Songbird Symphony

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Songbird Symphony – Springbok – 500 pieces

This isn’t the typical image that I prefer, but mom assembled it first and even though it’s missing a couple of pieces she recommended that I put it together too. She thought I would really enjoy it, and she was right. (She usually is – it’s annoying sometimes!) There’s just something about collages that push all the right buttons for me, they’re the perfect type of puzzle for my weird little brain and I absolutely love them!

Photographic images are not my favorite, they’re pretty far down on the list of preferences. But as usual I enjoyed this one in spite of myself. Each section was like it’s own little mini puzzle and I got lost in it, only concentrating on the next piece or the next color and found myself relaxing and de-stressing. It was a wonderful distraction in a very trying and busy week.

Springbok puzzles can sometimes fit a little too tightly for my taste, but this one wasn’t too bad. The pieces were thick, and didn’t have the fuzzy edges that you sometimes find on the backs. It’s a beautiful puzzle with very good quality and I found it the perfect puzzle at the perfect time for me. Thrift store puzzles make me so happy! 💗

 

The Sewing Box

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The Sewing Box – Springbok – 500 pieces

This was a super fun Springbok puzzle that mom and I assembled together. We love a collage and putting together each little compartment of the box made for a great afternoon. It was a little bit of a bummer that it was missing a piece, but c’est la vie – that’s life.

Springbok quality is sometimes hit or miss, thankfully this one was a hit. The pieces fit together well and didn’t require having to force connections; sometimes I find their fit is much too tight, but this one was just about perfect. The image reproduction was crisp and beautiful, and the image itself made for such a great puzzle!

I love our Fridays when mom and I spend the day together. We assemble puzzles, talk, laugh, and generally just enjoy each other’s company. When the hormones are raging and I can’t stand anyone, mom is the only one I want to be around; no matter how I’m feeling, spending time with mom is always good for me. Lately we’ve been doing smaller piece count puzzles, we are having more fun being able to do more than one puzzle per day.

I love a thrift store puzzle, there’s always a chance that it may be missing a piece but you can find such interesting, fun puzzles at deeply discounted prices. Yes, this puzzle had a piece missing – but it only cost us 99 cents. For less than a dollar we got to spend the afternoon together putting together a really entertaining puzzle – what a bargain!

 

Garden Goodness

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Garden Goodness – Springbok – 1000 pieces

Another fun collage, they seem to be keeping me going lately. 🙂 The vintage seed packets with the colorful pictures, the many words to assemble; I just love the look of this one. There’s just something about it that makes me smile.

This was a pretty good Springbok puzzle as far as quality. The pieces fit together well (without too much effort) and they didn’t have that halo of fuzzy paper on the backs of the pieces that you find sometimes with Springboks. The image reproduction was very good, bright and crisp; and although the piece shape is a bit noticeable in the finished image it didn’t detract from the enjoyment of the assembly.

There are so many beautiful collage puzzles out there that I would love to do, and looking back I’ve done so many already. Keep ’em coming please!

Review: We Are All in this Together

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We Are All in this Together by Sandy Miller – Springbok (Thingies) – 60 pieces

I really loved this little puzzle, it was challenging enough to not be boring, small enough to fit the small bedside table I’ve been working with, and very nice quality.

Mom brought me a few puzzles that I can do here in the hospital so I won’t be bored out of my mind staring at the tv, this one was so interesting we assembled it right away, together. I know, a person doesn’t need assistance with a puzzle this small, but we like doing puzzles together and she came to help keep me entertained. It worked!

I’ve never heard of these Springbok Thingies, what a neat concept! Small, round puzzles in small, round boxes that you can take and assemble anywhere. From what I could find online the Thingies were produced in the late 60’s, all with the designs of Sandy Miller, and were quite popular for several years. The one we purchased has a copyright date of 2013, so it seems they have been reissued, I would love to find more of these! They’re rather like the micro puzzles from Wentworth – excellent quality, small piece count puzzles that you can take with you and assemble almost anywhere.

I love that although they are only 60 pieces and they aren’t childish images, they’re actually a bit more challenging and take a little bit of focus. Mom and I had a great time assembling this one. The finish on the pieces didn’t feel the same as larger piece count Springbok puzzles we’ve assembled, it was almost soft and feels really nice in your hand.

I’m hoping mom finds many more of these, we enjoyed this one very much! 🙂

Details:

  • Title:                  We Are All in this Together
  • Artist:                Sandy Miller
  • Brand:               Springbok
  • Piece count:     60 pieces
  • Size:                  Approx. 7′” in diameter (18 cm)
  • Purchased:      Used, thrift store

Quality:

  • Board:               Excellent
  • Cutting:             Excellent
  • Image:               Very good
  • Box:                   Small, round, heavy cardboard, very portable
  • Fit:                     Very good
  • Puzzle Dust:     Very small amount
  • Piece cut:          Random
  • Piece shapes:   Very good variety
  • Finish:               Matte finish, lays flat

Overall Rating:      Very good to excellent, highly recommended

 

Pencil Pushers

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Pencil Pushers – Springbok – 500 pieces

This apparently looks like a difficult puzzle, when I showed it to someone saying it would be my next puzzle they thought it looked very hard. I didn’t think so, but more than one person told me that. I thought it looked pretty easy actually, and it was!

I really enjoyed this puzzle, it went together pretty quickly and it’s stunningly beautiful. The random cut pieces made it interesting and the colors are bright and fun. The finished image is really lovely. I sent this puzzle to mom’s house for her to assemble, and when she’s done with it I would like to frame it. It’s such a wonderful image, I absolutely love it!

This puzzle was about average Springbok quality, the piece fit was a bit tight, and the backs of the pieces were slightly fuzzy around the edges. They were a good thickness, though, and the image reproduction is stellar. This is one of the instances where the image can overcome most quality shortcomings. There have been a few puzzles where the image was so entertaining to assemble that I didn’t really mind the quality issues that would usually annoy me. This is one of them. 🙂

Great image, fun assembly, most excellent thrift store find!