Tag: Thrift Store Puzzle

Work In Progress

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

Work In Progress by Ken Zylla – SunsOut – 300 pieces

A thrift store puzzle! The first one I’ve worked since I came back, and it went together quickly. I don’t have many smaller piece puzzles here; combine that with me re-reading through my blog and seeing all the amazing puzzles mom used to find for us to do from the thrift stores – and I got a bee in my bonnet about going to find some “new” puzzles to do.

I was pleased to find some great deals, although if you ask me the price of some of the puzzles at the thrift store was ridiculous. $4.99 for a 100 piece kid’s puzzle? I don’t think so! So I was happy to find a couple of Ravensburger 1000 pieces for $2.99 each, a box of 8 Disney puzzles (Mega Puzzles brand) for $4.99 and a few other interesting images and brands I hadn’t heard of. Mom would be proud of me! 💖

Anyway, to the puzzle. The image jumped out at me for some reason I’m unable to articulate properly, which is why I bought it. SunsOut isn’t a brand I usually buy – and it’s one we (the puzzle posse) never purchase new. If it’s a great image and a good price at a thrift store then I’ll get it; luckily that’s what this one was. I enjoyed this one immensely and it went together quite quickly as it was only 300 pieces and an easy one to sort.

The quality wasn’t great, the fit was VERY loose. Two pieces put together couldn’t be picked up and moved without them coming apart. Annoying. But once I realized that I changed where I was putting pieces together – the trick is to only assemble pieces as close to where they belong as possible, that way I won’t have to pick them up to move them. I find that pretty darn annoying, but it doesn’t preclude me from actually assembling a puzzle that is otherwise entertaining.

I’m missing and remembering my beautiful momma a lot these days, and somehow this puzzle made me feel a little closer to her today. She loved a bargain, she loved jigsaw puzzles and finding puzzle treasures for the both of us to assemble; she loved stopping at my house on the way home from her puzzle hunting to show me what she found and maybe helping me out for a little bit on whatever puzzle was on my board. She loved me so much, we were truly best friends and talked to each other every single day, we loved spending time together and I loved her to puzzle pieces!

I miss you momma. So much. 😥💔

Birthday Party Doug

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw PuzzlesLeave a comment

Birthday Party Doug – Buffalo – 300 pieces

What I’ve remembered now that I’m back at my puzzle table and blogging again is that when I finish a puzzle and take pictures I need to be prepared to type up my post immediately. Old lady brain sets in and even though I put in a few descriptors about the assembly and the puzzle itself when I start the draft – it isn’t enough. It needs to be done while everything is fresh in my mind.

I was in such a hurry to get going on my next puzzle that all I did was put a few comments into the draft along with the pictures. Now it’s only a few days later and here I sit thinking “What the hell do I write about this?” Old age ain’t for sissies, that’s all I’m sayin’!

On to the puzzle… it’s an adorable image on top of a great quality jigsaw puzzle, what could be better? I’ve done a few Doug the Pug puzzles and have thoroughly enjoyed every single one. Sometimes they can be a little challenging, but that’s a good time for me in it’s own way as well. Buffalo makes excellent puzzles, and their choice of images seems to have something for everyone.

How cute is that pupper sitting up? So cute!

Cardinal Glass

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Cardinal Glass by Cynthie Fisher – Big Ben (Luxe) – 500 pieces

This puzzle had an extremely loose fit which made this frustrating and difficult to work with. I liked the image, but all that green was a b*tch to deal with as well as the crappy fit.

Big Ben puzzles have been hit and miss in the quality department for me; sometimes I’m amazed at the good quality and sometimes I want to stomp on the pieces while screaming and throwing a tantrum like a two year old. Hit or miss.

For me, puzzle brands whose quality isn’t something you can be sure of are brands that I no longer buy new. I refuse to pay retail for a puzzle with quality that may contribute to my regression to an angry toddler. Big Ben is one of those brands I usually only get second hand at the thrift store.

If the price is only a few dollars it doesn’t frustrate me as much because I know going in that the pieces may not be all there or it may not be the best quality. That’s my twisted logic anyway.

Teal Lake

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles7 Comments

Teal Lake by Andy Russell – Milton Bradley (Big Ben) – 500 pieces

I love the image of this puzzle, and I liked that even though it was only 500 pieces it was still a bit challenging. It made for some fun puzzling!

This is a thrift store puzzle, and other than quite a loose fit it was pretty good quality. The image reproduction is lovely, there are a good variety of shapes and the chipboard was a nice thickness. The finish is matte and feels soft to the touch; the loose fitting pieces made for some frustrating moments trying to move pieces around, but otherwise I was happy with it.

Teal Lake In Progress…

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

Teal Lake by Andy Russell – Milton Bradley (Big Ben) – 500 pieces

Although I started this puzzle yesterday afternoon, every time I sat down to work on it later in the day someone or something interrupted. It was just one of those days apparently.

This was a thrift store purchase, and other than a slightly loose fit I’ve been quite happy with the quality so far. The finish is matte so there hasn’t been any glare issues under the lights, and the hand feel is soft and very nice.

Andy Russell is a new artist for me, and his work reminds me a bit of Eric Dowdle; the rounded but almost symmetrical and precise shapes made me think of his artwork immediately when I saw it. It will be interesting to see if this is as difficult as I sometimes find puzzles with a Dowdle image.