Spice Rack by Charlie Girard – White Mountain – 1000 pieces
This thrift store purchase made me so happy! Mom brought it over to show me and I couldn’t wait to get assembling; collages with lots of words are the best!
White Mountain puzzles are good quality, but sometimes it’s hard to make judgments about puzzle quality when you buy second-hand. I have no idea how many times this puzzle has been assembled; it may have been well loved before it was donated so I can’t say for sure if image lift on the pieces is because of repeated assemblies or because of quality issues. 🤔
Still, from my experience with this brand purchased new I can say their quality is good, about mid-range. The pieces are a good thickness, they have a nice variety of piece shapes and they normally fit together well. I’ve had a few White Mountain puzzles with an extremely tight fit, but those seem to be few and far between. Every once in a while the image reproduction can be a bit fuzzy; but again that seems to be the exception, and one I normally only notice on collages with some vintage images.
This puzzle is by one of my favorite collage artists, Charlie Girard. His collages are fun to assemble and always make me smile. I had a great time putting this one together, it was especially fun to see all those vintage spice containers from companies I’ve never heard of. There are some familiar brands like McCormick and French’s, but most are companies that have long since gone; some of them had such interesting packaging. Ben-Hur Allspice? Wow.
I can’t wait to see what fun and interesting puzzles mom finds next, I hope she finds me some more collages!
Vintage Signs by Lois B. Sutton – White Mountain – 1000 pieces
I guess having this blog means I pay more attention to the names of the puzzles I do, I write about each one separately. This is the second time this month that I’ve had a duplicate name. One day when I assembled a bunch of kid’s puzzles there were two different ones with the same title; and this puzzle has the same title as a Re-marks collage I reviewed recently. I suppose with so many puzzles out there it’s bound to happen though. 🙂
I had a great time putting this one together. It seems more satisfying for me to work a collage, I think because there’s that gratifying sense of completion with each small section. Small little victories within the whole that, for me, bring smiles and satisfaction. Whatever the reason, I’m looking forward to more collages right now; mom has a bunch of them from White Mountain at her house that I’m going to borrow very soon!
White Mountain has one of the best catalogs of collages around; there’s something for everyone. Charlie Girard and Lois B. Sutton are a couple of my favorite artists in this genre, I particularly love her stamp collages – they are so pretty!
Unfortunately this thrift store puzzle is missing a piece, but it was still great fun to assemble and has me itching get my hands on more collages. I can’t wait to get to mom’s and pick out my next puzzle! 😎
Down on the Farm by Charlie Girard – White Mountain – 1000 pieces
I love a collage! I was pretty surprised that mom found this at the thrift store, I believe it’s a relatively recent White Mountain release. It was a fun assembly, as usual – it’s like having a bunch of mini puzzles that fit together. Heavenly!
White Mountain Puzzles are normally good quality, and except for the fit this one was as well. The fit was extremely loose and it was easy to upset pieces accidentally. This isn’t a problem I’ve ever had with a White Mountain puzzle, if anything they can sometimes have a fit that’s a bit too tight. I’ve had a couple with a fit so tight that you can stand the puzzle straight up on it’s edge! Click here to see a picture.
There were plenty of words, which of course made me happy. I love having words to put together! Collages seem to go quickly, because it’s difficult for me to walk away from it. One small section leads to the next and before you know it the entire puzzle is finished and you’ve lost all track of time. These are the best kind of puzzles if you ask me. 🙂
Remember When by Charlie Girard – White Mountain – 1000 pieces
Remember When is another fun collage from White Mountain. How many of these things do you remember? I remember many of them, and most of the rest I have some knowledge of. I was a little old when Cabbage Patch dolls were all the rage, but I do remember signing the birth certificate for my friend’s younger sister. Is that a hideous green AMC Gremlin? Oh my!
White Mountain Puzzles really do have the best catalog of collages around, there’s something for just about everyone. Beer, wine, cereal, neon signs, stamps, etc.; there’s a bunch of entertaining collages to choose from. They don’t just have collages though, they have fine art, educational maps, historical works, and much more. White Mountain puzzles are good quality. The pieces are a good thickness with a nice variety of piece shapes, and they fit together well. Sometimes there can be an issue with image lift if a piece is placed wrong and has to be removed, but it isn’t too much of a problem in my opinion – a touch of super glue and the piece is fine. The image reproduction is very good, with excellent colors. Click the link above to see all the White Mountain puzzles available at Puzzle Warehouse.
There was a moderate amount of puzzle dust in the bag, with a few slightly bent pieces. The pieces were a good thickness and fit together very well. The image reproduction was bright and colorful with no fuzziness. The finished image is larger than the average 1000 piece puzzle at 24 x 30 inches (61 x 76 cm), be sure you have enough work space before you begin. The box is about the average size for a 1000 piece puzzle with the name of the title, artist, manufacturer, and piece count on all 4 sides. 2 sides have a smaller complete image of the puzzle, and 2 sides have a small partial image, making it suitable for shelving either vertically or horizontally.
Part of the reason collages are so much fun for me is that you can pick out the pieces for a small section and assemble it easily, usually without having to look at the box much. One section leads to another and another and it goes quickly and is very entertaining. This puzzle was even more fun because I remembered many of the people and things. There are plenty of words too, which I always enjoy – after the edges I usually begin with the words. For this puzzle, once you’ve assembled all the words you’re already at least 30% done and it’s easy to build off of them to start filling in.
Charlie Girard has become one of my favorite puzzle artists; his collages make me happy and there are so many to choose from. If you’re a fan of collages click here to check out all of Charlie’s puzzles available at Puzzle Warehouse. The first page alone has 4 or 5 puzzles I would love to do!
Remember When brings back memories for me, although I don’t recall seeing any signs instructing hippies to use the back door. 😉 The image is colorful and fun and makes for a great puzzle. It’s no surprise that I’m giving two thumbs up to this collage – definitely recommended! 👍👍
I received this product at no cost to facilitate this review, all thoughts and opinions expressed are truthful and 100% my own.
Great Americans by James Mellett – White Mountain – 1000 pieces
It’s a complete coincidence that this was the puzzle that ended up being the one for review today – but a good thing. After the weekend we’ve had dealing with Hurricane Irma, and then the anniversary of 9-11 it seems like we need something uplifting. So it’s a good day to remember some of the great Americans that have helped to make this country a better place to live. ❤
Great Americans was an entertaining puzzle to assemble, and to be honest it led me to an internet search for the meanings and differences between collage and montage. Long story, and to be honest I don’t know that I fully grasp the difference. So whether you call this a montage or a collage I have no idea. Whichever it is though, I had a good time assembling it. 🙂
White Mountain Puzzles have some of the best collages in the industry in my opinion and I always enjoy assembling them. They’re hard for me to walk away from because one section or person always leads to assembling the adjoining one. They have an excellent catalog with collages for many tastes, along with fine art, educational puzzles and much more. Check out all of their puzzles available now at Puzzle Warehouse by clicking the link above.
They have larger pieces than most companies and their 1000 piece puzzles are quite large at 24 x 30 inches (61 x 76 cm) so be sure your work space is roomy enough before you start. There was a medium amount of puzzle dust in the bag, but all the pieces were separated with no damage. The pieces are a good thickness with a good variety of piece shapes and fit together very well. The image reproduction is bright and colorful with a matte finish to prevent glare. The name of the puzzle, manufacturer, piece count and a portion of the image is on all 4 sides.
This isn’t the typical collage that I like to assemble. I prefer the actual pictures or products rather than drawings. Although it’s not my taste it was still fun to assemble. It was an interesting puzzle and the assembly sucked me in; I found it hard to stop working at times. There are so many people to assemble and identify, it’s an extra little workout for your brain! You’ll find politicians, athletes, entertainers, authors, captains of industry, and many more. How many will you recognize?
The artwork is by James Mellett, whose collection of puzzles are amazingly detailed, informative, and very interesting. The amount of work that must go into each image he creates is impressive! His subjects include pop culture, sports, maps, and celebrities. And if you have any trouble recognizing anyone or anything in his puzzles, they have a page on the White Mountain website with the keys to his puzzles. Although they haven’t yet put up a key for this puzzle. 😐 Click to see all the James Mellett puzzles available at Puzzle Warehouse right now.
Great Americans was an entertaining assembly that had me guessing on a few people I wasn’t sure of. It was fun to work the puzzle while trying to identify everyone shown – I knew most of them but not all. (I’m hoping they put up the puzzle key soon!) It’s a great puzzle if you enjoy pop culture, history, collages, America, or even just a great image. Recommended 👍
I received this product at no cost to facilitate this review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are truthful and 100% my own.
My Jigsaw Journal 