Tag: Shaped Puzzles

Cat Selfies – Day 1

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles2 Comments

Cat Selfies by Howard Robinson – Cra-Z-Art – approx. 125/500 pieces

Here we are again with another set of 12 shaped mini puzzles. As my regular readers will know, cats aren’t my thing – I’m a dog person all the way. But I couldn’t pass this set up either, just because of the sets I’ve done before and how much I enjoyed them. They were all fun to put together, of course, and I’m getting my brain back into gear with more silly names and backstories for all these little cuties.

The quality was good with this set; not many of the pieces were still connected, the fit was very good, and the reproduction was excellent. If these sets look like you might enjoy them I absolutely recommend that you give them a try. They’re always a nice break from the larger piece count puzzles – at least they are for me.

The first three cats are ones with nothing extra, no flowers or butterflies to zazz up their selfies. All the rest of them after this have something pictured with them to ramp up the cuteness factor.

So here we go, another trip into the weird and twisted mind of Stacey. Sometimes she speaks about herself in the third person, and writes up little biographies of the puzzles she assembles. It’s bizarre, I know – but it can also be hilarious and lots of fun. 😎

Meet Magnus everyone. He works on the road crews holding up signs to keep traffic safe and flowing properly. Working outside is part of why he loves his job, he’s definitely an outdoor cat. Magnus enjoys grilling and having backyard BBQ’s for his friends and family, fishing in the local creek, and traveling to visit out of town friends and family. He loves deeply and always keeps in touch with those close to him. He’s a big softie and is loved by everyone he’s ever met.

Beatrice here is not really “down” with all of this making faces at the camera, but she’s playing along. If she had her druthers she’d be sitting in front of her typewriter working on her latest novel. Beatrice is quite the celebrity in the kitty cat world, and her naughty romance novels have the ladies swooning. She’s a bit of a recluse, but I guess that’s to be expected from those artistic types. Beatrice enjoys cross-stitch, crochet, and trying out new recipes she sees on the many cooking shows she watches. If she invites you over for dinner be careful not to mess up all the doilies on her furniture – that makes her very cross; but enjoy the meal, it’ll be fabulous!

Frank is a bit of a cranky old cat. He’s retired from the military, and spends most of his time on the front porch yelling at the kittens in the neighborhood to get off his lawn. When he’s not on the porch Frank likes to tinker around the house and keep things in good repair. He’s courting a widowed tabby and enjoys going over to her house for dinner and perhaps watching tv together. Is love in the air? Perhaps!

Go for it Frank!

Cat Selfies In Progress

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles2 Comments

Cat Selfies by Howard Robinson – Cra-Z-Art – 500 pieces

After finishing The Artist’s Desk (which was quite a challenge) I decided that I needed something quick and entertaining. Regular readers might remember that I’m not really a fan of cat puzzles, but I am definitely a fan of the Cra-Z-Art multipacks of mini shaped puzzles – no matter the subject. Even though there are twelve cat puzzles to assemble it’ll still be engrossing and fun, and that’s all I really need.

I took a little break from puzzling for about 4 days; just couldn’t get myself motivated to get out of bed and sit myself in front of the pieces – but I’m back at it now and feeling a little bit better.

Hopefully these kitties will put a smile back on my face and more pieces on the board. 😊

Irons in the Fire

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles10 Comments

Irons in the Fire – Bepuzzled – 135 pieces

Normally “mystery” puzzles aren’t my thing. Not because I don’t care for the mystery aspect of it, but because almost every single one I’ve ever done or looked at has had terrible quality. This was a thrift store purchase though, and for some reason I was willing to take a chance on it this time.

It’s a good thing too, because this is the best quality puzzle from this brand that I’ve ever seen. The pieces were thick (like, Ravensburger thick) and fit together well, if slightly loosely. It’s a double-sided puzzle, so one side is shinier and feels a little more stiff; but that is how double-sided puzzles are, no matter the brand. Overall, the quality was impressive.

**I’m going to say that I’ve done a few Bepuzzled puzzles before, and my impression is that overall the quality is underwhelming, and at times REALLY bad. My opinion is only for this puzzle, not the brand.**

Here’s the mystery…. Four business partners are golfing; Howie, Will, Flip, and Duff. Someone has been selling company secrets and a private detective has been hired by Howie to find out who. Howie gets attacked and kidnapped after the round of golf, and what is found is the following picture. (There’s much more info to the story, but this is the gist of it)

I’m giving the solution below, so stop reading here if you have this puzzle and don’t want any spoilers.

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What the police found was everything in disarray, but four clubs laid out neatly in a row next to his open cell phone. The 3, 5, 4, and 7 irons in a row – using the number/letter combinations on the phone – spell out who was stealing company secrets and who arranged to have Howie taken.

Flip.

Joyeux Noël

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles4 Comments

Joyeux Noël by Hello Angel – Wentworth – 206 pieces

Isn’t this a beautiful image? I fell in love with it when I saw it, and couldn’t wait to put it together; I even got a copy for my favorite sister-in-law and her family. (It’s my tradition to send them a beautiful wooden puzzle every Christmas for them to assemble as a family over the holidays) It’s just so lovely, and not your usual Christmas puzzle – you know how muchI love that!

The description said “extra difficult” for this puzzle, because of the repetitively cut snowflake shaped pieces. I’ve done several puzzles that Wentworth said would be extra difficult, and I never found them to be that much of a challenge. This one though … oh boy… it’s deserving of that title. After I put together about the first five pieces I told hubby, “Your sister is going to hate me for sending her this puzzle – it’s really hard!”

It was late in the evening when I started, and the next morning with a freshly-caffeinated brain I worked on it a little more. Once my coffee soaked gray cells wrapped themselves around how the pieces fit together it wasn’t too bad – but it is still probably the most challenging Wentworth puzzle I’ve done.

Even so – a very, very entertaining puzzle. And although my SIL and her family may need an adult beverage or two to deal with this puzzle, I hope they enjoy it and forgive me for sending a puzzle that is très difficile. 😉

Here you can see the snowflake cut, which is part of why it was such a challenge. I loved it though, and the finished puzzle is so different – and beautiful!

It’s Christmas Eve, so allow me to wish those who celebrate Christmas a wonderful holiday. Joyeux Noël!

**You have NO idea what I went through to get the umlaut over the “e” in Noël! This new wordpress editor doesn’t make things as easy as they think it does, and it must have taken me close to 10 minutes to figure it out – even with googling how to do it.**

Christmas Town – Day 4

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles4 Comments

Christmas Town by Joseph Holodook – Cra-Z-Art – approx. 125/500 pieces

These 500 piece puzzles by Cra-Z-Art are really some of my favorites to assemble. One of these times I should assemble them as a true 500 piece instead of separating them according to the colored backing. Maybe I’ll do that on one of the next ones. (Although I really do enjoy being able to just grab a pile of pieces and put a whole little image together in just a few minutes)

Some of these scenes seem a bit more modern than others, some have electric lights like this one, and more modern vehicles. You can see by the car and the clothes that this seems to be early 20th century. One of yesterday’s buildings had no lights and there were wagons being pulled by oxen and horses.

This looks like it could be the parsonage of a church. You can see a portion of a stained glass window from the building next door on the far left. I’m not crazy about the color palette for this one, but it’s incredibly detailed for such a small puzzle.

Rufus E. Dunclutter – now that’s a name! Too bad there aren’t any quilts that we can see, you know I love a puzzle with some quilts in it; unfortunately there is only a sign. Rufus seems to be a man who does whatever he can, he sells quilts, old books, antiques, and “what nots”. Go for it Rufus!

I love that there are two older men tipping their hats to each other in the foreground; it’s so old timey and polite. 🎩

The florist sells Christmas trees apparently, very cool! And there’s an enterprising young man with his shovel looking for driveways or sidewalks to clear – perhaps for some extra spending money for the holidays.

I hope you’ve all enjoyed our trip through Christmas Town, with all of it’s delightful buildings. I enjoyed putting every one together, they make for such fun little puzzles!