The Puzzle that Burnt the Turkey

On July 14, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw PuzzlesLeave a comment

This was the most difficult of the micro puzzles that I’ve assembled so far, I actually couldn’t imagine how demanding it would be to do in the larger piece count. This 55 piece puzzle took me about 30 minutes to figure out. How would you handle 216 pieces of this? Yikes!

There is a pattern to it, and it’s easy to see; what isn’t always easy to see is which piece is the correct one. With all the branches, snow and reflections it’s not an effortless assembly, that’s for sure.

The first thing I do with these repetitive cut puzzles is to separate them by shapes. Sometimes there are several pieces with similar shapes, but small differences. Once they were all separated and ready to go I started with the yellowish-brown section in the middle and worked outward. It was a puzzle that kept me completely absorbed for the entire 30 minutes it took to assemble, I love those kinds of puzzles!

I also enjoy the names that Wentworth has given these repetitive cut puzzles with the tough pictures. The Puzzle that Ruined Christmas, The Puzzle that Burnt the Turkey, The Puzzle that Froze Christmas, The Puzzle that Wrapped Up Christmas, etc. – they’ve got a great sense of humor at Wentworth. 🙂

I Forgot!

On July 10, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzling4 Comments

Yesterday I posted the Alice in Wonderland puzzle, but I forgot to get a picture of all the whimsies before I put it away. I usually take the picture of all the whimsy pieces before I start the assembly, but since this puzzle was unusual and had many multi-piece whimsies I decided to take the picture when I was finished. Obviously, I forgot.

One of my readers pointed this out to me in the comments, so I went back through the box and pulled out all the whimsies I could find. I can’t be sure I got them all, but I hope I did – they’re beautiful, and perfect for the puzzle.

This was the first Wentworth puzzle I’ve done that had multi-piece whimsies, they were very detailed and appropriate for the image. There were dodo birds, rabbits, lizards, the Cheshire Cat, and even the letters L and C – for Lewis Carroll. They made for a fun assembly!

I’ll do my best not to forget again, but no promises; my brain is aging even as I type this. 😉

Review: Alice in Wonderland

On July 9, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles8 Comments

Alice in Wonderland by Royce B. McClure – Wentworth Wooden Puzzles – 250 pieces

This was an extremely entertaining puzzle to assemble, I love the image! I’ve seen many of Royce McClure’s images on puzzles, but I believe this is the first one I’ve assembled. The artwork is so detailed and beautiful, and the subject matter is so fun and funny – it really was a great puzzle to put together. I highly recommend it!

This was one of the 5 puzzles I ordered for myself last month. It was the only one that wasn’t on sale (although I did use a code to get 10% off), I’d had my eye on it for quite some time. The image is exactly my cup of tea – served by the Mad Hatter, no doubt – and I couldn’t resist finally getting it when I ordered the others on sale. I’m so glad I did.

As with all laser-cut wooden puzzles, the fit is quite loose. I’ve never worked a hand-cut wooden puzzle so I can’t speak to that fit (if anyone would like to send me one to try out, I wouldn’t say no. 😉 )

Besides the loose fit, the quality is exceptional. The wooden pieces are thick and have a satisfying “plunk” when they fall into place. I don’t know the process of how the image is attached to the wood, but it’s beautifully done from my perspective.

The quality of the image is exceptional, the characters and faces are gorgeous! I always enjoy having words to assemble, and each of the small sections of the scene was so much fun. It definitely makes me want to find more puzzles by Royce McClure – I absolutely adored his work, it’s so appealing and detailed.

If you have the chance, I definitely recommend Wentworth puzzles; it’s a whole different experience than working a cardboard puzzle, so much fun!

Details:

Title: Alice in Wonderland
Artist: Royce B. McClure
Brand: Wentworth Wooden Puzzles
Piece count: 250 pieces
Size: Approx. 14 x 10 in. (36 x 25 cm)
Purchased: New

Quality:

Board: Excellent
Cutting: Excellent
Image: Excellent
Box: Nice, pieces come in a cloth bag
Fit: Loose
Puzzle Dust: None
Piece cut: Random cut with whimsies
Piece shapes: Good variety
Finish: Slightly shiny finish, lays flat

Overall Rating: Excellent, highly recommended

The Puzzle that Ruined Christmas

On July 7, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw PuzzlesLeave a comment

Luckily, the name of the puzzle was scarier than the actual assembly, this one was great fun, and the colors are absolutely beautiful!

Like The Puzzle that Froze Christmas, this was made into a larger puzzle as well – 245 pieces. I believe in that piece count it would have been much more of a challenge, but so lovely when complete. And what an accomplishment! Wentworth puzzles are so wonderfully made and such fun to put together. I’ve got four 250 piece Wentworths yet to assemble, but I’m trying to make them last; I thought about starting one of them yesterday, but decided to wait a bit longer before I grab another one to do. 😇

It wasn’t that difficult to put together, but the shapes were so interesting and fun to work with, Christmas trees everywhere!

These micro puzzles are perfect to throw into my purse and take with me when there’s a doctor’s appointment or a hospital visit. When there is waiting to do these puzzles are perfect to pass the time, and can easily be broken up and put back into their box to take home.

I love pretty much all jigsaw puzzles, but these small ones especially make me very happy! 😎

The Puzzle that Froze Christmas

On July 3, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles1 Comment

This is one of the “extra difficult” cuts, and although I didn’t find it that challenging in the micro puzzle, I can see how it would be a bear in a larger piece count. This was also produced as a 280 piece puzzle, YIKES! That one would have challenged both my patience and my sanity. 😱

You can see below that there are very few different shapes to work with, which can be daunting – but as long as you pay close attention to the image as you assemble it you’ll get there.

The repeating pattern of the reindeer is so fun, and to me it even looks amazing from the back – I would display it either way!

I started by separating piece shapes – that seems the easiest way to work these difficult cuts with challenging images. That’s true for this puzzle especially because the color scheme is only black and white. There are left-facing reindeer, right-facing reindeer, and pieces that go in between and on the edges. From there I started with the darkest part of the fence and worked outward. Patience and attention to the image are all that is required. I had a great time with this one!

I still have a bunch of these Christmas and winter themed micro puzzles to show this month, I hope everyone doesn’t get tired of them. There are a couple more “extra difficult” cut puzzles, but the majority of them are regular images with the regular Wentworth cuts. They’re so entertaining to put together, and my hope is that they’re entertaining to see and read about as well.