Underwater World

On February 21, 2017December 28, 2019 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

Ok, it’s a 100 piece puzzle, what on earth am I putting this on the blog for? Cause I want to! Mom got this at the thrift store for a friend’s son, and we put it together to make sure all the pieces were there. So I figured, why not put it on the blog? I did it, and just because it’s only 100 pieces doesn’t mean it can’t be a cool puzzle that’s fun to do!

It was pretty fun, but I had to be careful at the top with the sky. The pieces are only two shapes, and they all pretty much fit together. I was surprised at how much we had to pay attention and how many pieces we had to move when assembling the sky! We had fun though, and put it together pretty quickly.

I’d never heard of Janod before, the quality was exceptional! The pieces are extremely thick and sturdy and they almost feel like wood. They fit together well and I was able to pick the puzzle up by the corner and flip it over without anything falling apart. It’s pricey, about $20 for a 100 piece puzzle – but you never know, you might find one at a thrift store and only pay $2! Or if price is no object, go for it, really great quality. 🙂

Witches’ Wardrobe

On February 20, 2017December 28, 2019 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles4 Comments

This puzzle was so much fun!!!! Started it in the morning with coffee, and had it finished before dinner. 😮 It’s one of those puzzles where one section leads to another and then to another and before you know it the whole thing is done!

My first puzzle from Andrews + Blaine, and I have to say I love the quality. The image and colors are gorgeous, the pieces fit together beautifully and are thick and sturdy. The only drawback for me was that the finish was glossy and caused some glare. The piece shapes were mostly 2 prong 2 hole, but to be honest I loved the image so much and had so much fun with the assembly I really didn’t care about the shapes. It has to do with the overall quality of the puzzle, I think, and how entertaining the image is to assemble. For me, that is. That’s all I can come up with. Sometimes the lack of diversity in piece shape is SO ANNOYING to me, and sometimes it’s “eh who cares? – it was fun!” (I never said I’m sane, or that I always make sense) 😉

This image by Kathy Weller is just adorable! I love everything about it, and it was so much fun to assemble that I was swept away and before I knew it the whole thing was finished. I’m definitely going to look up her artwork and check the Andrews + Blaine website to see if there are more puzzles by her. Definitely recommend this puzzle! Fun, fun, fun!!

Star Spangled

On February 19, 2017December 28, 2019 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw PuzzlesLeave a comment

New thrift store puzzle! Ravensburger – my favorite – and this was a large piece puzzle. Still the awesome Ravensburger quality and the finished puzzle was 20 by 27 inches, the same size as an average 1000 piece puzzle – it makes it seem like an even bigger accomplishment!

I had a good time with this puzzle, I did the entire puzzle in bed while I wasn’t feeling well. There’s something about the larger pieces that makes it seem to go so much more quickly. This was not an image I would have chosen if I were buying a puzzle new, but it was quite fun to assemble. It was dark, most of the pieces seemed very dark and when I look at the finished picture I’m surprised at how light sections of the puzzle seem. But it’s a beautiful puzzle and I enjoyed the large pieces more than I expected. Maybe I’ve been working only 1000 piece or larger puzzles for too long, the big pieces are fun too!

Completely worth the $1.99 spent on the puzzle 🙂 Excellent quality, all the pieces were there, nice image and a fun evening assembling it.

September Gold

On February 18, 2017December 28, 2019 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

This was another puzzle from a 10 in 1 box. Love quilts and Americana puzzles, so this was one I really wanted to do even though the quality was less than stellar.

Admittedly I don’t know all the ins and out of puzzle manufacturing, but can it be THAT much more difficult to make a die with more than one piece shape? And if it is, wouldn’t it be better to spend a little more time making a puzzle with interesting pieces than to have one with only one boring shape?

Anyway, I very much enjoyed the artwork by Diane Phalen, which is the main reason I completed this puzzle. The quilts and storefront, the flowers and apples, the woods and sky all made for a great image. If only the puzzle itself were as well made as the art. 😐

Couples

On February 15, 2017December 28, 2019 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

Another collage – of course. (And another cockeyed picture where you get to see my bedspread 🙂 ) I really enjoy collages, and White Mountain always does them so well. Couples and Valentine’s Day, how sweet! Almost as sweet as the day after when all the candy is 50% off!!!

This was really fun artwork, there weren’t only human couples there were plenty of fun things that make a great pair – chips and dip, cookies and milk, ebony and ivory piano keys, apple pie and ice cream, etc. Also there were a lot of non-human couples like Bert and Ernie, Buzz and Woody, Raggedy Ann and Andy, Yogi and Boo Boo and so many more.

This is another one that is fun to do with others with lots of laughing and talking about the couples and figuring out who or what things are. And as always, if you’re not sure who or what things are you can check it on the White Mountain website where they have an answer key.

So many great finds at thrift stores! 2 or 3 days worth of puzzle for 99 cents, you just can’t beat that! For mom and I it also leads to buying puzzles online. She finds a cool puzzle at the thrift store, we assemble it and love the quality or artwork and then we end up looking up other puzzles by that manufacturer or artist and buying a bunch online. Yes, we have gone slightly insane, but on the other hand we are adorable and puzzles isn’t too terrible an obsession/addiction, right?