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews4 Comments
This post is sponsored by Puzzle Warehouse.
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Fall: The Joy of Puzzles with Bob Ross – Wellspring – 500 pieces

I’m not usually one for landscape puzzles, but this one looks serene and calming, Fall: (The Joy of Puzzles with Bob Ross), it’s quite a lovely image. And the fact that it’s Bob Ross is an added bonus – just thinking about his show makes me smile. “We don’t make mistakes, we just have happy accidents” 🙂

This was a fun assembly that I took on immediately after a more challenging puzzle, it was the perfect palate cleanser. I needed something fun and a little bit simpler – this was absolutely the right puzzle at the right time.

I was glad to be able to try out the new Bob Ross puzzles from Wellspring. I’m not sure if they’re an offshoot of Sunsout, or if they’re just manufactured at the same place; the box is the same size and shape of a Sunsout with the number stamped on the bottom and the slip of paper inside from Sunsout Customer Service. The quality seems about the same as a Sunsout puzzle, but the puzzle is grid cut instead of random. The chipboard is nice and thick and the fit seems the same as well – good quality overall. If you’re a fan of his artwork there are 4 puzzles in this series, one for each season; click the link above to see the ones currently available at Puzzle Warehouse.

I definitely recommend this puzzle. It went together quickly but wasn’t too easy, and was a nice change of subject matter for me. Landscape puzzles aren’t normally what I would choose, but I see the draw. As usual when I review a puzzle I try to look through other puzzles of that genre, and as usual I’ve added more puzzles to the wishlist. Check out a beautiful and VERY interesting Pomegranate puzzle called Enassamishhinjijweian. No, I did not fall asleep face first onto my keyboard – that’s really the name! I provided a link so no one else has to struggle to spell that. 😉

I guess I have to rethink my preferences, apparently I do like landscapes.

Details:

  • Title:                  Fall: The Joy of Puzzles with Bob Ross
  • Artist:                Bob Ross
  • Brand:               Wellspring
  • Piece count:     500 pieces
  • Size:                  Approx. 18 x 24 in. (46 x 61 cm)
  • Purchased:      n/a

Quality:

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

Overall Rating:      Very good, recommended

 

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

Review: Mandala Fruit Tree

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews1 Comment
This post is sponsored by Puzzle Warehouse.
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Mandala Fruit Tree by Paul Heussenstamm – Pomegranate – 500 pieces

I chose Mandala Fruit Tree to review, and I wasn’t disappointed – it’s just beautiful! I also enjoyed learning about mandalas from the information of the back of the box. I had no idea they were spiritual and used for meditation, or that they are a mystical symbol seen by many as the doorway to the soul.

The artist, Paul Heussenstamm, believes that soul patterns are manifested in mandalas, and his works often contain them. All of that makes this image even more striking and interesting for me. Click the link above to see all of this artist’s puzzles currently available at Puzzle Warehouse. (They even carry a couple of Peaceful Wooden Puzzles of his work! Click to see my post on my wooden puzzles with a review of Peaceful Wooden Puzzles)

Pomegranate is one of my favorite brands. The pieces are wonderfully thick and the finish feels almost soft in your hands. The fit is tight, but not too much; you won’t have to use your upper body strength to put them into place. 😉 Their catalog of puzzles is mostly fine art, and the image and color reproduction is superb. I don’t normally comment on puzzle boxes, but even the boxes of Pomegranate puzzles feel amazing – you know you’re holding a premium puzzle in your hands when you’re holding a Pomegranate.

This puzzle was more of a challenge than I anticipated, but I was up for the task. Once I assembled the edge and the plain blue background I had to come up with a strategy for the tree itself. I decided to separate the pieces by shape and work by piece shape first and then color/pattern. It worked wonderfully and I thoroughly enjoyed the entire assembly. Mandala Fruit Tree was even better than I thought it would be, I highly recommend it! 👍

Details:

  • Title:                  Mandala Fruit Tree
  • Artist:                Paul Heussenstamm
  • Brand:               Pomegranate
  • Piece count:     500 pieces
  • Size:                  Approx. 24 x 18 in. (61 x 46 cm)
  • Purchased:      n/a

Quality:

  • Board:               Excellent
  • Cutting:             Excellent
  • Image:               Excellent
  • Box:                   Excellent, short bio of artist on back
  • Fit:                     Very good
  • Puzzle Dust:     Moderate amount
  • Piece cut:          Grid cut
  • Piece shapes:   Good variety
  • Finish:               Matte finish, lays flat

Overall Rating:      Excellent, highly recommended

 

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

Review: Lighthouse 1

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviewsLeave a comment
This post is sponsored by Puzzle Warehouse.
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Lighthouse 1 by Karla Gerard – Educa – 1000 pieces

I love the artwork of Karla Gerard and thought Lighthouse 1 would be quite a fun puzzle to assemble. Oh my. I was not prepared for how difficult this was! Still, I am very proud that I finished it. Hey Ma – look what I did! 🙋High five!

This is only the second Educa puzzle that I’ve completed, the first was a collage of sorts and so much fun that I didn’t really take notice of the piece shapes. There is not much variety (most of the pieces are 2 prong/2 hole *ballerinas*), so a puzzle like this one with large areas of the same color/pattern is quite a challenge. The overall quality is good; the pieces are a good thickness and fit together well, although a bit loosely. I guess I would say that it might pay to be careful of the image you select when purchasing an Educa puzzle – your favorite image might be more challenging than you expect! There are plenty of busier images, collages, and smaller piece counts that might help lower the challenge level. But if you’re up for a challenge there are plenty of Educa puzzles that would keep your brain cells limber too – click the link above to see what’s available now at Puzzle Warehouse.

Still, after I changed my method of attack I did enjoy the assembly. I would normally just pull all the pieces for a section and start assembling them, but that didn’t work very well here; so many of the pieces were the same shape that it was a bit tedious. So after some thought and a nice coffee break I decided that I needed to complete all the smaller sections first, and then assemble all the edges/outlines. It helped tremendously, and I was ready to conquer this gorgeous puzzle. I conquered, and it looks amazing. 🙂

If you like this image check out the other Contemporary Art Puzzles in stock now at Puzzle Warehouse. Several have made it onto my wishlist, including several by Kandinsky, Charley Harper, and Alphonse Mucha. So many puzzles, so little time!

Lighthouse 1 would be a great gift for that avid puzzler in your life who enjoys a challenge – or challenge yourself – you can do it! 👍

Details:

  • Title:                  Lighthouse 1
  • Artist:                Karla Gerard
  • Brand:               Educa
  • Piece count:     1000 pieces
  • Size:                  Approx. 27 x 19 in. (68 x 48 cm)
  • Purchased:      n/a

Quality:

  • Board:               Very good
  • Cutting:             Very good
  • Image:               Very good
  • Box:                   Average
  • Fit:                     Good – somewhat loose
  • Puzzle Dust:     Moderate amount
  • Piece cut:          Grid cut
  • Piece shapes:   Not much variety, pieces can fit in wrong spot
  • Finish:               Matte finish, lays flat

Overall Rating:      Very Good, recommended (challenging)

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

Review: Homage

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviewsLeave a comment
This post is sponsored by Puzzle Warehouse. 
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Homage by Danny Hahlbohm – Sunsout – 500 pieces

As soon as I saw this puzzle, I knew it was the one I wanted to review first. It’s visually stunning, and just makes me smile. Homage is a beautiful reminder that Christmas isn’t only about getting presents and acquiring things to make us happy.

Sunsout puzzles are of good quality in my opinion. They have thick, sturdy pieces that feel good in your hands and usually fit together well. The fit on this puzzle would make Goldilocks proud, I think it was just right! Their catalog is varied and interesting, and there are always plenty of Sunsout puzzles I would love to assemble (I especially love their Nene Thomas and Lori Schory collections). Click the link above to see all the Sunsout puzzles currently available at Puzzle Warehouse.

This puzzle went together quite fast for me, it was hard to walk away! The pieces fit together quite well, and the more I assembled the more fun it became. The trees in the upper left corner were the most challenging, but with the semi-random cut it was pretty easy to pick out the shapes I was looking for. A truly enjoyable puzzling experience that had me wishing for more pieces – it was over almost too quickly!

I absolutely recommend this puzzle; Christmas puzzles aren’t usually my thing but I really enjoyed this one. This is the time of year when people start buying puzzles for the family to work on together during holiday visits, or as gifts. If this puzzle isn’t quite your taste, click the link above to see the other Christmas puzzles currently in stock at Puzzle Warehouse. There are definitely plenty to choose from! 🙂

Details:

  • Title:                  Homage
  • Artist:                Danny Hahlbohm
  • Brand:               Sunsout
  • Piece count:     500 pieces
  • Size:                  Approx. 18 x 24 in. (46 x 61 cm)
  • Purchased:      n/a

Quality:

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

Overall Rating:      Very good, recommended

 

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

Review: My Sister’s Closet

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews, Thrift Store Puzzles2 Comments
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My Sister’s Closet by Tricia Reilly-Matthews – Sunsout – 300 pieces

I liked the quality and the image of this puzzle very much. Sunsout is hit or miss for me sometimes. We all have different things that are important to us in a puzzle, and sometimes the fit of Sunsout is too tight and (for me) it takes away from the enjoyment of puzzling. This 300 piece puzzle though, was a great fit and such a sweet image. 🙂

I don’t believe I’ve worked a puzzle by this artist before, she seems to capture the essence of children. I don’t know another way to explain it, you can tell looking at the little girls in this picture that the artist knows and loves children. Once I looked her up it all made sense, Tricia Reilly-Matthews teaches art to children from kindergarten to 5th grade – of course she paints children so well!

It’s amazing how tastes seem different depending on how much you have to spend on something. This image is very cute, but I don’t think I’d purchase it if I had to pay full price. It’s just not the type of image I’m most drawn to. But ask me to only pay 69 cents for it, and I’m there! Absolutely I’d love to do this puzzle! I wonder if that speaks more to my puzzle addiction, or to my tendency to be a tightwad/cheapskate?

Whichever is the answer, I’m glad mom found this puzzle to do, I enjoyed it very much!

Details:

  • Title:                  My Sister’s Closet
  • Artist:                Tricia Reilly-Matthews
  • Brand:               Sunsout
  • Piece count:     300 pieces
  • Size:                  Approx. 18 x 24 in. (46 x 61 cm)
  • Purchased:      Used, thrift store

Quality:

  • Board:               Very good
  • Cutting:             Very good
  • Image:               Excellent
  • Box:                   Average, quite large for a 300 piece puzzle
  • 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