Mother, daughter have passion for scrapbooking

By KELSEY EVANS

Whitefish Pilot

Walk the halls of a local school and you could very well see custom-made homecoming posters lining the walls.  

Since 2003, Kathy Price has been the creative mind behind the posters, building individualized homecoming decoration kits to hang on lockers and school walls for high schoolers across Flathead Valley. 

“When I first started I had about four posters. Now I have... well, you can never have too many,” Price said. “We do them for all the schools in the valley, including Bigfork and Stillwater Christian, and we’re adding Polson too.” 

Over the years, with help from parents, thousands of posters have been created. The goal for Price is for every student to have a personalized poster. 

“What I love about the homecoming kits is that they allow me to be creative and it allows every kid to be included. Sometimes I work with the coaches or the parents to make sure that everyone is included. 

Price, 53, graduated from Columbia Falls in 1989. Price and her husband Darin have four grown children — Tori, Jack, Katie and Josh.  

Kathy Price had a scrapbooking storefront on Montana 40 but closed it in 2019 to shift things online.  

“My mom had the store my whole childhood, and I started to help out when I was old enough, cashiering, stocking inventory. When the store closed in 2019, I helped move everything online. In 2021, I started doing more with the decorations and kits, but she still does a lot,” said Kathy’s daughter, Katie Price, who looks to continue the business as a part of Kathy’s legacy.  

Several years ago, Price was diagnosed with stage-four lung cancer with metastases in her brain, neck and chest lymph nodes. She was given six months to live, but today she’s still holding strong with over 1,000 “bonus days.”  

“A lot of people know my health journey, and every year they’re like, ‘Are you still doing the kits?’ I appreciate that they care and are invested in me, but I want people to know that this will continue regardless. If I don’t win my battle, Katie will take over,” Kathy Price said. 

Katie Price, who played softball, soccer and basketball at Columbia Falls and graduated in 2016, said that looking to the future, her goal is to do decorations in more schools across Montana and that they’re working on being able to ship products.  

“But we really want to stay in the community here too, because that’s my favorite part – I love supporting the local athletes, and it’s fun to stay involved with the up-and-comers,” Katie Price said.  

Both Kathy and Katie Price aim for the kits to be accessible.  

“They’re affordable at $20 and easy and fun for parents to help customize. We take the hard part out it. It really allows a parent who might not be as creative to make something look good when we do it all together,” said Kathy Price. 

“It’s really awesome what my mom has done cultivating this in the community, and I’m just grateful to continue this on as a part of her legacy,” Katie Price said. 

Kathy’s spirit stays strong and she vows to stay active.

“After I had treatment, things were looking okay, so I just got in my car and left to find an adventure... I am a wild spirit,”  she said. 

The website is priceless-scrapbooks.com.