Summer Teatime

On January 5, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles2 Comments

This puzzle made me stop and think. It isn’t an image I would choose to purchase new, but having gotten it from a thrift store I’m more willing to assemble it; it’s a lovely scene, but it isn’t an image that grabs me (hope this makes sense). I assembled it one morning because I wanted a smaller piece count puzzle, and oddly enough, once it was assembled the image seems more attractive to me. I had to stop and think why this was.

I suppose it’s a combination of things. First, the puzzle was EXCELLENT quality. Extremely thick, sturdy pieces that fit together wonderfully. The image reproduction is good, if a bit shiny; even with lighter colors a shiny finish causes glare when you’re working under artificial lights. (I have no natural light in my puzzle area) The pieces are EZ grasp, which added to the thickness of the board made for a wonderful tactile experience. Second, the entire assembly was quite fun and I enjoyed placing every single piece. The image makes for a good puzzle with some areas of a single color and some busier areas with flowers and berries.

Having worked with the excellent quality pieces which helped to make the assembly so fun, I took a picture and the image seemed more attractive to me. I was happy about finishing the puzzle and seeing the image assembled I thought “What a pretty picture!”. That isn’t what I thought when I first saw the puzzle box. I didn’t hate it, it just wasn’t a picture that made me suck in my breath and say “ooooh!” You know what I mean, you’ve most likely done it when you saw a puzzle that you loved.

I’ve become a bit less judgy since I’ve started doing reviews because many times a puzzle that was chosen for me to assemble isn’t one I would have chosen for myself. And almost every time I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the assembly and ended up seeing the image differently once I’d completed it. The same goes for thrift store purchases, mom buys puzzles that aren’t always ones that we’d normally purchase, but getting a puzzle at 95% off changes your perspective. 😉

If you get a chance to work a puzzle that might not ordinarily grab your attention, give it a try (especially a thrift store or swapped puzzle). It’s a nice change and you just may be surprised at how much you enjoy it!

Dear God, You Thought of Everything!

On January 3, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles2 Comments

This is the last of 3 Dear God kids puzzles mom got at the thrift store. They were all complete, and all much more difficult than we bargained for. The line drawing quality of the artwork makes this puzzle a bit of a challenge. All 3 tested us a bit, and all 3 were completely adorable!

The pieces were a little thin and there was some image lift, but they fit together well and were relatively sturdy. We enjoyed these puzzles very much, and laughed at how difficult they were for us. We put together 2000 piece puzzles, how does a little 100 piece kids puzzle give us such grief?

It’s much more fun working on a difficult puzzle with someone, well I think so anyway. You can talk and laugh and help each other out, and even if it’s challenging you’re not as frustrated because there’s someone else to take off some of the pressure. That’s been my experience anyway. I love assembling puzzles with my mom, there’s lots of laughing and teasing – even some cussing, which is adorable coming from a “little old lady’s” mouth! We know how the other assembles puzzles and we’re used to working together. It’s the best!

Dance, Hug, Sing

On December 30, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

Another cute kid’s puzzle from the thrift store, but we didn’t even know we had this one! It was bagged separately in the box of another puzzle purchased. Freebie! Free is my favorite price. 😉

Excellent quality kids puzzle from Cardinal, and it was fun putting this together without the picture. Nice, thick pieces that fit together well with bright, fun colors – basically everything you’d want in a kids puzzle. It’s very well made and should last through many, many assemblies.

This was much nicer than the Troll hair puzzle. Ick! This puzzle has since been donated to a school, I’m sure they’re having a great time with it. It’s always fun to assemble kid’s puzzles for me, makes me feel like an expert puzzler! 😎

Bright Eyes

On December 29, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

Here’s an interesting puzzle from the mid 70’s, by a manufacturer that is no longer in business. From what I’ve been able to find, Built Rite puzzles were produced from the 1940’s to 1976. It’s a guess, but this looks like something from the 70’s to me. It’s so fun to try puzzles from companies we’ve never heard of!

The quality of this puzzle was fair, the pieces didn’t fit together well, and the fit was very loose. Not sure if I can blame that on the manufacturer, as this was a pre-loved puzzle from the thrift store. As you can see in the picture the tabs on the pieces aren’t rounded they are more geometric, which was interesting. The pieces themselves were a good thickness with an interesting variety of piece shapes, and the image reproduction was good with some blurriness.

This little girl is so cute I couldn’t wait to assemble it. This is another puzzle mom and I worked on together, and we had a very good time. Although the wallpaper and the little girl’s hair was a little bit of a challenge, and that is some BIG hair! It was a fun assembly; I always enjoy spending time with mom and working puzzles together. And every time I look at this picture I say “She’s so cute!” ❤

New York Times Front Page

On December 28, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

Another fun find from the thrift store. This one is interesting because it was made for someone whose birthday was November 10, 1930 – that is the date on this newspaper. I’m sure everyone has seen the ads in catalogs, etc. that will show you what was happening on the day or year you were born. Well, someone had this puzzle made, very cool!

Interestingly this company is based in the UK, not the US. I suppose I assumed that because it was the New York Times that the company would be in the Us. It’s a global world now, I don’t know why I was surprised. Map Marketing makes personalized maps, puzzles, etc. I was pretty impressed with the quality of this puzzle, the pieces have the same sort of dry feel that All Jigsaw Puzzles brand has; perhaps they use the same manufacturer. All around a very nice quality puzzle with pieces that are thick and fit together well, and a nice variety of shapes. I can’t really comment on image reproduction, because it’s a copy of a newspaper that was printed a very long time ago, on very old machines. Most likely the image reproduction is very good, at least we were able to read the entire front page! 🙂

Mom and I assembled this together at her house, and we had a good time of course. This is the 2nd newspaper puzzle we’ve put together and we developed a strategy for it. It made the assembly go relatively quickly. We’re an awesome team!

It was a fun puzzle that we’re now donating to the senior center, wouldn’t it be excellent if someone there had a birthday on November 10, 1930? 🎂