Simply Stefanie Stuff

There’s something wonderfully surreal about watching a giant collaborative mural come to life—especially when you know your tiny piece of imagination is tucked right into the center of it all. I popped over to check the progress on the Forest Mural Mosaic (you can peek at it too: forest mural ), and oh my goodness… It’s like watching a storybook stretch its limbs and wake up. Right there in the heart of the mural is my little contribution: a butterfly perched on a vine , wings mid‑flutter as if deciding whether to stay or take off on an adventure. Seeing it nestled among hundreds of other creations made me grin like a kid who had just discovered glitter for the first time. And the best part? I’m not the only one in the family who left a mark on this enchanted forest. Kirstin and Chase added an eyeball—yes, an eyeball—peeking out like a curious woodland creature who’s been watching the whole mural unfold from the shadows. It’s whimsical, and absolutely perfect. Ed , in true Ed fashio...

  National Name Day   Did you know that you might find your name as a National Name Day? I thought it was interesting and entertaining. National Edward Day is on July 21st, and National Stefanie Day is in March. You should Google or Happy Name Day Calendar - Name Day, your name, and see if you can find your name as a national celebration.   A name day is a tradition of celebrating a specific day of the year associated with a person's given name, often linked to a saint or historical figure. Definition and Origin A  name day  is a celebration similar to a birthday, but instead of marking the day of birth, it commemorates the day associated with a person's given name. The tradition originated from the  Christian calendar of saints , where individuals named after a saint would celebrate that saint's feast day. For example, someone named Michael might celebrate their name day on September 29th, the feast day of Saint Michael. In some countries, na...

Total fish is 31 We bought our tank on April 11th,2026 Hubby took the ship out of the rank, decided he didn’t care for it, and is purchasing a decorative log and adding May 23rd- added two Balloon Molly females and two blue parrot cichlids.  We moved the 10 male fancy guppies into a second 10-gallon tank away from the females.  June 8, 2026 Purchased catfish and black neon tetras. We tried the neon tetras three times in the tank and had zero luck with them. But we do currently have 2 sole survivors that managed to stay alive so far.  June 10, 2026 Something in the fish tank is biting on the tetra's tail fins. We have not figured out who the culprit is- yet. Placed one tetra (tail-less) in the hospital tank for recovery. Did not survive! June 28, 2026 Added two Honey Gouramis to the fish tank family.  June 30, 2026 Found snail eggs and little white slivers gliding across the aquarium glass.  https://aquariumscience.org/10-13-3-planaria/  found  Rha...

  Art gives you a place to land. A place to breathe. A place to reconnect with the parts of yourself that get buried under responsibility, noise, and expectation. When you create, you return to your own center. You remember what you love, what you need, what you long for. You remember who you are. And that is freedom. 🌿 Gentle Art Prompt: “Follow the Softest Piece” Take a moment to breathe and look at the materials in front of you — scraps, colors, textures, shapes. Let your eyes wander until something tiny catches your attention. It might be a torn edge, a quiet color, a pattern you almost overlooked. Without overthinking, choose the softest piece — the one that feels like a whisper instead of a shout. Then: Place it somewhere on your page without planning Let it guide your next choice — another color, another shape, another layer Build slowly , letting each decision be small, gentle, and intuitive As you work, notice what it feels like to follow softness instead of urgency. N...

It's Made It Monday! Feel free to show of your projects from any designer and/or any craft. Please. If someone asks where a design came from, you can tell them.

A little patchwork joy delivered straight to my mailbox There’s something magical about opening the mailbox and finding fabric friendship tucked inside. These 9‑patch blocks feel like tiny conversations — each one stitched by hands that love quilting just as much as I do. Over the past few weeks, I’ve received several beautiful blocks, and today I wanted to share them (and celebrate the makers behind them).  I received my first 9 patch block from Stacey. Her block arrived first — cheerful, balanced, and full of personality. I held it up to the light and imagined it nestled into a future quilt, connecting her creativity with mine. From Julie M. Julie’s block has such a gentle rhythm to it. The colors play together like old friends, and I couldn’t help but smile thinking about the scraps and stories behind each square. Would you like to make your own 9 patch? Here is a really cool pattern to follow using the 9 patch base. If you try it, let me know. Please sh...