Kaylene Keen

Hand-crafted Note Cards

Kaylene Keen was born and grew up in Morton, Washington, among the foothills of Mount Rainer, but she has lived in Spruce Pine, North Carolina for over thirty years.  After achieving a Masters Degree in Library Science, Kaylene served as a librarian in the Mitchell County Public School system.

Kaylene has read Dr. Houston’s book, The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree, to hundreds of children every year since it was published.  She remembers well the first year she read the book to the children at Deyton Primary School.  Her students made Christmas cards for Gloria and her mother, Ruthie.  Both Kaylene and the children were thrilled when Gloria and Ruthie came to visit the school the following spring.

Scrapbooks of family photos and mementoes from travels have led Kaylene to paper crafts and recently to card making.  Kaylene say she learned to appreciate the illustrations by Barbara Cooney while developing the note card designs.

Kaylene is retired and enjoys doing volunteer work in school media centers and the Mitchell County Visitors Center at the Blue Ridge Parkway.  She also spends her spare time planning travels for her and her husband, John.  Recently, they visited China and the Mediterranean Sea.