Jigsaw Puzzle Reviews

Welcome to our jigsaw puzzle hobby website and thanks for stopping by to read our reviews.

Brand: Bits and Pieces, 2004, Title: Horse Show Puzzle, By: Barbara Gibson,  Pieces: 550 shaped puzzle Size:  20" x 24" .

This being a 550 piece puzzle and very few colors, I did not do my usual sorting routine.

I laid out all the pieces onto the foam board and started to build some clumps of pieces.

Assembling the reddish-blue-black was first. Then I started with each individual horse...

1. White horse

2. Silver horse

3. Full size brown horse

4. Top lighter brown horse

5. Dark brown and white horse

The shaped pieces were quite helpful with this shaped puzzle. I did not attempt to do the border at all as I knew it would eventually fall into place. The following images clearly show the shaped pieces and good quality of the image and the puzzle.

When I spotted this puzzle for $1.00 at the Thrift Store I was hesitant because the box was open and the pieces were not in a bag - not a good sign. But I love horses and shaped puzzles so I thought I would give it a go based on 'hope' that I would once again win the 'Thrift-Store-jigsaw-puzzle-lottery' and I was thrilled and amazed at my luck!!!!

Brand: Cra-Z-art, Title:  Scoops n Shakes Puzzle,Photo: Karen M. Romanko, Pieces: 500, Size: 18.25"  X  11"

I recall wanting to get a work in progress image on this Scoops n Shakes Puzzle and then clearly totally forgot to....So the order went like this;

• Large chunks of solid colors first which were the pink, yellow and green shakes

• Smaller chunks of colors were the cones, cherries and multi colored sprinkles

• Then the purple patches and bowl rims

• Finally the dark chocolate colors and muted colors

Karen M. Romanko  is known for her photos as you will see at this LINK

The pieces are really quite thin, perhaps a step up from cardstock paper but the pieces do fit snugly and you can pick the Scoops n Shakes Puzzle up once assembled. Although I am not fond of the thin pieces I do appreciate the great photos this company produces in puzzles so that's the attraction - not to mention the price. Some of these CraZart puzzles can be found at the Dollar Tree store for $1.25. That's where I got mine. 

Brand: Cra-Z-Art, Colorluxe Premium puzzles, Title: Fireworks Symphony puzzle, Pieces: 1500, Size: 23" x 33".

The Fireworks Symphony puzzle is just as colourful on the front as it is on the back. I likely would not have attempted this one if it was not colour coded on the back as I know how testy these image types can be. That said, I can appreciate the colours on the back so I have the pleasure of seeing it assembled on my wall. It is a beauty and it also allows the challenge not to be so daunting. 

Once I determined which color-pile I was going to start with I laid out the pieces according to their shapes but only for that particular color code on the back. It was tricky to determine the color coded back to the front image because it was opposite of course.

Being 1500 pieces this was a larger size puzzle but the boarder did go together rather well and not too tricky.

After the initial sort was completed I took each section and built the fireworks according to color patterns, starting with the largest of areas and working my way through the rest.

Doing the sections was a good idea because it was a different assembly process than the traditional way I normally do puzzles. 

Brand: Galison Puzzles, Title: Bouquet puzzle Artist: Ashley Woodson Bailey, Pieces: 750, Size: (approx.) 25" x 25"

I did not do my usual sorting routine as this in a 750 piece puzzle with white on the border pieces. So I attempted to sort out the borders only as shown below and to the right.

This Galison jigsaw puzzle comes with a poster. Also, IF you are really stuck you could use a magnifying glass to see how the pieces fit by looking at the image on the front of the box.  I knew the border would be testy but I gave it a try anyway. That said, I never did complete the border until the very end so there's no actual border photo.

Rather than focus on the border for the Bouquet puzzle, I focused on the colors starting with yellow, red, purple and brown. The stand was likely the easiest part of this puzzle and the border was the last part to be completed. Since I had most of the white-border-edge pieces set aside I was able to complete the outside flowers first then work my way into the full colors of the bouquet. Placing the greenery into place was tricky and that's where a good portion of time was spent.

My normal speed for a 750 piece jigsaw puzzle would be about 8 hours and the Bouquet puzzle was about the same time. It was well worth the finished picture which is now admired on my wall :) 

The following are some of the close up images displaying the quality cut of the pieces and the style of the random type cut. I am really impressed with the image quality and the size of the over all puzzle at 25" x 25".

Shop Galison Jigsaw Puzzles

Brand: Cobble Hills Puzzle Company, Title: Rainbow, Created by: Shelley Davies Photo: Jo-Ann Richards, Pieces: 2000, Size:  39.25x26.625 or 99.7x67.6cm

Group by Color and Sort by Object: The most effective strategy for this puzzle is to start by creating a separate pile for each color of the rainbow (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple). Within each color group, you should further sort the pieces by the objects or textures you see. For example, all the red pieces might contain a red car, a red apple, or a piece of red fabric. This breaks the puzzle into many smaller, manageable sub-sections.

Focus on the Transition Points: The puzzle features distinct bands of color that transition into one another. The pieces at the edges of these bands will have two different colors on them. Start by finding these pieces and using them to connect the completed color sections. This will help you build the full rainbow as a horizontal or vertical arc.

Build from the Most Detailed Sections Outwards: Some of the objects in the collage will have more intricate details than others. For example, a piece of ornate fabric or a detailed drawing of an insect will be easier to identify than a solid-colored piece. Use these distinct pieces as anchors to build out the rest of the surrounding color sections.

I have to admit, for a busy 2K puzzle, it went much faster than I anticipated. Check out the website for a video.