Tag: Thrift Store Puzzle

Garden Shed* In Progress…

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzling, Thrift Store Puzzles2 Comments

Garden Shed* – Hua Cao Shu Mu – 300 pieces

Can you believe it? The third of the three puzzles in one box from a company that makes crappy puzzles – yep, I went there.

Like I explained a few days ago, these things are stinking up my puzzle room with the stench of low quality puzzles that feature stolen artwork and I want them gone as soon as possible.

I can say with some certainty that this will be finished today. Then perhaps we’ll hold a small funeral ceremony in the backyard with a cremation immediately following the service so as not to inflict these puzzles on anyone else.

*They’ll most likely end up in the recycle bin, but it has put a HUGE smile on my face thinking about lighting these pieces of trash on fire while I dance around the flames making rude gestures. 😈

Puzzler’s Desk In Progress

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzling, Thrift Store Puzzles6 Comments

Puzzler’s Desk by Steve Read – Hua Cao Shu Mu – 300 pieces

Although I chose which puzzle to do next, I find myself extremely annoyed with this puzzle. Not because of it’s quality (though that does needs an extra big straw for how much it sucks), but perhaps due to the fact that I’m old and cranky and don’t feel well.

This was a thrift store purchase of three puzzles in a box; no brand name I could be confident in, no titles of the artwork, no artist credit, no nothing. The quality is crap; thin pieces of chipboard that you can almost peel apart, extremely shiny finish, sharp backing, blurry reproduction, etc. It seems to be one of those companies that popped up during the pandemic to make a quick buck on the run on jigsaw puzzles, which again, annoys me.

In a world where the most banal, trivial information is readily available everywhere and where a company knows what ads to target me with based on which tissue I sneezed into yesterday – how is it that no one seems to be able to have the right information to stop companies and people from stealing artwork and bootlegging up some really crappy puzzles and selling them all over the world? (See? Old and cranky)

I’m finishing these puzzles to get them out of my house, which is the only reason I picked this one to assemble next. They’re taking up precious shelf space and they suck so loud I can hear them over my music when I’m working on a good quality puzzle. I want them gone.

My name is Stacey, I am old and cranky and I don’t feel well today – and this puzzle is annoying.

Soda Fountain

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles4 Comments

Soda Fountain – Buffalo – 1000 pieces

What a fantastic thrift store find this was! Truly excellent quality with a great image that was very entertaining to assemble – couldn’t ask for more. ❤❤

This was the best fitting Buffalo puzzle I’ve put together in a while, and I have a theory as to why that is. Interested? No matter, I’m going to tell you anyway…

This puzzle is 14 years old, manufactured in 2010; and the box is different – bigger, to be exact it is taller than currently manufactured Buffalo puzzles. There is enough room for all the pieces with a little bit of extra space at the top. The extra space is key, because if a couple of pieces don’t come apart as they’re being put into the box there is enough room that they won’t be smashed against the sides or the top and bent. Puzzles made more recently have a shorter box that JUST fits all the pieces; if the puzzle fits too well they’ll be smashed against the box and bent all out of shape. The fit is looser these days to be sure they’ll come apart and fit in the smaller box. It doesn’t always work though, and I’ve had a few Buffalo puzzles lately with quite a few bent pieces because there was less room in the box.

*This is where my brain goes when I’m puzzling sometimes, off on tangents like this. 🤷‍♀️*

This is what the picture in my mind is of a typical boy from the 50’s; striped shirt, baseball hat, baseball glove. It’s probably from old tv shows and movies that I’ve seen and not based on actual kids, since I didn’t show up on the scene till the late 60’s. Once I was of an age to notice things like what people were wearing it was the 70’s. *shudder* Thankfully I was the third of three children so mom and dad don’t have many pictures of me, they were too busy taking care of their three girls to take a bunch of pictures of us wearing those HIDEOUS clothes. 😉

A 1000 piece Buffalo puzzle is quite large, and I wasn’t sure I’d be able to take this picture, but I had to try – the fit was just too good. It worked! Happy dance 💃💃💃

Of course I still prefer Pepsi, but this Coca-Cola puzzle was so much fun!

Ice Cream Social

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles5 Comments

Ice Cream Social by Lars Stewart – Milton Bradley – 300 pieces

Such a fun and colorful image, I really had a good time putting this one together! This was a thrift store puzzle, and although it was pre-loved and had a few bent tabs it was good quality and all the pieces were there – what more could a PADS sufferer ask for?

The quality of this puzzle was better than anticipated. There were the bent tabs, but otherwise I was more than happy with every other category. There were a very good variety of piece shapes, the cut was nice, the fit was exceptional, the finish was matte and it had a nice hand feel.

Exceptional fit, you say? Hmmm. Is she gonna take another stupid standing up puzzle picture? Of course she is!

These pictures and standing up a puzzle really do make me happy. I have no explanation and I make no excuses. 😎

Ripples at Sunset

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles6 Comments

Ripples at Sunset – Dreamtivity – 101 pieces

Quick assembly that was my first completed puzzle of 2024. My youngest son got it for me for Christmas, and bought it at our local library during their book sale. I love that he wanted to get me something he knew I would like and did so by recycling a puzzle. What someone spends on me doesn’t make the gift good or bad, it’s the intention behind the gift that matters – and his mom thinks he did a great job.💖

This is a new to me company that I hadn’t previously heard of. Dreamtivity. To be honest the quality really wasn’t that great. The fit was loose and a bit wonky, and although the variety of shapes was good the actual cut of the pieces wasn’t great. The chipboard itself was a bit on the thin side, but not too much so. The image reproduction was the best part of the puzzle, it’s a beautiful image and it was reproduced very nicely with sharp, bright colors.

This was my first mini panoramic puzzle (I think) at only 101 pieces, and it was pretty enjoyable to assemble even with the less than optimal quality.