The Puzzle that Wrapped up Christmas

On November 20, 2017November 20, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews5 Comments

So now we’ve come to the end of my wooden puzzle “experiment”. This puzzle was the last of 5 companies that I’ve tried. I enjoyed this puzzle very much, even though I chose a puzzle from the extra difficult jigsaw page. I didn’t find it all that difficult to be honest, but it sure was fun! I’ll have a post soon regarding all the wooden puzzles, and what I’ve learned.

Wentworth Wooden Puzzles is a British company that has an excellent reputation for quality puzzles. They’re the last of the reasonably priced companies I could find, and their catalog is quite large. They have puzzles starting at what they call a micro-puzzle (30-40 pieces), all the way up to 1500 pieces. The price is on par with the other companies I’ve tried, and I’ve heard good things about their puzzles so I gave it a go (even though with shipping from the UK it was a bit more).

Most of their puzzles include whimsy pieces, but the majority of the cuts seem a bit “regular” to me; I had already gotten a puzzle with regular pieces so I definitely wanted something different. This led me to their extra difficult page where I found this interesting wrapping paper puzzle. I loved it! And, it has repetitive reindeer shaped pieces in addition to the repetitive image for more of a challenge – Merry Christmas to me! 🎄 Here’s the back of the puzzle so you can see the pieces…

The pieces are about half as thick as the pieces from the other companies I’ve tried, but somehow almost feel more dense. There seems to be a coating or backing applied to the back of the wood as well. Although the pieces are thinner, they are still quite sturdy and they still have that wonderful, satisfying plunk when they fall into place. It’s bliss. 🙂

I poured the pieces out of the bag and thought “What have I gotten myself into?” It was overwhelming to see so many similarly shaped pieces. But once I settled down and really looked at them, I could see small differences in the shapes which allowed me to sort the pieces with purpose. Once the sorting was done, I picked 2 pieces that went together and started building – it really wasn’t very difficult for me at all. I loved it!

I enjoyed this puzzle very much and thought their quality was excellent! I’m still looking forward to trying one of their regular puzzles to see if I like the cut. Perhaps soon I can review one of those regularly cut puzzles, maybe a micro-puzzle?

*I may or may not have gone completely off the rails and ordered more than 30 of their micro-puzzles. I cannot recall at this time your honor.* 😁

Details:

Title: The Puzzle that Wrapped up Christmas
Artist: iStock Photo
Brand: Wentworth Wooden Puzzles
Piece count: 300 pieces
Size: Approx. 14 x 11 in. (36 x 25 cm)
Purchased: New

Quality:

Board: 1/8″ wood
Cutting: Excellent
Image: Excellent
Box: Excellent – very sturdy box, pieces come in a fabric bag
Fit: Excellent
Puzzle Dust: None
Piece cut: Repetitive – extra challenging
Piece shapes: Repetitive – reindeer
Finish: Matte finish, lays flat

Overall Rating: Excellent, highly recommended

Review: Einstein’s Rainbow

On November 17, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews5 Comments

Einstein’s Rainbow by Edward Kinnally – Peaceful Wooden Puzzles – 260 pieces

O M G! I had the best time with this puzzle – look at those gorgeous colors! This is the fourth wooden puzzle brand I’ve tried, and oh dear – I loved this one too! Perhaps I should start playing the lotto in the hopes of being able to afford all of these puzzles I want.

Peaceful Wooden Puzzles has a beautiful catalog of images, and I adore the selections they have from this artist – Edward Kinnally. They’re a bit challenging, but colorful and interesting and a little “trippy”. Click the link to check out their website and the artists and images available. Also, when you order from their website you can choose the type of whimsies you would like – religious, universal, or none. I chose universal, you can see them best in the picture below. There are several flowers, an owl on a tree branch, a hummingbird, dragonfly, ladybug, maybe a swan, and a beautiful lady with a parasol…..

In addition, Puzzle Warehouse also carries this brand and you can order from their website too. This would be great for making sure your order is large enough to qualify for free shipping! 🙂

It will be no surprise that I thoroughly enjoyed this puzzle, the Victorian cut of the pieces and the stellar image made for a great afternoon of puzzling. This is definitely one I’ll be doing again and again. The image is so well-adhered to the wood that it almost looks like it’s been painted on. It’s such a great puzzle, I’m pretty pleased with myself for choosing this image. Way to go me!

If you’re looking for a special gift for a puzzler in your life, I would definitely recommend checking out Peaceful Wooden Puzzles by clicking either of the links above. Beautiful puzzles!

Details:

Title: Einstein’s Rainbow
Artist: Edward Kinnally
Brand: Peaceful Wooden Puzzles
Piece count: 260 pieces
Size: Approx. 10 x 12 in. (25 x 30 cm)
Purchased: New

Quality:

Board: 1/4″ wood
Cutting: Excellent
Image: Excellent – outstanding even!
Box: Excellent
Fit: Excellent
Puzzle Dust: None
Piece cut: Victorian/whimsies/very intricate
Piece shapes: Excellent variety
Finish: Matte finish, lays flat

Overall Rating: Excellent, highly recommended

Review: Tulip Field

On November 15, 2017November 15, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews7 Comments

Tulip Field – Sibbett Studio – 363 pieces

This was the third wooden puzzle I purchased, Sibbett Studio is the manufacturer. The company is run by the Sibbett family – Peter and Jeannie, and their 4 children in Washington state. They don’t maintain a website from what I found, but you can find their puzzles on Amazon; or if you’re in the area you may find them at a local market or fair.

As you can see by the picture, Sibbett puzzles are grid cut. I have to say, it was a little bit of a bummer for me. Part of the fun of wooden puzzles has been working with the wonderfully intricate and detailed whimsies, or even just crazy piece shapes. The Sibbett puzzle I worked with had the standard 6 different piece shapes of a grid cut. Many people prefer the standard shapes rather than a random cut; I even prefer it sometimes, on a cardboard puzzle. If you’re looking to purchase a wooden puzzle and you prefer the grid cut pieces, Sibbett Studio may have the right puzzle for you.

Piece cut aside, these puzzles are very well made. They use salvaged and re-purposed cedar, white fir, and maple logs, and they also construct the boxes the puzzles are stored in! The box design is patented and contains no hardware or glue.

The heft of the pieces is lovely, and even though they’re the same 1/4″ thickness as other wooden puzzles, they feel thicker. The images are all “handmade” as well, all are photographs taken by Peter Sibbett. There are plenty of wildlife, landscapes, and nature puzzles to choose from – or they can craft a puzzle for you from your own pictures.

These are well crafted, handmade wooden puzzles. I enjoyed the assembly, although there were a few times where pieces seemed to fit where they did not go, and there was the smallest bit of image lift on one of the pieces. Still, it is a lovely image and a well made puzzle!

Details:

Title: Tulip Field
Artist: Sibbett Studio
Brand: Sibbett Studio
Piece count: 363 pieces
Size: Approx. 7.5 x 22.5 in. (19 x 57 cm)
Purchased: New

Quality:

Board: 1/4″ wood
Cutting: Excellent
Image: Very good
Box: Excellent – handmade cedar box
Fit: Good, pieces sometimes fit in wrong place
Puzzle Dust: None
Piece cut: Grid cut – no whimsies
Piece shapes: Good variety
Finish: Matte finish, lays flat

Overall Rating: Good, recommended

Review: Incidental Music for a New Year’s Eve Party

On November 13, 2017November 13, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews5 Comments

Incidental Music for a New Year’s Eve Party by Dr. Suess – Liberty Puzzles – 527 pieces

This was the most entertaining puzzle I’ve ever assembled – it was so much fun! The image, the piece shapes and that it was a wood puzzle made it wonderful. Liberty Puzzles have so many interesting images to choose from, many I’ve never seen before, like the gorgeous one above. I love Dr. Suess!

When I was choosing which puzzle to purchase, I didn’t go for a smaller puzzle to try out the brand, I gravitated toward the larger piece counts from Liberty Puzzles. On their website they have several photos of each puzzle; including one of the whimsy pieces separately, and also a view of the assembled puzzle from the back so that you can see the intricate shapes of all the pieces. The shapes are amazingly detailed and interesting and I just had to splurge on myself and get a bigger one! Click the link above to check out their beautiful puzzles and stunning piece shapes.

Liberty has a dozen images from “The Secret Art of Dr. Suess”. They work with Dr. Suess Enterprises and choose 3 images each year to turn into amazing puzzles. I couldn’t resist Incidental Music for a New Year’s Eve Party – although that name is a mouthful. I love the colors, the characters and especially the piece shapes, they’re Suess-esque!

Before I started the assembly I pulled all the whimsy pieces I could find; look at these gorgeous pieces….

I enjoyed this puzzle immensely; and I took my time because I didn’t want it to end. The feel of the pieces, the beautiful detailed shapes, the gorgeous artwork, the excellent craftsmanship – they all contributed to this being my favorite puzzle ever! Liberty Puzzles have the best whimsies in my opinion, and there are many more than I’ve seen with other companies; about 15-20% of the pieces are whimsies.

I’ve noticed that I work more slowly and carefully when assembling a wooden puzzle. It’s almost like meditation – I’m completely in the moment and focused on the piece shapes, the colors, and on enjoying the puzzle. The pieces are the sturdiest you can find, but I find that I handle them with care, almost reverently. Perhaps it’s appreciation for the detail and excellent quality, or perhaps I’m just trying to stretch out the experience and make the fun last longer – I suspect that it’s most likely both of those things.

I’m in love with Liberty Puzzles and that’s quite dangerous, because I obviously have an addictive personality. My wishlist on their site is into the thousands of dollars! 😮 I won’t be able to get them all, but I’ve worked it out that I might be able to get a few every year. There’s my birthday, and Christmas, and Mother’s Day, and…um…Happy I Love You Day – that’s a holiday, right??

Details:

Title: Incidental Music for a New Year’s Eve Party
Artist: Dr. Suess
Brand: Liberty Puzzles
Piece count: 527 pieces
Size: Approx. 12 x 19 in. (31 x 48 cm)
Purchased: New

Quality:

Board: 1/4″ wood
Cutting: Excellent
Image: Excellent
Box: Excellent
Fit: Excellent
Puzzle Dust: None
Piece cut: Random/whimsies/very intricate
Piece shapes: Designed for this puzzle – amazing!
Finish: Matte finish, lays flat

Overall Rating: Excellent, most highly recommended

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: