Review: Summer Hummer

On June 29, 2017July 31, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviewsLeave a comment

This post is sponsored by Puzzle Warehouse.

Summer Hummer by Spencer Williams – Sunsout – 1000 pieces

Summer Hummer is a beautiful puzzle that would look amazing framed. It wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be, and went together pretty quickly. It was a fun assembly, which I didn’t expect! 🙂

Sunsout is a puzzle manufacturer I don’t usually purchase. Not because of their quality, it’s just a matter of taste/opinion; I prefer puzzles with a different fit. Sunsout puzzles fit together quite snugly and it always makes me think I don’t have the correct piece if I have to really push it together. A lot of people prefer the tighter fit you get with Sunsout and Springbok puzzles and they are just as right in their opinion as I am in mine. 😎 Sunsout puzzles are made in the USA and eco-friendly using soy based inks and recycled cardboard. Thumbs up for that!

The pieces were undamaged and fully separated in the bag and there was a moderate amount of puzzle dust (might want to dump the pieces out on something other than your board first). The pieces are thick and sturdy and fit together quite tightly; you can easily move sections around without them falling apart and can even lift the entire puzzle once it’s completed. Most of pieces were ballerinas (2 prong/2 hole) but with a large variety of sizes and shapes. There was a small amount of hanging paper on the backs of some pieces – little bits of paper left from the cutting process. It isn’t too much to deal with but can be annoying. The image reproduction is very good – the colors are bright and the image matches the box cover exactly. The finish on the pieces is slightly glossy and can cause glare working under lights; it wasn’t too much of a problem with this puzzle as there aren’t many dark sections.

I was surprised at the size of this puzzle 26 x 26 inches (66 x 66 cm), it seems much bigger when you’ve finished it. The box is quite large for a 1000 piece puzzle, 12.5 inches square (31.75 cm) and the bottom section is thinner cardboard. All four sides have the puzzle and artist’s name, piece count, finished size and manufacturer. Three of the sides also have a smaller complete image making it easy to shelve either vertically or horizontally.

This puzzle took about 3 days to complete which is about average for me. I thought the background sections would be difficult and time consuming but they really weren’t. The larger hummingbird was easy enough to pick out but the smaller bird is green and the pieces were easy to overlook at first. Once the flowers and birds were complete you’re left with a lot of green. Many shades of green. But it wasn’t bad! Plenty of shading within the green and textures on the leaves made it easier.

This was my first puzzle by Spencer Williams, and I enjoyed the artwork very much. It makes for good puzzling and is a beautiful image. You can click here to see the other puzzle available by this artist at Puzzle Warehouse, it’s a lovely image of soaring eagles. Before completing this puzzle I would have thought it would be difficult with the background of the sky, but I think it would most likely be another fun assembly like this one.

Summer Hummer was enjoyable to assemble and the finished puzzle is gorgeous and would be excellent for framing! Even though the fit isn’t my cup of tea I have to say this is one of the most beautiful finished puzzles I’ve seen in quite a while. If you like a puzzle that fits together tightly and this image speaks to you, I definitely recommend this puzzle. 👍

I received this product at no charge in return for an honest review, all thoughts and opinions expressed are truthful and 100% my own.

Birdhouse Celebration

On April 4, 2017May 18, 2023 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles2 Comments

My first shaped puzzle (other than a circle) than I’ve completed. I’ve started several shaped puzzles and for one reason or another I haven’t completed any of them. Perhaps I had a mental block about them and just thought a puzzle should be rectangular or square. Whatever the reason, I finally got an entire shaped puzzle completed! (Mom and I assembled this one together, I have to give her a shout out. Hi mom!)

It’s a beautiful image and mom and I enjoyed the assembly very much. It’s even got a little bird who’s coming to visit but didn’t quite make it into the puzzle. How cute! This puzzle would be great for the family around July 4th. Have everyone over for the holiday and you can have them help assemble a puzzle while you’re waiting for the fireworks!

This was the first Sunsout puzzle I assembled that I thought had very good quality. The previous ones I’ve worked I wasn’t pleased with the amount of cardboard backing that didn’t get cut all the way through or was hanging on the back, and the pieces that fit together too tightly so you actually have to work at attaching them.

This puzzle however, had neither of those issues and we enjoyed this puzzle quite a bit. It was nice to be able to pick out the pieces for a small section and work on it without having to refer to the box constantly. The pieces fit together very well and there was no excess cardboard or paper hanging off the back of the pieces. The colors were bold and beautiful and even though the piece shapes didn’t have much variety it was still a fun assembly. The quality of this puzzle was quite good to my surprise, and I’m glad! Sunsout isn’t a company I normally purchase from, but if we can check out the pieces at the thrift store first then I’m all for it.

The Few And The Proud

On December 25, 2016 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw PuzzlesLeave a comment

I can finally put this puzzle on the blog, because I assembled, glued and framed it for my husband for Christmas. My marine likes it very much, or he’s being nice and saying that he does like an intelligent man!

I have to say I’m not a fan of Sunsout puzzles, this puzzle especially. The cut didn’t seem to be completely through the cardboard because there were “hanging chads” on every piece which got in the way a lot of the time and had to be removed. Also I am not a fan of puzzles that you have to really push hard to get the pieces together. To me it feels like if I have to work this hard it probably doesn’t fit. Just my personal preference. And this puzzle was DARK. Very dark. I knew that when I ordered it, but when you add in the way you have to work to get the pieces together it was a chore to finish the puzzle.

If it hadn’t been a gift I most likely wouldn’t have finished it. I had done Sunsout puzzles before and knew it wouldn’t be the most enjoyable assembly, but they were the only company with this image and I really wanted to do this puzzle for my husband. So I whined and complained but I got it done and it really does like quite nice framed. Hubby likes it, so it was all worth it. 🙂

I will add, though, that we have found a few Sunsout puzzles at the thrift store, and sometimes the quality of the pieces is quite good. We have a 1500 piece Sunsout puzzle where the pieces seem to fit more normally and the quality of the cut seems 100% better. I guess for me I would only purchase this brand if I could see the actual pieces and how they fit together first. So it’ll likely be only from thrift stores that I get Sunsout. Again, just my personal opinion.

Buy A Ticket See 90 Movies

On November 17, 2016May 27, 2023 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles2 Comments

I love all the visual puns in this image, and it was fun to see how many movies we could name. We didn’t get them all, but we got a lot! To Kill A Mockingbird in the lower right corner was so literal it made me laugh!

The quality of this puzzle was adequate I would say. I’m not a fan of the super tight fit and having to really push the pieces together to assemble them. To me, it feels as if the pieces shouldn’t be together if I have to force them and I’m constantly double checking to see if I’ve chosen the proper one. I prefer a fit where they click together and you’ll know that it fits without having to work at it too much (Ravensburger, Jumbo, Schmidt, Pomegranate)

FYI if you plan on getting this puzzle and you’re looking for the guide to see the names of all the movies, the website listed on the box no longer has the key. If you email Sunsout they will send you the list.