Tag: White Mountain

Review: Best Places in the World

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviewsLeave a comment
This post is sponsored by Puzzle Warehouse.
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Best Places in the World by Lewis T. Johnson – White Mountain – 1000 pieces

Collage puzzles make me so happy! 🙂 Best Places in the World went together quickly, but wasn’t so easy as to be boring. Just the right amount of challenge in my opinion.

The new White Mountain puzzles have just come out in the past couple of weeks, and so many of them are out of stock already! It’s easy to see why they’re so popular, images that are fun, nostalgic, bright, and many other adjectives my coffee-deprived brain can’t think of. More have been ordered I’m sure, and will be back in stock hopefully very soon. They are very good quality puzzles with an excellent catalog and the best collages around. Click here to see all the puzzles from White Mountain currently available at Puzzle Warehouse.

As usual for a White Mountain 1000 piece the finished puzzle is 24 x 30 inches (61 x 76 cm) so make sure you have a large enough work space. The pieces were undamaged and separated and there was little to no dust in the bag. The pieces were thick and sturdy, with a variety of piece shapes, and fit together well. The image reproduction was very nice with beautiful, bright colors and a slightly shiny finish. I did have a small issue with image lift occurring because I placed a piece incorrectly; when I lifted it out the image layer came up a bit. This only happened on a couple of pieces, and was mostly my fault for placing it in the wrong spot – but it’s worth mentioning.

This image is not one that I would normally purchase. While it is a collage, it doesn’t jump out as something that I would HAVE to have. Of course, as usual, I was completely wrong in my assumption and I had an awesome time assembling it. It was hard for me to walk away from it, I didn’t want to stop! You would think I would learn, but that doesn’t seem to be the case; on the plus side, that means I get to be surprised a lot by how much fun these puzzles are. 😉

Lewis T. Johnson is the artist, and his artwork has been made into many a gorgeous puzzle. He does beautiful collages and much more. Click the link to see all the puzzles from this artist available now at Puzzle Warehouse. Sea Turtle World looks like a fun challenge, and check out all the travel themed collages he’s done – they look like great fun!

Best Places in the World is a beautiful collage that makes for an excellent puzzle. If you’re a travel buff or know someone who is, this would make a great gift. Highly recommended! 👍👍

 

I received this product at no cost in return for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are truthful and 100% my own. 

 

 

 

Review: Country Kitchen

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews2 Comments
This post is sponsored by Puzzle Warehouse.
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Country Kitchen by Janet Kruskamp – White Mountain – 1000 pieces

Country Kitchen was a moderately challenging but beautiful puzzle that made me wish I still lived in the country! The stove looks just like one my great grandmother used to use, and the canning pot on the stove looks exactly like one my mother used to have when she canned tomatoes, peaches, and many other tasty treats for the family. I didn’t always appreciate the work that went into feeding us, and the taste of home grown and preserved foods, but I sure do miss them now! Obviously, this puzzle is making me feel a bit nostalgic. 🙂

White Mountain doesn’t just have an excellent catalog of collages, they also have beautiful artwork, photography, landscapes, maps and educational puzzles as well as a new line of children and family puzzles. Their quality is very good with larger, thick pieces that fit together well and excellent image reproduction. Click the link above to see all the puzzles from White Mountain currently available from Puzzle Warehouse.

White Mountain 1000 piece puzzles are larger than most at 24 x 30 inches (61 x 76 cm), so be sure you have a large enough work space before you begin. There was some puzzle dust in the bag but not too much, and the pieces were all separated. There were a few slightly bent pieces but they weren’t so damaged that you couldn’t use them; a quick little bend in the other direction and they were fine. The pieces were thick and sturdy and fit together well. The image reproduction seemed a little muted and fuzzy at first but that was just the artwork style (and my aging eyes). 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.

This assembly was moderately challenging for me because of the art style. The image of the puzzle looks as if it would be easier, but the brush strokes and soft lines made it a bit more difficult for me. That’s a good thing in my mind though, I like a bit of a challenge – it exercises the brain cells. The curtains were the easiest to pick out, along with the stove, sky, and flowers. After those were complete it seemed to get a little easier and went together more quickly for me. It was an extremely enjoyable assembly, and I look forward to working more puzzles by Janet Kruskamp – I like her style! Check out the other puzzles from this artist by clicking the link above, The Blossom Shoppe is gorgeous!

The new puzzles from White Mountain have sold extremely quickly, so if Country Kitchen is sold out at the moment you can always leave your email and sign up to be notified when it’s back in stock. If this image speaks to you I would definitely recommend it. It’s beautiful, nostalgic, and a little challenging – an excellent combination! 👍👍

 

I received this product at no charge in return for an honest review, all thoughts and opinions expressed are truthful and 100% my own.

Stamp Collector’s Dream

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment
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Stamp Collector’s Dream by Charlie Girard – White Mountain Puzzles – 1000 pieces

Oh my goodness was this puzzle ever awesome! If you read this blog regularly (although not very many do) you know I love collage puzzles. I’ve been wanting this puzzle for a long time now, and mom found it at the thrift store. YESSSS!!!!

Unfortunately it is missing an edge piece in the lower left corner; but although a bummer, it did not diminish my enjoyment of this puzzle – love love loved it! This is like the matchbook collage, it’s like having a hundred little mini puzzles to assemble and connect. So fun, and so hard to walk away from! Charlie Girard does an awesome job with his collages, they’re always entertaining. 🙂

White Mountain isn’t currently selling this puzzle, but it is still available from some online retailers like Amazon and eBay – or you can see if it’s hanging around at a thrift store near you.

I finished this one in a day 😮 Good thing I can bring my small puzzle board into my bedroom so I can work on it while resting. I just can’t resist a collage, they’re so difficult to leave alone. One piece always leads to another and then you know you need to take a break, but the last piece you put in has a weird color or shape and you know exactly what piece goes there and you just have to remember where you saw it, and then, oh cool, this section connects over here and……………and then, uh, where did the day go?

Beer Caps

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment
Beer Caps by Charlie Girard – White Mountain – 550 pieces

Mom and I finished this in an afternoon while visiting. She didn’t think she was going to like it, but once we got going she was enjoying it. After a while we were doing the same stuff we always do when we’re working on a puzzle together and cracking each other up. Fun puzzle (although neither of us are beer drinkers) – and perfect for St. Patrick’s Day! 🙂

This was the first 550 piece White Mountain puzzle I’ve done, and I was surprised that the pieces were random cut instead of grid cut. I don’t have anything to compare it to so I’m not sure if that is usual for the smaller piece count puzzles or not. It made the puzzle a little more of a challenge, but it was still very entertaining.

My only problem with this puzzle was that the image on the box wasn’t correct. It was just a small deviation, but one that confused us at first. The second beer cap in the bottom row is red in the actual puzzle, but black on the box. It was baffling for a minute before we figured out what was wrong.

Otherwise the quality of the puzzle was quite good, I’ve never had a problem with a White Mountain product. This one was no exception, and was great fun – White Mountain has the best collage puzzles!

Couples

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment
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Couples by James Mellett – White Mountain – 1000 pieces

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?