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.

Winter in the City

On July 1, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw PuzzlesLeave a comment

I thought I’d start off “Christmas in July” on the blog with a Wentworth micro puzzle. I’m not that much of a fan of Christmas puzzles, most of the images seem so similar, and they’re just not my taste. I do love a wooden puzzle though, and if the puzzle is well made I could assemble just about any image. 😉

Winter in the City was great fun to assemble, I love grabbing one of Wentworth’s micro puzzles and spending a few minutes putting together such a wonderfully crafted and intricate puzzle. The cut looks simple, but they are more difficult than they seem; it’s so interesting to me that while most of the pieces are “average” looking, they’re more of a challenge than you might think. I love it!

The whimsy pieces are very “Christmasy” – Santa, a wreath, a snowman, an ornament, and an angel. The pieces are so detailed! Each of the regular micro puzzles has 5 whimsies, one in each corner and one in the center; unless it’s one with an extra difficult cut that has repetitive or tessellating pieces. I have a few of these extra difficult ones for this month, they’re pretty darn fun too!

All of the puzzles this month won’t be Christmas themed, but there will be quite a few of them. If you’re a fan, enjoy! If you’re not, there will be plenty of regular images too; as long as I can assemble enough to keep up! 🎄

Bookshelf

On June 25, 2018June 25, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw PuzzlesLeave a comment

At the end of a day that contained no puzzling I grabbed a micro puzzle to feed my addiction. This beauty was just what I needed!

Wentworth puzzles are beautifully made wooden puzzles produced in Wiltshire, England. They are made from a specially developed wooden board taken from sustainable sources. The pieces have an excellent feel in your hands, and there’s nothing like the satisfying “plunk” when they fall into place. The whimsy pieces are intricate and interesting, and usually match the nature of the image. It’s so enjoyable for me to just open one of their puzzles and look at all the pieces; even if I don’t start working on it right away I still find it satisfying to just handle the pieces and see all the detailed whimsies.

This 40 piece micro puzzle was pretty challenging, but still entertaining to assemble. I love Colin Thompson’s artwork, and I even have this particular image in a larger piece count from a different puzzle company. I haven’t assembled it yet, but I’m looking forward to having a larger image to work with and reading the spines of all the books.

I love jigsaw puzzles of all kinds and sizes, and even a 40 piece puzzle is entertaining and satisfying for me. I’m enjoying more smaller piece count puzzles these days, and it’s the puzzling itself that makes me happy – no matter how many pieces there are.

Oops, I did it again!

On June 20, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzling12 Comments

Five new puzzles are on their way to my house, including the image above. I don’t need them, but I want them – and I don’t feel bad about it at all. 😁

I got an unexpected check recently, and after a disappointing trip to Tuesday Morning that netted me zero puzzles I had this extra money burning a hole in my pocket. What to do?

At first I planned on doing nothing; I have plenty of puzzles both here and at mom’s house and I don’t actually NEED more. Later on in the evening though, I was in bed and just looking around at puzzles online and ended up on the Wentworth site. They’re having a summer sale – many discontinued puzzles are 25% off – and I also have a code for 10% off any regularly priced puzzles. How unfair to tempt me like that!

I spent a bit of time thinking about it; I don’t really need them – just because they’re on sale doesn’t mean I have to buy them. After a while though, I remembered a few things. 1) Puzzles make me happy and help me feel better, 2) I can afford it right now, and 3) Life is short, if getting some new puzzles makes you happy why wouldn’t you? I shouldn’t feel bad for doing something that’s just for me, it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks or says.

Before I knew it five puzzles had jumped into my cart. I didn’t want them to feel unloved, so I adopted all five of them. I’m a giver – these lonely puzzles need a place to go, and selflessly I will be sharing my home with them. Ain’t I a sweetie?? 😉

Rosso Angelo

On June 18, 2018June 18, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw PuzzlesLeave a comment

IMG_E4704 — Rosso Angelo by Ross Fiorentino – Artifact Puzzles – 228 pieces

This puzzle was really fun to assemble, and not nearly as difficult as I thought it might be. I was worried that the darker places would be tedious and very hard to complete, but thankfully I was wrong. It was a wonderful assembly all around. 🙂

Artifact Puzzles are having a sale at the moment, while supplies last, and I just couldn’t resist 50% off! I bought this and another puzzle because I knew if it were “while supplies last” that the puzzles would eventually be out of stock and gone. And at these great sale prices how on earth could I resist? They’re still having that sale, if you are so inclined there are still quite a few beautiful puzzles to choose from. (If I had unlimited funds I would get every single one of them!)

Once I started working on this puzzle, it was difficult to stop. I started with the mandolin (or whatever the instrument is), and from there went up the angel’s arm and into the wings. One section led to another and it went very quickly. For some reason the angel’s nose is located in the center of the circular end of a mandolin shaped whimsy piece. It looks odd, and my eye jumps to that section every time I look at the picture. To me, it almost looks like a clown nose.

The whimsies for this puzzle are all “angelic” There are several cherubs and mandolins, along with a harp, a violin, and one piece shaped like Italy. This image is from the Italian Renaissance after all, so the piece shaped like Italy is a perfect fit.

I’m currently working on the other puzzle I bought from this sale, it’s a secondary one I’ve been working on for well over a week now. I only put in a piece or two here and there, it isn’t the primary puzzle that I’m working on. It’s going to take a while, it’s much more difficult than I bargained for and will take plenty of patience. I don’t mind though, to me time spent puzzling is never wasted – it’s always worthwhile. Especially with a wooden puzzle! 😉