Review: Cute Little Owls

On November 3, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews, Thrift Store Puzzles7 Comments

Cute Little Owls by Kerri Ambrosino – Clementoni – 500 pieces

Mom absolutely loved this puzzle, and I can definitely see why. The colors, the cuteness, the collage effect – excellent for puzzling!

This was the first Clementoni puzzle that I’ve done. I’m reserving judgment until I’m able to do at least one more, but I’m not thrilled with the fit; it was extremely loose. Now it was a thrift store purchase, so it may have been well loved before it was donated. That’s one reason why I try not to make snap judgments, I should at least do 2 or more before I decide on the brand in general. Other than the fit, I thought the quality was very good. Nicely cut pieces, a good thickness, excellent image reproduction – impressive!

I recently went to one of mom’s thrift stores with her when she was chauffeuring me around one day. 😮 Oh my goodness! I can’t believe she finds as many wonderful and complete puzzles as she does. Seeing the section where the puzzles are, the chaos everything is in – wow. She is definitely Queen of all things Thrift Store! I bow before you, your majesty!

Also, Happy National Jigsaw Day for any readers in the UK! I’m celebrating by doing puzzles today – what a change, huh? 😎

Details:

Title: Cute Little Owls
Artist: Kerri Ambrosino
Brand: Clementoni
Piece count: 500 pieces
Size: Approx. 19 x 14 in. (48 x 36 cm)
Purchased: Used, thrift store

Quality:

Board: Very good, sturdy
Cutting: Excellent
Image: Very good
Box: Very good, a bit large for a 500 piece puzzle
Fit: Quite loose
Puzzle Dust: None
Piece cut: Grid cut
Piece shapes: Good variety
Finish: Somewhat shiny finish, lays flat

Overall Rating: Very Good, recommended

Barn Sale

On November 2, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

I enjoyed this more than I thought I would, I think I was having flashbacks of the last Bits and Pieces shaped puzzle that I’d done. This one seemed to be much better quality, or perhaps a better cut? I’m not sure which, but it was much easier to deal with – the pieces all fit together!

I try not to be overly judgmental about certain brands, but I’m not always successful. Just because the last shaped puzzle from this company was a disappointment doesn’t mean they all will be. But when you’ve had a bad experience it sticks with you, at least it does for me. But sometimes one of the puzzles calls to me from the “to do” pile, and I just have to do that one next, even if it may be one with questionable quality.

I’m glad I decided to ignore my judgy brain and assemble this puzzle anyway. It really was much better quality than I’d assumed, and it was quite fun to assemble as well. I love a puzzle with quilts, so that was even more incentive for me; there’s something so entertaining for me in putting a jigsaw quilt together, I love it! All around I would say this was a very good quality puzzle that I would definitely recommend. 👍

Vibrant Puzzle Calendar Kit Puzzles 5 & 6

On November 1, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles1 Comment

Gourds 100 pieces

Bird 100 pieces

The third of 6 double-sided puzzles in this box. The gourds make for a puzzle that looks perfect for this time of year. I love the fall! Too bad I live in Florida where we only have shades of summer, all year long. 😐

I really enjoy these small 100 piece puzzles; it’s nice to pick up a puzzle and not stop assembling until it’s done. And just because it’s only 100 pieces doesn’t make it any less enjoyable for me, if it’s a pretty picture and a fun puzzle it doesn’t matter if it’s 24 pieces or 2000. Although I must say I get that wonderful feeling of accomplishment much quicker with a 100 piece puzzle. 😉

They say that when you double the number of pieces the difficulty level goes up quadruple. So then a 200 piece puzzle is 4 times more difficult than a 100 piece; and a 400 piece puzzle is 16 times harder, I think. I tried to do the math to figure out how much more difficult a 2000 piece puzzle is but my brain got a charlie horse. Ow!

Trick or Treat Hotel

On October 30, 2017 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles1 Comment

I absolutely loved this puzzle from beginning to end. I love Halloween, and mom finding this puzzle at the thrift store just a few days before the holiday was excellent!

This image was not as difficult as I assumed it would be, and it turned out to be one of my favorite Buffalo puzzles I’ve ever done. Wonderful image by Charles Wysocki with so many creatures and critters to find! The fit was perfection, not too loose or too tight and the end result is almost seamless.

I found that as I assembled more and more pieces I was slowing myself down to make the puzzle last a little while longer. It was coming together too quickly! It was too much fun to speed through, so I had to take it easy and enjoy the journey.

This is one puzzle I’m not going to want to donate, it’ll be fun to assemble next year when Halloween comes around again. I highly recommend this puzzle, two thumbs and two pumpkins up! 👍🎃👍🎃

Songbird Menagerie

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

Another quick 300 piece puzzle mom and I did when I was visiting. We work together pretty well, and there’s lots of great conversation, teasing, laughing, and high fives – it’s the best!🤗

This puzzle was fun, quick, beautiful, and wonderful quality to boot! The fit was excellent, the image is lovely and calm and the pieces felt thick and sturdy. Sometimes I’m not in the mood for the larger piece count Buffalo puzzles (1000 and 2000), although I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s because all the pieces are squarish and they all look so similar, or maybe it’s because I can be unreasonably picky. Who can tell? I find that I don’t feel the same way about the 300 and 500 piece counts of Buffalo puzzles. My brain is so weird sometimes!

This is a great puzzle to work on with someone else, I know I loved working on it with my puzzle buddy. 😎