Yvonne
When I am not busy volunteering, reading, knitting, crocheting or blogging, I occasionally take time out to indulge in one of my other hobbies …. Jigsaw Puzzles.
As you may have gathered, many of my hobbies are quiet and solitary and I find that jigsaws can be very therapeutic and relaxing, unless of course I cannot find the right piece, then look out!!!
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I don’t start a jigsaw puzzle very often, as I tend to become totally addicted and what starts out as just adding a couple of pieces, or working on it for five minutes, ends up in a marathon session as I lose all track of time.
I am not a fan of the roll-up jigsaw mats and instead have a very sturdy board, with two front flaps that open, funnily enough, like a book! The board is designed to take a 1500 piece jigsaw, but I generally stick to a more modest 1000 pieces.
When in use, the board will sit quite comfortably on one third of our dining table, but when not in service, or when we have visitors and need to use the table, it JUST slides rather conveniently under the bed out of sight.
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Mr.G professes that he is not interested in this particular hobby, as to his way of thinking, making something up to then destroy it and return it to it’s box, is something of a waste of time. However, he has been caught on occasion, with the board open and jigsaw piece in hand, so he is not quite as phobic about it as he would have me believe.
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I used to enjoy making, and don’t get me wrong, still do on occasion, the traditional ‘chocolate box’ image of the country cottage. Lately however, I have become more drawn towards the ‘nostalgia’ jigsaws, predominantly distributed by Ravensburger or Gibsons. There is much more going on in the picture, with more ‘action’content, diverse pictorial images, accompanied very often by text and generally more variance in colouration.
As with my books, I am generally a skinflint and purchase my jigsaw puzzles from one of my local charity shops. However they become available rarely and of course, if they are not still newly packaged, it is unknown if they are complete. That does not seem to worry everyone, but to me having a piece missing, is akin to having a book with a page removed! although I am usually willing to accept that risk and so far, I have been very lucky!
It may be some time before I feel the urge to start another jigsaw, but as with my books, I have a ‘To Be Done’ pile, all ready and waiting!!
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RAVENSBURGER NOSTALGIC BRITAIN CHILDHOOD MEMORIES ‘JOHN BULL’
.John Bull Magazine was published in the UK from the late 1940s until the early 1960s The cover artwork epitomised British life of the time and formed a visual social history of the way we lived With its themes of everyday family life John Bull captured so beautifully the essence of 1950s middle England Includes in box leaflet with additional information about the images Finished Puzzle Size 49 7 x 69 9 cm Made from premium grade cardboard made specially for Ravensburger
Aargh, those good old days when we could run around carelessly and be children, playing conkers, discovering some uncovered truths in hidden books and whisper behind the curtain of the nativity play. The innocence of our childhood memories is beautifully captured on this 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle, using nostalgic John Bull book covers. Ravensburger puzzles guarantee a 100% interlocking mechanism for the world’s most optimal fit of individually formed puzzle pieces, resulting in an absolutely smooth puzzle. The new hand-crafted cutting tools ensure a supreme fit. We only use premium grade cardboard, which is made especially for Ravensburger.
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My Thoughts About This Jigsaw Puzzle
The images which make up this jigsaw puzzle, are all reproductions of the front covers from the ‘John Bull’ magazine, which was published from the 1940’s, through to the early 1960’s. As I was only a very young child at the time publication ceased, this ‘walk down memory lane’, is a little before my time.
Having checked out the John Bull website, I am not sure that Ravensburger have chosen the most diverse, colourful, or interesting of the cover images, which would appear to have been available to them.
Nonetheless, I enjoyed the challenge of the many areas of similar colour and found the overlapping arrangement of the images to be an interesting experience.
As alway with a Ravensburger product, the quality of the pieces can be almost guaranteed, assuring a finished piece which fits together snuggly and makes for a smooth and quality, completed picture.
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I decided to post this short product review on Amazon.co.uk and as always with this site, I was compelled to give the jigsaw a star rating, so I have awarded it 4 stars. This product is part of my personal collection, bought and paid for by myself and I have not been asked, nor received any payment for a review.
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I love jigsaws too and right now I’ve nearly finished one of Northumberland castles. It’s made up of scenes of several castles in the county, so you get sky and trees in different places in the scene. I do mine on a puzzle caddy too – I slide it under the sofa when I’m not doing it. It is addictive, isn’t it – I thought I’d do a bit yesterday and spent about half the afternoon on it.
Hi Margaret,
That sounds like a really interesting and difficult jigsaw, all that sky and greenery!
I don’t know why I swapped to the more nastalgic and ‘cartoony’ images, I think it was probably after talking with some of my fellow volunteers in the charity shop. Many of them are addicted to the ‘Wasgij’ jigsaws, although they really aren’t of any interest to me. I guess that the nostalgia idea was some kind of compromise for me and one which I love.
Time cetainly does fly when you start a jigsaw and I find it to be a very therapeutic way to unwind and have some quality ‘downtime’.
It was so good to speak with you again, I hope that you are well and thanks for stopping by.
I haven’t tried the Wasgij puzzles. I like the scenic ones, although skies can sometimes be a bit boring. The John Bull puzzle looks hard! But Ravensburger do make good puzzles, some of the cheaper makes are almost impossible to do when the pieces could fit where the pattern is wrong – if you see what I mean. It’s good to communicate with another jigsaw lover – my husband isn’t really interested.
I’m fine, thanks for asking – you’re well too , I hope.
Hi Margaret,
I agree that some of the cheaper puzzle manufacturers definitely produce an inferior quality product, in terms of the way the pieces fit together and the board out of which they are made.
With most jigsaws of the cartoon or multi-image variety, it is almost impossible to start the puzzle in the traditional way which I was always taught as a child, that you should fit the outside edge pieces together first. I find that I almost always have to start with constructing the main images, then join them all together, finally placing the edge pieces on last.
I do have another jigsaw on the go, at the moment and that one has been a real so and so to do, although it is starting to look good now. I’ll save that for another post sometime, now I know that there are fellow ‘puzzlers’ out there!
Have a good week
Wonderful post! I’m trying to remember whether I knew that we also have this hobby in common. I did know that Margaret above did them however.
I’ve been doing jigsaw puzzles since I was a young child and have never lost the habit. When I met my husband I discovered that my mother-in-law was also a huge fan of them so that was a real plus. I used to love really big ones of 3000+ pieces but these days tend to restrict myself to 1000 or sometimes 1500 or 2000. My eyes aren’t what they were and I don’t have anywhere to do a 3000 piece jigsaw. I tend to do them on the coffee table in the conservatory where they don’t intrude on anyone but only a 1000 piece one will fit on that. My husband got me a piece of perspex which sits on that and will take up to 2000 pieces so that is very handy.
I even started a Pinterest page for photos of the ones I’ve done over the last couple of years. Such a saddo am I. Here’s the link:
http://pinterest.com/pzcath/jigsaw-puzzles/
Like you I don’t tend to buy new ones as they are expensive. I tend to buy almost all of mine from charity shops or my eldest daughter passes them (charity shop bought too) on to me as her and her husband also have the bug. Mine do tend to be chocolate boxy but that’s because those are mostly all I can find. Like you though I do prefer the more unusal ones and definitely have a preference for paintings rather than real-life photos.
I love Childhood Memories, such a lot going on in the picture! I have one my daughter passed on of old fashioned shop fronts, I shall get to that soon.
Hi Cath,
I think that we have chatted puzzles in the past, although only as a passing comment or two. I just felt like publishing a post that was a little different this weekend, although I am never sure if that is a good idea or not. Mr.G advocates that I should keep the blog exclusively to books, as ‘Google’ will rate it more highly if the content is kept relevant to the overall theme, but then there are many bloggers out there who choose to write posts on a thoroughly diverse range of subjects, which keeps the whole blog fresh and interesting somehow. Oh well! it’s done now, so whether I shall post ‘off piste’ again, remains to be seen!!
My mother-in-law also shares an interest in jigsaw puzzles and we will regularly swap, although I inevitably end up wit them all back to re-donate to a charity shop again. Actually, we are quite alike in our hobbies, as we both enjoy jigsaws, reading, knitting, crossword puzzles, quizzes and crocheting.
I too, have enjoyed doing jigsaw puzzles since I was a small child and for me they were the perfect Christmas or birthday gift … I have always enjoyed rather solitary hobbies!
We live not too far away from the ‘Wentworth Wooden Puzzle’ factory, just outside Malmesbury in Wiltshire, so a couple of years back, we decided to attend an open day they were holding for members of the public. The jigsaws themselves were beautifully made and as you can imagine had a price ticket to match, so we only bought a couple of the ‘sale’ items which were available, although the tour of the factory was really interesting and something which we both enjoyed.
http://www.jigsaws.co.uk/index.php
I haven’t delved into the depths of ‘Pinterest’ or ‘Facebook’ yet, although I am seriously contemplating the latter, but only when Mr.G has some spare time for a crash course tutorial!! As you would imagine, I particularly liked the picture you posted of ‘Cartoon London’, although a couple of the others were real possibilities. I always used to enjoy the traditional ‘chocolate box’ images and I don’t really know when or indeed why, I seem to have changed direction to the more ‘cartoony’ images. There is generally a history or story behind the pictures though, so perhaps that might be the reason.
Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to read the post, your comments and observations are always so interesting and I appreciate them.
My grandad is a big fan of jigsaw puzzles. I’ll often get him one or two as a present and I try to go with either challenging, fun or a picture that suits him (trains, landscapes, gardens, paintings etc). I’ve not done a jigsaw puzzle myself for years (unless you count the ones my 3 year old neice and nearly 2 year old nephew have!).
Hi Nikki,
It’s funny you should say that … but part of my job in the charity shop, apart from the books, music, jigsaw puzzles and film sections, is to take care of the children’s toys and games shelves. When it comes to children’s games and jigsaws, I always like to make sure that every one we sell is complete, as the thought of a little person getting a box home, only to find that pieces are missing, is not good. So, I can often be found making up children’s jigsaw puzzles to make sure that they are complete and that the right pieces have been put back into their correct boxes. I am amazed at just how difficult and complicated some of the children’s jigsaws are and as I am the only one in the shop with the patience to sit and do them, I do get the mickey taken out of me , on a regular basis … but it is fun, and I can take the harassment!
Jigsaw puzzles are something you either love or hate, but thanks for taking the time to read the post and add your comments to the discussion.
Have a good week.
Very cool hobby Yvonne. I’m sure the Ravensburger images are great for the puzzle, glad you enjoyed completing it. My mother in law loves these puzzles and we have gifted her many over the years, especially the difficult ones. She loves the challenge.
When hubby and I were dating, we decided we’d do a small jigsaw puzzle and glue it once finished, then hang it as a memento. Well, it took us forever to finish, but we did it and we glued it and hung it for a while. It was of a basket full of apples. I told him I’d never do another jigsaw puzzle again. Having to focus and concentrate on those small pieces drove me batty…lol. For some reason it made me angsty….lol. I can sit and read a book or crochet for a good while, but for some reason I cannot sit and put a puzzle together.
Hi Naida,
I have to admit that I am not the most patient person in the world, however I can sit for hours with a jigsaw puzzle and not notice the time passing by. In fact most of my hobbies are pretty solitary and quiet and I am more than comfortable with my own silence and company … most of the time anyway!
Mr.G, however, just can’t cope with the whole concept of a jigsaw, to him they are completely pointless and a waste of time, when he could be doing something informative or educational. On occasion, he has fitted a few pieces into a jigsaw that I have started, however those times are few and far between and he generally gives up as soon as he can’t find a piece!
I have never got to grips with the concept of gluing a jigsaw puzzle together and framing it, although I have come across puzzles which come as a complete kit with the glue and frame, so it must be quite a popular thing to do.
When you mentioned small pieces, it brought to mind a jigsaw which was donated into the charity shop a few weeks ago. It stated that the jigsaw was made up of 1,000 pieces and yet the box was so small, that it just didn’t seem possible. Nosey parker that I am, I opened the box and couldn’t believe my eyes. There were indeed 1,000 pieces in there, but each piece was so small, that I almost needed a magnifying glass just to see the picture on each one. It turns out that each piece was a miniature and quarter the size of a traditional piece of jigsaw. Needless to say, the lid went back on the box and it went straight out onto the shop floor, where to my surprise, it sold a few days later!
Thanks for taking the time to stop by and share your story and I hope that you have a good week.
I be automatically hooked and wouldn’t get anything else done if I did jigsaw puzzles. I become addicted to new hobbies:) This one sounds fun though.
Hi Diane,
I have to admit, that once I get started on a jigsaw, it is very easy to while away 2 or 3 hours without realising it. I am trying to limit myself to the amount of time I spend sat at the puzzle board, to the amount of time it takes me to finish my cup of hot tea after my evening meal and whilst progress does seem terribly slow on finishing the jigsaw this way, I then also have the time to go off and do something else.
I have so much wool and so many half finished crocheted blankets to complete, that it isn’t as though I am looking for things to fill a few minutes of my spare time. That, along with baskets full of embroidery cottons, several hundred books and of course, my blog, usually sees me having to constantly make choices about what to put to one side until another day!
I hope that you are well and thank you so much for stopping by.
Funny how I can sit for hours lost in a book and yet jigsaws are one of several past times that I have never had the patience for.
Hi Tracy,
I find that the longest time I sit for anything these days, is when I am blogging and that seems to be taking up more and more of my spare time in the evenings (very probably too much time, although I do enjoy chatting with everyone).
I am not a particularly patient person generally, but I find that I can become completely immersed in a jigsaw and lose all track of time. It used to be that way with my reading, however I am finding that I can only read for short spells these days, without getting fidgety.
I am not a great one for joining groups, or having a hectic social life, so most of my hobbies are solitary.
Thanks for stopping by, I hope that all is well with you.
You’re right, there’s nothing worse than a puzzle with a missing piece. I haven’t tried one for many years. My daughter bought me an ocean scene puzzle not long ago, and thanks to your review, I’m now itching to sit down and try to put it together. I’m not very patient, so hopefully it will be an easy one. I doubt it though with the blue water and sky. I’ll let you know how it goes!
Hi Vicki,
Sky and water together in one jigsaw puzzle!!! That’s always a recipe for some choice words and heavy sighs, in my house anyway!
I must admit, that if I do come across a jigsaw with missing pieces, it is very frustrating, but then when you consider that I pay about £4 for the type of jigsaw I enjoy, from a charity shop and would have to pay at least £15 for the same thing new … well you get the idea!
Mind you, the charity shop customers often ask whether the jigsaws have all been completed before we sell them, just to make sure that all the pieces are there!! We have at least 30 individual jigsaws on the shelf at any one time, of varying size and complexity … I wonder exactly how many volunteers they think are employed behind the scenes doing jigsaw puzzles on a 24 hour rota?? LOL
I am also not a particularly patient person, just ask Mr.G., however I find it very easy to lose myself in a good jigsaw and shut out the rest of the world for just a short time!
I do hope that you decide to give your jigsaw puzzle a try, I shall be interested to know how you get on with it.
Hi Yvonne! I just came across your blog through a Google search on puzzle blogs. You and I have a ton in common and I just had to say hello. Perhaps we will become great blog pals some day! LOL
My name is Penny and I’m 39 years old. i live in the Atlanta, GA area in the US. I am a mother of two beautiful boys, 3.5 years and 3 months so I don’t get much time to puzzle these days and I sure do miss it. I have been a puzzler off and on most of my life. My dad used to bring home used puzzles every once in a while and we would do them as a family on Sunday mornings after breakfast. I remember it being fun. I did a few as a teenager and then not really any more until adult hood where I attempted to do them again and had a huge problem. I had no place to put the puzzle if I couldn’t finish it in one puzzling session. I would inevitably need my dining room table back before I could finish it, so back in the box it would go and usually never to be seen again. Then I discovered the puzzle roll and my life changed! Now I could just roll the puzzle up and put it away whenever I needed the table back, but yet I wouldn’t lose my work. Life was wonderful again. I immediately went out and bought a bunch of puzzles in the 1,000 – 2,000 piece range. I finished a 1,500 piece one and had gotten about halfway through the 2,000 piece Las Vegas, Baby! puzzle by Buffalo Games when I had to move. Unfortunately, the puzzle roll inadvertently got put on the moving truck. So, I put that one away as I was just afraid to open it as I’m pretty positive pieces are now missing. That was 4 years ago… Just recently I decided that I’m going to bite the bullet and re-open it and complete to see just how bad the damage is….keeping fingers crossed for only a piece or two missing.
Anyway, in 2009, I discovered what was at the time the “World’s Largest Puzzle”…a 24,000 piece monstrosity, appropraitely called “Life: The Great Challenge”. After drooling over the puzzle and the puzzle website’s hall of fame for others who had completed it for close to a year, I finally got it! Of course by the time I got the puzzle, I had a 5 month old baby to take care of so I didn’t get too far. I’m still working on the puzzle. I have the first section (6,000 pieces) finished and about half of the second section done, and now I have another baby to take care of as well so I will probably be working on the puzzle for years to come yet. LOL
Anyway, I wanted to say hi because we have the jigsaw puzzles in common as well as many other hobbies. I am an avid reader (when I find time with two little ones). I most enjoy popular fiction by authors such as JK Rowling, Harlan Coben, John Saul, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, Stephen King, Mary Higgins Clark, John Grisham, Jackie Collins, Judith Gould, Jeffery Deaver. I love suspense and mystery types of books the most.
I also enjoy crocheting, though I haven’t done it in years….I think you said you enjoyed that too.
I have a blog all about my progress on the jigsaw puzzle. I hope you check it out. It’s very detailed with lots of posts and pictures of my progress from the day I ordered the puzzle until now.
http://pennysjigsawblog.blogspot.com/
Alright, I guess I’ve talked your ears (errr…eyes! LOL) off enough for now. I look forward to a response.
Hi Penny,
I didn’t know whether to start by replying to your lovely comment and introduction, or to stop by your jigsaw blog first. I have taken a sneak peek at your blog, so when I am done here, I shall pay a longer visit.
I am a little older than you, well a LOT actually. I am 55, have been married for 34 years and there are just the two of us, living here in the South of the UK. Although both of us have travelled extensively in the US, hubbie more so than myself, we have never made it to Georgia, the closest we have got would be Jacksonville, on the Northern Florida State Line.
Most of my blogging is about my first love … books. I generally tend to read only fiction, whilst hubbie only reads non-fiction, so there is a constant battle for shelf space, as we don’t have any shared books. I don’t get to read as often as I would like any more, generally because I spend quite a lot of time either blogging on Fiction Books, or blog hopping to other people’s sites, where I usually get carried away and spend much longer visiting than I should. I enjoy an eclectic mix of genres, although since I have started blogging, I don’t really get to choose what my next read is going to be, as I have amassed a huge pile of author review requests to fulfil. In this way, I have read several books which have taken me way out of my normal comfort zone and as a result, I have enjoyed some fantastic books and met some really lovely authors, who often stop by for a chat about non-book related matters.
I enjoy knitting, crocheting and embroidery, although I am very novice at all three and can only do the most basic of stitches and designs. I would love to be able to paint and draw, but I think that will only ever be a ‘pipe dream’ now. I also enjoy crossword puzzles, although not the cryptic clue variety, which totally escape me.
I have always enjoyed doing jigsaw puzzles, right back as far as I can remember into my childhood and a new puzzle, was always my most sought after present at Christmas and Birthdays. Hubbie has never really shown much interest in them, so I can rely on the pieces being left untouched between my visits, as I really am selfish about my puzzles and prefer to complete them by myself. I have never quite worked out how successfully you can roll a jigsaw puzzle, without it either breaking up, or the pieces getting bent and damaged, so I have always used a puzzle board, with two closing flaps, which work, funnily enough, very much like a book. The single disadvantage with this system, is that you still need to keep the whole thing led flat, although luckily the board slides very neatly under the sofa, or bed (we live in a single story property).
I will do just about any type of jigsaw if pushed and there isn’t a lot of choice, although just lately, I find myself preferring the advertising puzzles for some reason. I think that it is because of the variety of smaller images which make up the whole and they generally come brightly coloured and with a commentary on each cameo. I also like to research the story behind the products being advertised, as this is often quiet a trip down memory lane and can be very interesting.
Again, I don’t seem to get the time I used to, to sit and complete a jigsaw, although I have started posting about my latest ‘creations’ and where possible, leaving reviews on Amazon about them. As yet I don’t have a separate section of the blog devoted specifically to jigsaws, although if you and I are to become blogging friends, then I will try and set something up. For now, I shall post the links to my puzzle blogs, so that you can take a look at the kind of thing I enjoy.
I also visit http://www.jigzone.com on a daily basis, where there is a puzzle of the day, which changes each morning at 6am. They are generally only very simple, small images, although you can change the cut and number of pieces for yourself, but I enjoy them because you can either compete to complete them against the clock, or against fellow puzzlers, which gives that all important incentive, plus you can rate the image at the end. As I generally aim to get my fix each morning, whilst drinking my first cup of coffee, they are also good for helping to wake up the ‘Little Grey Cells’.
Well, that’s about all for now. It has been good to meet you and I do hope that we can chat again soon.
https://www.fiction-books.biz/my-latest-news-and-musings/when-i-am-not-reading/
https://www.fiction-books.biz/my-latest-news-and-musings/more-puzzling-news/
https://www.fiction-books.biz/my-latest-news-and-musings/vintage-dissectology/
https://www.fiction-books.biz/my-latest-news-and-musings/i-am-also-an-occasional-dissectologist-the-bread-of-life/
Hi again Yvonne! Thank you for your great (and prompt) reply. it’s a pleasure to “meet” you too. I did respond to your comment on my blog, but not sure if that automatically gets sent to you or not so I will restate some of what I said there, here.
I can understand why you would feel that you entered mid way through a lengthy conversation with my blog. I’ve been doing the blog since July, 2010. If you have the interest and patience (I already know you LOVE to read….LOL), you can read each and every post from the very beginning by accessing each one chronologically from the Archive section on the right side of the blog. If you go to the very bottom one, marked 2010 and open it up you will see the oldest posts….the oldest (first post) being at the bottom. I don’t expect you do this since it is a ton of reading that may not hold your interest. I am a little biased of course and find some of the posts somewhat humorous. I try to always inject a little humor in each post if I can.
Anyway, I will paste the links here to a few of the older posts that you might like. Obviously you can read more if you’d like, but I won’t force ya too! LOL
http://pennysjigsawblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/its-ordered.html (This is the very first blog entry after ordering the puzzle and creating the blog.)
http://pennysjigsawblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/anxiously-awaiting-arrival.html
http://pennysjigsawblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/pictures-of-beast.html
http://pennysjigsawblog.blogspot.com/2011_01_01_archive.html
http://pennysjigsawblog.blogspot.com/2011_03_01_archive.html
http://pennysjigsawblog.blogspot.com/2012/07/day-ahhwho-he-knows-lol.html
http://pennysjigsawblog.blogspot.com/2013/01/home-sweet-home-at-last.html
http://pennysjigsawblog.blogspot.com/2013/02/and-it-all-comes-down-to-this.html
http://pennysjigsawblog.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-clownfish-have-reluctantly.html
http://pennysjigsawblog.blogspot.com/2013/04/after-2-years-8-months-and-10-days.html
http://pennysjigsawblog.blogspot.com/2013/04/section-1-disassembled-and-reassembled.html
Those are the highlight posts of Section 1. Like I said earlier, you can read more through the archive if you’re a glutton for reading punishment. LOL
My husband doesn’t like to puzzle either. I call him my “finderer” though. If I struggle for a long time trying to find just one piece and can’t, he will sometimes come in and find it…usually within a few minutes of looking…grrr. LOL He doesn’t have much patience for just about anything – so certainly not puzzles. He has a very “A” type personality. His hobby is internet research and browsing. He could do that just about all day long every day. He loves to research things.
55 is not that much older than me though! And we do have a few things in common so it will be nice to chat about those. A pen pal friend that I made over 8 years ago is the same age as you. We chat almost daily via instant messenger rather than as letter pals, but it’s a lot of fun. I know her and her family so well now.
Alright, I’ll let you get back to your books and puzzles. Have a great evening!
Penny
Hi Penny,
I checked out the very first post about the ‘Life’ jigsaw and I couldn’t believe the vital statistics of this jigsaw puzzle, so I just had to check it out for myself, including that mega packaging.
I love the bold colours that Royce has used and there is just so much going on that you could look at the puzzle again and again, always spotting something new and never getting bored with it.
I am just a little curious as to what you are going to do with the puzzle once it is finished …surely you aren’t contemplating breaking it up … maybe framing and hanging it on the basement wall, just as a reminder of the mind blowing perseverance that has gone on in that room!
Actually, I didn’t think that the price of it was too bad either. I don’t know what you paid for it three years ago, but it retails now for a little over $260, which makes it quite cheap in £UK, when you compare it to the cost of a standard 1,000 jigsaw.
Happy Puzzling,
Thanks, Yvonne. I LOVE the colors of the puzzle too. It’s one of the main reasons why I fell in love with it. They are so vibrant and there’s just soooo many different elements of the puzzle that you can’t possibly get bored while doing it. If you get tired or frustrated with one area (like the #&*(% clownfish…LOL), you can just move on to something else for a while.
I plan to use a technique used by Scott Slater and his family who have been doing large puzzles like this one for about 20+ years. They put contact paper on the back of each puzzle and then mount that to foam board. From there they’re able to create a lightweight “frame” and then they just nail it to the wall. I have a pretty large basement with a separate play area for the boys. I will probably put it in that play room as there is a really long wall there that will be perfect for it. I think the kids will have a lot of fun looking at it over the years.
The price has fluctuated a lot since I bought it back in 2010. I believe I got mine for about $249 USD plus shipping. If you’re interested in getting it yourself, you could probably find a really good deal on it through Ebay Worldwide. That’s one of the best places to get used (and sometimes new) jigsaw puzzles. I love it.
Can you please let me know if you see this response through email? I’m trying to figure out if my replies when I get a new comment are getting through to the person. I’m also going to post the same response directly on your blog. Please let me know which way you were able to see it.
Thanks!
Penny
Hi Penny,
It is so good to know that you are going to preserve ‘Life’ for the future and it will hopefully inspire your boys to take up dissectology themselves when they are a little older.
Your replies are showing up fine both ways, so just keep doing what you’re doing!
I generally reply to comments within the actual post, so that other visitors can join in the conversation. Then I always try to make a return visit to the commenters blog to reciprocate the gesture.
Have a great weekend.
Thanks, Yvonne. Dissectology is the strangest word for puzzling. Is that an actual term or something that someone made up? My spell checker is flagging it so I’m wondering if it really exists….maybe a European term? LOL It certainly sounds more like a biology term to me.
Yes, I am certainly hoping that one or both boys will eventually want to join me in doing puzzles. Derek, my oldest, has some interest in puzzles already, but does get bored with them pretty quickly….as he does everything else after 5 minutes or so. LOL
Do you have children, Yvonne? I’m assuming they’re grown and out of the house if you do since you said it was just you and hubby now. Do you have grandchildren?
Well, good luck on picking your next puzzle. How do you go about doing that anyway? Do you take the oldest one on your shelf and start it or close your eyes and grab something? LOL
Penny
Hi Penny,
I should imagine that someone made up the word dissectology in the first instance, although I did find a definition site which had officially listed it with the meaning. I have also come across a US puzzle site which also used the term, so it doesn’t seem to be a purely European word. I guess that it may have origins in the biology term, as dissecting means “methodically cut up”, which I suppose is what happens when you cut up a finished picture into individual jigsaw pieces, ready for assembly.
As I volunteer in a charity shop, that’s where I generally pick up my jigsaw puzzles, although of course the downside of that is that it can never be guaranteed that all the pieces are there. I have been very lucky so far and have also saved a fortune in monetary terms. I will often take the next one off the pile, although I have been known to take an age going through them all to pick one which I fancy doing at that particular time. As with my books, I have quite a back-up stock of puzzles, much to hubbies delight!!
We have never had children, so there are just the two of us, as always. We both have nieces and nephews and have been delegated as godparents to handful of friends children, although to be honest most of them are grown up now and no longer need our support. The youngest is 19 and the eldest 33 … just writing it down like that makes me realise how old we are getting!
Technically we are also a great aunt and uncle, as our eldest godson and his wife have just adopted a handsome 4 year old boy, who we have yet to meet, but looks adorable.
Have a fantastic weekend.