My first foray into PNW nature, July 2022. I'm not leaving any time soon.

The first time I smelled cedar in a Pacific Northwest nature preserve, I knew I was home. In my childhood home, the smell of cedar wood meant something wonderful was coming –my mom and grandma had cedar chests where all the best stuff was kept. My mom’s cedar chest kept our Christmas stockings, her square dancing wedding dress, and a satin quilt she made when she was younger. My grandma kept EVERYTHING in her cedar chest. When we went through Grandma’s chest after her death, it was astonishing the things we found. I still have her hats from the 1950s and 1960s. Because of my mom and Grandma, cedar was one of my favorite scents. So when I first smelled it in the wild in 2022, I squealed. I had just moved a thousand miles away from everything and everyone I knew, and yet, here was a very familiar and beloved scent. I didn’t know scents could feel like a hug.

found this gem of Cedar uses in March 2024 at The Hardware Store Restaurant on Vashon Island. I can't wait to go back to Vashon. Its just lovely.

I fell deeper in love with Cedar when I discovered all the many ways the PNW Indigenous people used cedar trees in their lives.

I make crafts. Sometimes they are silly, sometimes they are somber, and some are just stinking cute. But like the cedar tree, I hope my work accomplishes more than one thing.

I hope that Cedar Gate Creatives Craft ‘N Gabs (CNG) gives you an opportunity to gather and strengthen friendships. I hope the CNGs also give you a sense of accomplishment because YOU CREATED it.

I hope CNGs are used to celebrate weddings, baby showers, and birthday parties for people of all genders and ages.

I hope you will love the Carefully Curated Layered Craft kits and send them to your friends, family, and grandkids. Or maybe you will buy one just for yourself every so often. My Layered Kits are perfect for the PNW winters.

I hope you will allow me to help you craft something encouraging when you are discouraged, exciting when celebrations are in order, and poignant when you need to capture a momentous moment.

In short, you matter, and you deserve a world that inspires you.

Loves and hugs,

Chief of Everything

Cedar Gate Creatives