Review: World War I Posters

On September 20, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviewsLeave a comment

This post is sponsored by Puzzle Warehouse.

World War I Posters was great fun; I love a good collage, and this is definitely a good one! There’s something about the look of these vintage posters, it was as much fun as I’d hoped, and it’s one I highly recommend.

White Mountain puzzles have, in my opinion, the best catalog of collages around. From candy and toys to books and games, beer and wine, and much, much more they have a collage for just about any taste. Their puzzles are grid cut, with thick pieces that have a good variety of shapes. A finished 1000 piece White Mountain puzzle is larger than average so make sure you have enough work space before you begin. I enjoy the bigger puzzles, it seems almost like a more impressive accomplishment when you’re done. Click the link above to see all their puzzles currently in stock at Puzzle Warehouse. (I like to check out the out of stock puzzles as well, if they’ve got an awesome collage or two that I like I can enter my email and be notified when they’re back in stock.)

This puzzle in particular was a lot of fun to assemble, I think partly because many of the posters are less well known. A couple of my favorites are shown below…

The daylight savings poster had me doing research – I had no idea the bill was passed to save on fuel during the war! The liberty poster is just beautiful, there’s something about her face that’s captivating. I wanted to assemble her first, and found my eye always returning to look at her as I was completing other sections of the puzzle, she always had my attention for some reason.

I very much enjoyed assembling and reading each of the posters in this collage; having so many small sections to assemble made the 1000 pieces seem less intimidating to me. And if you only have 10 or 15 minutes to sit and puzzle you can find and complete an entire poster or two and feel like you’ve made progress, I love that about collages!

From the first 2 edge pieces I clicked together, to pressing down on the final piece, I had more fun with this puzzle that I’ve had in a long time. The quality was very good, the image is perfect for puzzling, and it’s one I definitely recommend. Two lady liberties way up!🗽🗽

Details:

Title: World War I Posters
Artist: Mark Karvon
Brand: White Mountain
Piece count: 1000 pieces
Size: Approx. 24 x 30 in. (61 x 76 cm)
Purchased: N/A, sent for review

Quality:

Board: Very good
Cutting: Very good
Image: Very good
Box: Average
Fit: Very good
Puzzle Dust: Moderate amount
Piece cut: Grid cut
Piece shapes: Good variety
Finish: Slightly shiny finish, lays flat

Overall Rating: Very good, recommended

I received this product at no cost in order to facilitate this review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are truthful and 100% my own.

Things I Ate as a Kid

On September 8, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

I love collages, images by Charlie Girard, and bright, fun colors on a puzzle. This puzzle has all of those things, but for some reason I didn’t enjoy this puzzle as much as I’d hoped I would. I can’t put my finger on why that was, but you can’t fall in love with every puzzle I guess.

There was nothing wrong with the puzzle itself, even with it being a thrift store purchase it still had very good quality. There isn’t anything wrong with the image either, when I saw the box I was very excited to start assembling it. Doesn’t it look like fun to you?

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It sure looked like fun to me, but for some reason I can’t quite put into words I didn’t have as much fun as I’d hoped.

Perhaps I just wasn’t in the right mood, or perhaps I just wasn’t feeling well. I think the problem was definitely with me, and not with the puzzle itself. We can’t love every puzzle, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give this one a try if you have the chance. It was good quality, and perhaps you’ll be in the exact right mood to enjoy this one to the fullest. 🙂

Neon Signs

On September 5, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw PuzzlesLeave a comment

Here’s another puzzle from several years ago, and I distinctly remember this one. It wasn’t that difficult in my opinion (other than the edges), and is a GORGEOUS finished image! Thankfully this picture isn’t too horrible, at least compared to some of the others I’ve been posting. 😎

White Mountain 1000 piece puzzles are larger than most, and I find that I enjoy working with the larger pieces. The finished puzzle seems almost like more of an accomplishment too, it’s an impressive size. Sometimes there can be a problem with image lift or many still connected pieces, but usually I find them to be a good quality puzzle.

The edges were super difficult and took a lot of time, but the rest of the puzzle was a joy. It’s listed on the page of “challenging” puzzles on the White Mountain website, but other than the edges I didn’t find it to be very difficult at all. I love the look of the neon against the black background, and working on each of the signs was great fun – hubby even wanted to help! The fit was beautiful, and the finished puzzle would look great framed.

Mom wanted to put this together too, so when I finished I numbered the edge pieces starting in the bottom left corner and going around – to give mom a leg up when she assembled it. She was very appreciative, and even did the same for me when she worked a puzzle with a difficult edge. Every little bit helps. 😉

This puzzle is still in production, so if you like the look of it – I say go for it! It’s not as difficult as you may think. I found it to be entertaining and relaxing; so much so that I still fondly remember the assembly of it more than 2 years later. ❤

Wacky Packages

On August 24, 2018August 24, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

I enjoyed Wacky Packages so much I can’t believe I never posted about it! (This was completed several years ago) The fit was amazingly tight, but it didn’t bother me that much because the image was so engaging and entertaining. My daughter started to assemble it herself and gave up because the fit was so snug, but I absolutely loved it. When the fit is this tight I like to stand them up on the bottom edge and take a picture that way – it just makes me smile. 😁

The quality of this White Mountain puzzle was good; the artwork seemed a bit fuzzy and the fit was EXTREMELY tight, but otherwise it was very nice. The pieces were thick with a very good variety of shapes. The image reproduction was very good; I think the fuzziness was the artwork itself rather than the reproduction – the colors were excellent! My picture is a bit fuzzy, here’s a better image…

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Collages are my favorite type of puzzle image, I love being able to complete one section at a time and finding where it fits into the overall picture. Charlie Girard is one of the best collage artists around (in my very humble opinion), and I always enjoy his work. This one was not only fun to assemble, it was amusing to read – Neveready batteries and Weakies cereal! 😂

I’m surprised how fondly I remember this puzzle, because the fit was so snug. Normally that’s something that I don’t care for at all, but when the image sucks me in and I’m having such a good time I seem to be completely unconcerned with any quality issues. This was definitely one of those times. The image overcame all, and despite my disdain for a super tight fit I had a wonderful time putting this puzzle together.

Potato Chips

On April 4, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

I have to confess that mom did this puzzle by herself. Since I don’t post puzzles I haven’t done or at least helped with she then took apart the entire lower right corner and had me put it back together so I could post this. She’s the best!

It’s a beautiful finished puzzle, but the image reproduction seemed quite blurry/fuzzy. I find that a little more often with collages like this for some reason. Perhaps it’s how the picture is taken, I don’t know for sure; but this image seemed particularly fuzzy. It looks great once it’s finished though, doesn’t it?

I’m not really a potato chip enthusiast or anything, but I’ve not even heard of most of these brands – have you? Yo Ho, Red Dot, Zapps, Green Mountain? Perhaps they’re regional brands and I just haven’t traveled enough. I’m ok with that though, I’m definitely a homebody. I’d rather stay home and relax and puzzle; I’ll keep the home fires burning for everyone else who loves to travel – someone’s gotta do it. 🙂