😁Thank you so much! In the beginning, I thought many would find me and my descriptions weird, but I'm happy to hear that many do enjoy them. I can't help but make up stories and scenarios with my puzzle images LOL. It's how I connect with them.
Mandy, nice puzzle images. Your beastly force activates in every puzzle piece😂you can’t resist it😂. I think the same way you do about puzzle scenes, I tend to do summer puzzles in the winter so I feel warm and comfortable. When is hot in the summer, I want to do winter scenes because you have to beat the heat with a snowy puzzle😂I thought I was the only one😃🧩❤️
So true! I need to get this beast within me under control 💪Causing too much unnecessary damage! 🤣🤣 And yes, there's nothing better than being able to escape into your puzzle, especially when you're tired of your current environment LOL. It's like taking a little solo vacation 😎
I love doing seasonal puzzles that match each season. Im hoping to stock up on some cute 100 piece summer vibes puzzles to do by the pool or on a picnic this summer.
Great video. I could only ever find one puzzle to my liking at Dollar General. It is a 500 piece SureLox Mom's Apple Pie by Heronim. I thought image was excellent for a $5 puzzle. I will work this puzzle again in the fall.
Thank you! Ooo I know which puzzle you're talking about. I think I almost bought Mom's Apple Pie, but didn't because I thought I had that image already (I didn't and I got sad LOL). I'll probably pick it up next time if I see it. I have a large number of Heronim puzzle images, they're fantastic.
Great comparison. They must make those specifically for dollar general. I would be interested to see if the more expensive are noticeable in difference.
I'm gonna have to look into where I can pick up a more expensive set so that I can do another comparison. From what Im seeing so far, the prices are all over the place and based on the images, I can't tell whether they are actually of the "better" collections.
I have yet to put together the sure lox I have. I bought it for $3 at a thrift store. It’s a 500 piece count, so that gives me some hope that it will be similar quality to yours. I love the image you have of the 500 piece puzzle. I would for sure buy that one.
You picked up that set at a great price. Hopefully you have the same experience I did, because overall it really wasn't too bad for the price. Of all three, it was the best in terms of quality/price/experience.
I am a new subscriber too your channel and love your puzzle content I just randomly came across you by looking up a Disney puzzle then you we’re doing by Ceaco
I did a 300 count Sure-Lox this week. It was a photograph of a puppy romping through flowers, part of a 6 pack. It was miiiiiserable! The puppy was sort-of in focus, but everything else was just fuzzy blobs of color. The other puzzles in the set are all landscapes, so I'm hoping the puppy was a weird one-off. I'm going to take a look at the pieces, and if they are blurry too, I'm not going to even bother with them. Fortunately, it's a set my brother lent me, so at least I didn't pay for them!
That's not surprising. I notice that multi packs can very much lack in quality, no matter the brand. Well, at least the multipacks I've tried. I guess its just the trade off if you want more than one puzzle image in a box. Hopefully the landscape images turn out to be better.
I love when you do these size comparisons because its amazing how different they can be!! Personally I'm not a fan of Sure Lox for exactly the reasons you described. And I HATE when you only have one piece shape. I'm impressed you finished that 1000 pc winter scene. I need the different shapes to help with sky. Do you have any swap options near you? We have swaps here that allow you to get puzzles that are good quality for free. Ravensburger, Pomegranite, White Mountain, etc. Lots of Buffalo as well. The cheaper dollar store ones end up going last and usually when they open the tables to take what you want.
Yea, I really don't like only have one or two piece shapes in a set. That winter set image was beautiful, but it's certainly not one I would ever want to work on again. I was glad when it was over LOL. I wish I had a swap option where I live. It's a rural area and not much goes on out here. If I want to get anywhere interesting, it's quite a drive. Those are great brands to find at your swap though! They would be first ones I would grab too!
The Sure Lox i recently completed was one of the better ones. The better ones come in a white box, basically, with corners printed to look like puzzle pieces. The pieces were thin, but pretty strong, I thought. Print quality was good and fit was excellent. I would buy another one if the image hooked me. Most of the images for these puzzles are just stock photos made into puzzles are sort of boring. Mandy, I would much rather see you save your Dollar Store and Thrift Store money and buy quality puzzles that really grab your interest and are worth your time.
Oooo, so better ones do exist! This is great to know, thank you for sharing your experience. Now I know I won't be searching in vain for better quality ones lol. Thank you for also sharing your last thought. For awhile, I've been thinking the same thing. The other day I actually made a big shop for some much better quality sets, and I'm really looking forward to sharing my experience with everyone. Believe me, I'd much prefer to put together much better quality sets, but I also find it interesting to see how bad "cheap" puzzles are 🤣.
I have to do a follow up also, but on my comments. Sure lox seem to have come a long way with their pieces (although not totally up to par). Anyway the puzzle I did had horrible pieces. Their tabs were squished, almost as if the die was not sharp enough to make clean cuts. And I purchased my puzzle from Walmart, so the price point was not exactly rock bottom. I got a 2000 piece for Christmas, so I’ll see if the quality is any better.
Nice! Was your print actually sharp or did you find it to be blurry too? I'm curious whether it was the brands fault or just the nature of the image design. Yes, my pants are from Walmart 😁
I really like the wintery puzzle, Mandy. It might be a bit hard to see the pieces cos of the cold coming thru and if there is a slight blizard........ Just found out the other day, that Serbia is one of the coldest places in all of Europe (a town called Sjenica), and a few years back, had reached -31F (-35C), which is on par with Canada. Nis, where i am moving to, already this year has reached 16F (-9C)....and snow. Thank goodness I have jigsaws and board games to keep us entertained. Sydney on the other hand hit 102F (39C) last Friday.....thankfully no bushfires this year. Did you play snow falling? I think having a wood heater or open fire playing with the sound of wood crackling would've been more appropriate lol...... With me.....I think during winter, at night, have the open fire going, dim the lights, candles burning, and creepy horror music playing in the background from Scream or the like LOL.....just kidding yet is what I am planning with some board games, I have purchased. Gotta set the mood right..... Wow, 1 hour? You're getting way faster there Madame 🙂
That is true Ernie, and the glare from the sun hitting the snow can be quite blinding at times 😂 Yikes, you better have a very good winter coat when you move to Nis, as well as numerous scarves, hats, and gloves. I think the coldest weather we've had so far in my area was about 12F. I had to go out to work that day and it was terrible LOL. You're right though, wood crackling would've made some very good ambiance. I actually have a gas fireplace, but never light it because it doesn't heat up the room, it needs replacing 😔
@@thepuzzledmandy Yep, got the clothes part covered once i get there. Put on a leather jacket on once and im sure it weighed about 5-8 pounds......was so thick n heavy. Not sure from what animal is was from yet gawd it was warm to wear. Didnt buy it at the time. Price was re 160 euros (re same is USD and $240 Aussie dollar. Here it would easily cost $2000). Yes ive heard of ppl getting sunburnt when they go skiing etc....sounds so oxymoron-ish lol That is a bugger re the gas heater. I truly trust you get that up and running asap 😀
@thepuzzledmandy yes puzzles are an escape for me. So relaxing and my brain can switch off. Sidenote, I was in a charity shop in London today, and I found hardly any for the take, and none I liked. I love how you seem to have so many in these thrift stores in USA! Such a blessing for you guys!
Did you pay a clearance price at Dollar General? I got 2 sure lox there in Dec. They had a good variety with nice scenes like yours. I figured that big tree would be tricky
I did get the clearance price which was fantastic. I love when I catch some great deals. Yea, that tree was no fun at all. Honestly, I was glad when that puzzle was over LOL.
I did enjoy the first puzzle as well, and I only wish that experience lasted longer. I feel like the lower count sets from this brand are better value in terms of quality/price.
There’s too many sur-lox puzzles for me to assemble. There’s 2 huge containers filled with bagged sur-lox jigsaw puzzles. I don’t know why I have so many to choose and assemble. :(
I never worry if the picture on my puzzle goes with the actual season, but my mother is totally adamant that you can’t do a beach scene in the winter, or a Christmas puzzle outside of December.
I can understand how your mom feels. I guess for me it really depends on my mood. I tend to stick with the seasons, but it's been so darn cold here that I kind of wanted to see myself somewhere else for awhile 😂
A lot of times the "Blur" is not really blur but the texture of the canvas or watercolor paper coming through. Sometimes it's even the brustrockes showing, since a lot of paintings are not to be seen so closely. Usually you cannot see it on the box because it is smaller there and you are not looking so closely. A lot of times it's not the company's fault. I thought I could mention this here since I am an artist myself. x3 Not sure if it is the case here tho
Thank you for your comment, I totally agree with you! You perfectly described what I tend to call the "nature" of the image. I say "nature" because sometimes I struggle to clearly describe what I mean at the time of filming😅 My most favorite puzzle images are from Thomas Kincaid, and they tend to be very challenging because of the painting style. They are definitely not meant to be looked at up close, because everything blends in together. But as soon as they are completed, its a masterpiece.
The only store in our town is a Dollar General, so I have done all of the Surelox they sell there...just waiting for them to produce some new images now 😂😂😂❤🧩
Haven't been a subscriber very long but you cracked me up sometimes in your descriptions of puzzles. And that's that's a good thing, a compliment!
😁Thank you so much! In the beginning, I thought many would find me and my descriptions weird, but I'm happy to hear that many do enjoy them. I can't help but make up stories and scenarios with my puzzle images LOL. It's how I connect with them.
Mandy, nice puzzle images. Your beastly force activates in every puzzle piece😂you can’t resist it😂. I think the same way you do about puzzle scenes, I tend to do summer puzzles in the winter so I feel warm and comfortable. When is hot in the summer, I want to do winter scenes because you have to beat the heat with a snowy puzzle😂I thought I was the only one😃🧩❤️
So true! I need to get this beast within me under control 💪Causing too much unnecessary damage! 🤣🤣
And yes, there's nothing better than being able to escape into your puzzle, especially when you're tired of your current environment LOL. It's like taking a little solo vacation 😎
I love doing seasonal puzzles that match each season. Im hoping to stock up on some cute 100 piece summer vibes puzzles to do by the pool or on a picnic this summer.
Great review on these puzzles, Mandy! You have the best houses! 🥰 I love your puzzle pants and your Mickey pants! 🥳🧩
Thank you 🤗It's difficult to keep my multiple properties maintained, but I've been doing my best and making sure I spend enough time in each of them 🤣
@@thepuzzledmandy 🤣🤣🤣
Great video. I could only ever find one puzzle to my liking at Dollar General. It is a 500 piece SureLox Mom's Apple Pie by Heronim. I thought image was excellent for a $5 puzzle. I will work this puzzle again in the fall.
Thank you!
Ooo I know which puzzle you're talking about. I think I almost bought Mom's Apple Pie, but didn't because I thought I had that image already (I didn't and I got sad LOL). I'll probably pick it up next time if I see it. I have a large number of Heronim puzzle images, they're fantastic.
Thanks!
Thank you so much! 🤗🤗🤗
Great comparison. They must make those specifically for dollar general. I would be interested to see if the more expensive are noticeable in difference.
I'm gonna have to look into where I can pick up a more expensive set so that I can do another comparison. From what Im seeing so far, the prices are all over the place and based on the images, I can't tell whether they are actually of the "better" collections.
We thoroughly enjoy and appreciate your videos. Thank you.😊
Thank you so much 🤗I'm so grateful for all your support. Everyone here makes this channel possible.
I have yet to put together the sure lox I have. I bought it for $3 at a thrift store. It’s a 500 piece count, so that gives me some hope that it will be similar quality to yours. I love the image you have of the 500 piece puzzle. I would for sure buy that one.
You picked up that set at a great price. Hopefully you have the same experience I did, because overall it really wasn't too bad for the price. Of all three, it was the best in terms of quality/price/experience.
I am a new subscriber too your channel and love your puzzle content I just randomly came across you by looking up a Disney puzzle then you we’re doing by Ceaco
Thank you so much and welcome 🤗🤗🤗
you're welcome @@thepuzzledmandy
I did a 300 count Sure-Lox this week. It was a photograph of a puppy romping through flowers, part of a 6 pack. It was miiiiiserable! The puppy was sort-of in focus, but everything else was just fuzzy blobs of color. The other puzzles in the set are all landscapes, so I'm hoping the puppy was a weird one-off. I'm going to take a look at the pieces, and if they are blurry too, I'm not going to even bother with them. Fortunately, it's a set my brother lent me, so at least I didn't pay for them!
That's not surprising. I notice that multi packs can very much lack in quality, no matter the brand. Well, at least the multipacks I've tried. I guess its just the trade off if you want more than one puzzle image in a box. Hopefully the landscape images turn out to be better.
I love when you do these size comparisons because its amazing how different they can be!! Personally I'm not a fan of Sure Lox for exactly the reasons you described. And I HATE when you only have one piece shape. I'm impressed you finished that 1000 pc winter scene. I need the different shapes to help with sky. Do you have any swap options near you? We have swaps here that allow you to get puzzles that are good quality for free. Ravensburger, Pomegranite, White Mountain, etc. Lots of Buffalo as well. The cheaper dollar store ones end up going last and usually when they open the tables to take what you want.
Yea, I really don't like only have one or two piece shapes in a set. That winter set image was beautiful, but it's certainly not one I would ever want to work on again. I was glad when it was over LOL. I wish I had a swap option where I live. It's a rural area and not much goes on out here. If I want to get anywhere interesting, it's quite a drive. Those are great brands to find at your swap though! They would be first ones I would grab too!
Never heard of the brand. Thanks for the review!
You are very welcome!
I live in Queensland and do winter scenes all the time to cool down 😊
It's nice to escape the everyday norm with our puzzles, especially when it comes to escaping the intense heat. 😁
The Sure Lox i recently completed was one of the better ones. The better ones come in a white box, basically, with corners printed to look like puzzle pieces. The pieces were thin, but pretty strong, I thought. Print quality was good and fit was excellent. I would buy another one if the image hooked me. Most of the images for these puzzles are just stock photos made into puzzles are sort of boring.
Mandy, I would much rather see you save your Dollar Store and Thrift Store money and buy quality puzzles that really grab your interest and are worth your time.
Oooo, so better ones do exist! This is great to know, thank you for sharing your experience. Now I know I won't be searching in vain for better quality ones lol.
Thank you for also sharing your last thought. For awhile, I've been thinking the same thing. The other day I actually made a big shop for some much better quality sets, and I'm really looking forward to sharing my experience with everyone. Believe me, I'd much prefer to put together much better quality sets, but I also find it interesting to see how bad "cheap" puzzles are 🤣.
I have to do a follow up also, but on my comments. Sure lox seem to have come a long way with their pieces (although not totally up to par). Anyway the puzzle I did had horrible pieces. Their tabs were squished, almost as if the die was not sharp enough to make clean cuts. And I purchased my puzzle from Walmart, so the price point was not exactly rock bottom. I got a 2000 piece for Christmas, so I’ll see if the quality is any better.
You picked up your Sure Lox set at Walmart? I don't think I've seen any at my locations.
@@thepuzzledmandy yes. I live in Toronto. And I am almost sure that the 2000 piece I got was bought at Walmart.
I have the same picture of the 1,000 piece but it's from an advent puzzle calendar. I also think I have the same pj bottoms, walmart?
Nice! Was your print actually sharp or did you find it to be blurry too? I'm curious whether it was the brands fault or just the nature of the image design.
Yes, my pants are from Walmart 😁
The puzzle was about 60 pieces, so I didn't any issues.
I really like the wintery puzzle, Mandy. It might be a bit hard to see the pieces cos of the cold coming thru and if there is a slight blizard........
Just found out the other day, that Serbia is one of the coldest places in all of Europe (a town called Sjenica), and a few years back, had reached -31F (-35C), which is on par with Canada. Nis, where i am moving to, already this year has reached 16F (-9C)....and snow. Thank goodness I have jigsaws and board games to keep us entertained.
Sydney on the other hand hit 102F (39C) last Friday.....thankfully no bushfires this year.
Did you play snow falling? I think having a wood heater or open fire playing with the sound of wood crackling would've been more appropriate lol......
With me.....I think during winter, at night, have the open fire going, dim the lights, candles burning, and creepy horror music playing in the background from Scream or the like LOL.....just kidding yet is what I am planning with some board games, I have purchased. Gotta set the mood right.....
Wow, 1 hour? You're getting way faster there Madame 🙂
That is true Ernie, and the glare from the sun hitting the snow can be quite blinding at times 😂
Yikes, you better have a very good winter coat when you move to Nis, as well as numerous scarves, hats, and gloves. I think the coldest weather we've had so far in my area was about 12F. I had to go out to work that day and it was terrible LOL. You're right though, wood crackling would've made some very good ambiance. I actually have a gas fireplace, but never light it because it doesn't heat up the room, it needs replacing 😔
@@thepuzzledmandy Yep, got the clothes part covered once i get there. Put on a leather jacket on once and im sure it weighed about 5-8 pounds......was so thick n heavy. Not sure from what animal is was from yet gawd it was warm to wear. Didnt buy it at the time. Price was re 160 euros (re same is USD and $240 Aussie dollar. Here it would easily cost $2000).
Yes ive heard of ppl getting sunburnt when they go skiing etc....sounds so oxymoron-ish lol
That is a bugger re the gas heater. I truly trust you get that up and running asap 😀
The bicycle on the beach was a beautiful picture
I instantly saw myself parking my bike on my steps, and walking to the beach. I love when images do that to me 😃
@thepuzzledmandy yes puzzles are an escape for me. So relaxing and my brain can switch off. Sidenote, I was in a charity shop in London today, and I found hardly any for the take, and none I liked. I love how you seem to have so many in these thrift stores in USA! Such a blessing for you guys!
Did you pay a clearance price at Dollar General? I got 2 sure lox there in Dec. They had a good variety with nice scenes like yours. I figured that big tree would be tricky
I did get the clearance price which was fantastic. I love when I catch some great deals.
Yea, that tree was no fun at all. Honestly, I was glad when that puzzle was over LOL.
I hope you’re feeling better - your voice sounds better in this video 😊
Yes! Thank you, I am doing much better 😁 Now I'm crossing my fingers in hope that I don't get sick again till next year LOL.
I hate a blurry image. You were a trooper to finish that 1000 piece, more patience than me.
Believe me, I had to push myself numerous times to get it done 😅 Probably if the image was sharp, I would've been able to push through it quicker.
I did the first puzzle and I thought it was nice and the image was bright.
I did enjoy the first puzzle as well, and I only wish that experience lasted longer. I feel like the lower count sets from this brand are better value in terms of quality/price.
There’s too many sur-lox puzzles for me to assemble. There’s 2 huge containers filled with bagged sur-lox jigsaw puzzles. I don’t know why I have so many to choose and assemble. :(
Sounds like you have a lot of puzzle time ahead of you 😃
I never worry if the picture on my puzzle goes with the actual season, but my mother is totally adamant that you can’t do a beach scene in the winter, or a Christmas puzzle outside of December.
I can understand how your mom feels. I guess for me it really depends on my mood. I tend to stick with the seasons, but it's been so darn cold here that I kind of wanted to see myself somewhere else for awhile 😂
A lot of times the "Blur" is not really blur but the texture of the canvas or watercolor paper coming through. Sometimes it's even the brustrockes showing, since a lot of paintings are not to be seen so closely. Usually you cannot see it on the box because it is smaller there and you are not looking so closely. A lot of times it's not the company's fault. I thought I could mention this here since I am an artist myself. x3
Not sure if it is the case here tho
Thank you for your comment, I totally agree with you! You perfectly described what I tend to call the "nature" of the image. I say "nature" because sometimes I struggle to clearly describe what I mean at the time of filming😅 My most favorite puzzle images are from Thomas Kincaid, and they tend to be very challenging because of the painting style. They are definitely not meant to be looked at up close, because everything blends in together. But as soon as they are completed, its a masterpiece.
The only store in our town is a Dollar General, so I have done all of the Surelox they sell there...just waiting for them to produce some new images now 😂😂😂❤🧩
😂Hopefully they come out with a lot more soon. I'll be interested to see some different ones myself.