Tag: Shaped Puzzles

Christmas Town – Day 2

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles5 Comments

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

These little Christmas puzzles are perfect for sitting down with a steaming cup of hot chocolate and having some “me time” with a beautiful little holiday puzzle. Unfortunately we don’t have any snow down here in Florida, so it doesn’t feel much like the holidays for me; but at least these puzzles can give me a little bit of the feeling of the snowy Christmases of my youth.

I don’t think we’ll ever be used to having warm weather at Christmastime! I’m still a northerner in my heart. 💗

This image makes me wonder – what did an antique shop look like back in the late 19th century, or even the early 20th century? That’s something I would have loved to have been able to see. Imagine the inventory they must have had!

These images have me thinking about life back in the “olden days”. I’m imagining how much work must have gone into just going somewhere. We’re so used to the immediacy of our modern lives, if we want to go to the store we can just hop in our cars or whatever transportation we have available and off we go. Imagine having to hitch up the horse(s) to a wagon or sleigh before you can leave! And then having to travel out in the weather, no enclosed spaces with heat or air conditioning. Yikes. I think we forget how easy we have it sometimes – I know I sure do.

What a beautiful house this is. Imagine decorating all those windows and trees in the yard – I think I’d be in a bah humbug mood if I had to get all bundled up to go outside and put up all those holiday decorations!

I know I don’t do many of the Christmas images that most people enjoy so much; so I hope you’re enjoying these little ones as much as I enjoyed putting them together.

Christmas Town – Day 1

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles2 Comments

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

You know what I’m going to say here about these images. So I won’t say it. Regardless, I still enjoyed putting them together. There’s something about a small puzzle, completing it in just a few minutes – it’s very satisfying and gives me quite a sense of accomplishment. Some days you just need to feel as though you got something done; these little puzzles are perfect for that.

Just because the average Christmas puzzle isn’t my particular pile of pieces, it doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate the artwork, because I absolutely do. Each scene here is very detailed and would make a great holiday puzzle in it’s own right. These are the first puzzles with images by Joseph Holodook that I’ve done, and I was very impressed with his attention to detail, and the sense of nostalgia in his art. Just lovely.

These Cra-Z-Art sets are great for working with younger children too; you could use the colored backing to separate each little puzzle, and help them to assemble a puzzle with a more “adult” theme. It could help build confidence in their puzzling and problem solving skills; plus, you end up with a beautiful little completed puzzle!

This is perfect little scene on the homefront. Look at those snowmen. I know whenever I tried to make a snowman when I was younger, the snow always had so much grass and dirt in it – they never looked that perfect for me.

This is my favorite of these three puzzles, and I love the quote. “Childhood is the country we had to leave behind, but at the holidays we can go back and speak our very first language.” I couldn’t find the quote anywhere else, so my assumption is that it is by the artist himself; whoever said it, it rings very true.

The blue of this building is beautiful, and made putting together part of this puzzle pretty easy. It’s a lovely scene, isn’t it?

A Christmas Story Leg Lamp

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles2 Comments

A Christmas Story Leg Lamp – USAopoly – 500 pieces

Well ya’ll, the holiday for Americans to gorge themselves on dinner and fall into a tryptophan coma has passed. It is now – according to my father – officially the Christmas season. What better way to kick it off than with a puzzle from the quintessential holiday movie … A Christmas Story.

This puzzle was first assembled over four years ago; back then mom wanted to assemble it too so I took it apart and off it went to her house. The plan was to glue it after she was finished, and then I would hang it in the window or on the door as a Christmas decoration. She never did get to it, and so it came back to my house and this year it was finally reassembled – it is already glued on both sides and ready to show everyone my oddball Christmas spirit! 🤪

Reading through my previous post about this puzzle, it was a little surprising that I didn’t mention the edges and how in some places the pieces just sit together instead of attaching to each other. It’s a big pet peeve of mine, and assembling the shaped edge was hard enough without the added annoyance of having to find the piece to make it all click together. Either I was much more excited about this puzzle four years ago, or I am much crankier these days. Or both.

Probably both.

But, if you’ve got this puzzle and are going to assemble it, here’s a tip…. When you’re sorting for edge pieces take every piece that has any bit of the white border. Then, when you come to edges that don’t connect you can help anchor them with the inside pieces

It was simple to sort ; edges, lampshade, fringe, fishnets, and shoe/base. The assembly was pretty simple as well, but nonetheless enjoyable. Truly a fun puzzle, and I’m excited to finally have it as a holiday decoration.

As I sit here typing up this post I’m thinking of where exactly to hang my new Christmas decoration. Hubby wants to build a custom frame for it, complete with LED lights! We gotta show it off – “It’s a major award!” 🤶

Pretty Kitties 4

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles2 Comments

Pretty Kitties by Keith Kimberlin – Cra-Z-Art – Approx. 125/500 pieces

Our last day of the Pretty Kitties, and to be honest I’m so glad! I’m just not a cat person, and although these little ones are exceptionally cute they’re just not the subject matter I prefer. I’m sure you could tell by their backstories, it was difficult for me at times to come up with anything to say, they just aren’t that inspiring for this little old lady who prefers dogs. Oh well, I enjoyed the puzzle aspect of them and that’s what truly matters here at My Jigsaw Journal.

I hope some of you have been inspired to give one of these sets of small shaped puzzles a try, they really are enjoyable to play with. Taking a small pile of pieces and in a few minutes having a complete little puzzle is so satisfying and feels like an achievement; and they’re great when you don’t have a lot of time to sit and puzzle. I adore smaller puzzles, and these are terribly cute – even I have to admit that. 😸

This color is awful, honestly it’s like a bad 70s outfit. Mirielle here doesn’t mind though, she’s a budding designer who loves all things fashion. Her style is quite bold, as you can see, and she loves to shock with her mix of fabrics and textures. She’s hoping to attend the Massachu-catts College of Art and Design to study both design and merchandising. I’m not sure Mirielle will make it as a designer, but you never know – there’s no accounting for taste.

This is one of my favorites; love the color of this purse and the big, chunky beads. This is Pamela, and she is very regimented in her ways. For example, she has this bag because it matches her eyes – things have to match! It will come as no surprise that she’s going to college for a degree in mathematics; because rules are rules and there’s no changing them for math. I’m not sure how she’s going to use her degree, but hopefully if she becomes a teacher she can learn to relax a little bit. Sometimes bending the rules is necessary, and life doesn’t have to be so rigid. Perhaps Pamela might benefit from some yoga or meditation, or a fun partner who is a bit more adventurous. 😉

And lastly we have Herman. He’s that guy in high school who knew he was good looking, he’s kind of a …… lady’s feminine hygiene product one might use on a summer’s eve. All the girls think he’s awesome, and they call him Herm. He’s not awesome, he’s a lazy user who gets what he wants by stepping on and over other people. I hope Herm changes his ways very soon, if not, he’ll probably be a politician, the worst kind of politician. Ugh. Other people are important Herman, everyone is important to someone – grow up!

Pretty Kitties 3

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles2 Comments

Pretty Kitties by Keith Kimberlin – Cra-Z-Art – Approx. 125/500 pieces

Alright, even dog people have to admit that this set of kittens is pretty darn adorable. I’m a dog person, and still my initial response to seeing these three is to say “Awwww”. So very cute!

I’m not a huge fan of the regular Cra-Z-Art puzzles, but these shaped sets bring big smiles to my face. Some of the sets can be a little boring, but most of them are fun both to look at and to assemble. The quality is good, and they make for an uncommonly entertaining time putting them together.

This is Marvin. He’s tired, life as a growing boy is exhausting. You know how those teenage years can be for boys, they’re always tired, sleeping, or hanging out in their filthy rooms. Marvin is a midfielder for his soccer team, and has no idea what to be when he grows up. He’s playing things by ear for now, waiting for luck and opportunity to collide. He isn’t great with his studies at the moment, there are lots of pretty female kitties out there to look at and try to talk to. Priorities, Marvin. Get it together!

Love the color of this purse, it pops! Such a vibrant color for such a shy looking kitten. Meet Brigitte, she seems bashful and most other cats overlook her and pay her no attention. She uses this to observe without being too obvious. Then she uses those observations to create stories and characters for her future great American novel. Kitten-watching is her favorite pastime, along with writing short stories and studying for her college boards. She has big, big dreams and she will achieve them!

I love these boots, and so does our last kitten for the day, Freya. She’s a blue-eyed beauty who plans to become a super-model. She’s not looking for long-term fame, just to make her fortune so that she can spend the rest of her days relaxing in early retirement. Freya has educated herself about finances, and plans to be smart with her money now so that later in life it can work for her instead of the other way around. She’s got a good head on her shoulders for such a young kitty – and she’s planning to be retired by the ripe old age of 5. We’re rooting for you Freya!