CZ Design

This crafty girl.

This crafty girl.

Craftygirl

This is Aidan, and much to the delight of her scrapbookin', story-tellin', design-lovin' mama, she is a Crafty Girl.

Granted, she also loves math and science and psychology, so she is not just a Crafty Girl. She's many other kinds of girls, and all of them make me incredibly proud.

Recently, Aidan was able to take a class from the one and only Stacy Julian at last month's Creative Connection event. Stacy taught a very cool mini album workshop and Aidan decided to put her own themed twist on it, creating an album called "Aspirations and Inspirations."

Funny, but all I wrote about at 15 was boys and things I ought not to be doing.

Aidan took a bunch of photos of her album with the intent of sharing the finished results with Stacy, and she said I could share them here.

Thanks, Crafty Girl. You're something else.

1a-crafty

7-crafty

6-crafty

5-crafty

4-crafty

3-crafty

2-crafty

Thanks for letting me share, Crafty Girl.

Love, Mom

 

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. sannika says

    Wow! Great work, Aidan! I wish I had made an album like this at 15…! And I hope my kids will make an album like this in a few years…

  2. Julia C says

    Way to go Aidan! As Sannika said,I just wish I’d discovered scrapbooking when I was a teenager…I wonder where she got her crafty genes ?!

  3. dawn says

    Count me in too, wish I was this crafty at 15 and could share it with my kids today. Way to Go Aidan, you did a great job on this.

    By the way how did she do with her Smash album this past summer?? I just bought my first one and can’t wait to play in it.

    Beautiful picture of her, love the light!

  7. Stephanie Howell says

    Cathy- I’ve said it once and I’ll say it a million times more I’m sure…but aidan is a good egg. Such a beautiful reflection of you+dan and your parenting. I can’t wait to see my girls grow and develop into women.

  10. Rachel says

    Woah! All that and she is just fifteen! Awesome! What talent and personality and drive! I know that you are bursting with joy to have such an amazing daughter!

  12. ErikaB says

    Beautiful! Like mother like daughter! Tell her that we are blessed that she is willing to share her thoughts & creativity with us!

  13. Jennifer Levin says

    Thank you, Aidan, for sharing your finished project! I love it!

    I was in that class with her (and you. Thanks for stopping by!), and I have to admit I’m secretly hoping to have the kind of relationship you seem to have with Aidan when my own daughters are her age! I’m also incredibly grateful for the “bangs story” that you told…the parenting lesson in that story SO resonated with me, and I’ve thought about it MANY times since that day.

    It’s funny how sometimes, when you say something or tell a story that might not seem like much to you, it can really make an impact on the people hearing it. That’s why I love coming here pretty much every day. I almost always find something meaningful in what you’re sharing with us. So, thank you!

    You’re one lucky mama to have such a talented, beautiful, amazing daughter! ~Jen

  14. Petra from NL says

    Way to go Aidan! I can’t help but wonder if this minibook will survice all those different phases of life… maybe in a few years you will want to throw it away. That would be a shame according to your own 50 year old self ;-).

  17. cathy says

    Hey Jen, I tell you… the bangs story changed how I viewed my impact on my daughter. It really did. I may have to blog about that some day.

  19. jacquie d says

    What a fabulous piece of talent, Aidan! It is no wonder that you are brimming with pride, Cathy. So glad she agreed to share.

  20. Louise says

    That’s lovely – both my husband and I are designers graphic and product respectively and we have managed to produce two boys who have both got the creative gene missing, I don’t know how we did it, must be a positive and a positive make a minus !!

  21. Immi says

    How inspiring that at such a young age she is able to be introspective and insightful. It must be so gratifying to watch Aidan as she searches and explores, adopting this and discarding that as she moves into adulthood!

  24. Sara says

    Aidan, such a great project. I wish,wish,wish I had documented my thoughts at 15. What a treasure.

  31. SueTR says

    So super cool! Great job Aidan! One of my daughters, (I have 10yo twins) keeps lots of notebooks and binders around her room where she writes and draws all sorts of things…love it!

  35. Deborah says

    You are so blessed. 🙂 She’s just like her mama, something amazing. P.S. As of today, I hit 1,000 miles on my Sole F80. Admittedly, I had hoped that by now the muffin top would be gone and each step would be easier, but none of that has happened. But, according to my 44-year old annual checkup last week, my heart is super strong and my cholesterol numbers are awesome. I have never been athletic, and I never will be. But, I am healthy. And I have fought for every freaking mile that I put on that treadmill. And you have been with me every step of the way. Just wanted to let you know how so very grateful I am for you.

  36. cathy says

    Good for you, Deborah! I too have the muffin x ten, but i know im in better shape than ive been in my entire life (okay, maybe not from high school sports days, but still…)

  38. Sara says

    I love this!! I love seeing how being raised by a Mom like you has created such a wonderful, wholehearted, talented, &creative girl!!
    My daughter is 9 & I can see how creative she’s growing up to be. She wants to be an artist, and I can’t wait to start teaching her how to use illustrator!! Hahaha.

  40. Rosemary says

    What a lifelong treasure that album will be. Aidan is a special girl! And as the mother of a tween daughter I must lobby for a blog post on the “bangs story.”

  42. LeeAnna says

    Awesome awesome awesome! You may have to tell your crafty girl that I may have to scaplift that one. Very nice!

  46. Jennie Hart says

    What might she achieve *boggle*.

    Aidan, you are one supercool teen, keep bringing it on 🙂

    Cathy, well, good on yer. Good on yer. I will show this to my niece who I am lucky enough to be raising. Sometimes she shows me the way to be a teen too. At her age I was just faffing with covering my exercise books with wrapping paper and thinking about boys, Jon Cryer anyone?

  47. gypsy chaos says

    Aidan – thank you! You are in an interesting position – the child of a celebrity but a calm, personal type, not the People and US magazine cover type. Regardless, you have many cyber-aunts watching you grow up, usually through your mother’s eyes. It’s nice to see you through your own eyes as this post allows us to do.

    Cathy – motherhood is another one of your many talents. Thank you for sharing yourself.

  52. shalini says

    Wow! She is pretty balanced and sorted out for a fifteen year old. I agree with you, she is something else… something very special 🙂
    Convey my best wishes to her for all her aspirations 🙂

  55. Stacia says

    I love this! What a great album. Wonder if I could coerce any of my kiddos into doing something similar. Most certainly not the 17YO, unfortunately. But maybe the 10YO and/or 7YO, with some help? Worth thinking about!

    Thanks for sharing this, Cathy. It’s just lovely.

  57. Lisa says

    Seriously, the talent and beauty doesn’t end. I keep thinking of that beautiful little film that she made also. Great work Aiden!!!

  58. Leslie says

    Love it! Very creative and a wonderful snapshot of you at this special age. Tks for sharing Aidan (think I’m going to make one of these for my dd who’s almost 10).

  59. AngMomof3 says

    Impressive! 🙂 I’m with you on what I was doing at age 15. I can only hope my daughters will make as good of choices as sweet Aidan when they are that age!

  61. Beth R says

    Wow, she is so much more mature than I remember being at that age. The only aspiration I had at that age was the cute boy with the motorcyle down at the end of the street 🙂 I so wish I would have documented ANYTHING as a teen. You have every right to be so proud, of both your kids, they are so artistic and expressive.Great qualities to have for one so young.
    You’ve done a great job Cathy.

  62. Sally Paxton says

    Oh my gosh, this is fantastic. I bet Stacy will be just as proud as you are! Crafty Girl is an amazing kid, and I’m so glad she lets you share her life with us.

  64. Karen F from New Zealand says

    Aidan Thank you for allowing your crafty Mum share with us other Mum’s and crafters. Awesome inspiration. I’m sure something you will treasure.
    Cathy – Proud Mama? You bet I can see every reason to be and everything to do with the girl, no young lady you have raised with Dan. So hope that hubby and I are doing the same kind of things that guide our girl to believe and aspire like Aiden. Thanks for sharing.