Hi. I'm Cathy. I like to point to things.

Hi there. My name is Cathy Zielske. Welcome to my corner of the internet. Pull up a chair and stay a while!

Here are the basics: I’m a graphic designer who loves my family, typography, clean and simple design, french fries, pointing, nail polish and Silence of the Lambs. I also love piping hot, black coffee, The Twilight Saga, bacon, working bra-less and falling asleep to my favorite ASMR videos.

I’m originally from Everett, Wash., and now live pretty happily in St. Paul, Minn., with my elementary school teacher husband. We have a daughter who is an attorney. We have a son who is wrapping up life as a college student. Sometimes they are home. Sometimes not. I’m 56 years old and have achieved the height of 5’6 inches. I am a work in progress. My therapist will vouch for me, of that I am certain.

I'm guessing my husband would, too.

I’ve worked as a graphic designer for more than 25 years, primarily focusing on print design. I’ve managed to parlay my design skills into the world of paper crafting. Stranger things have happened.

I've worked in the scrapbook realm since 2002, but in 2017, I discovered cardmaking and it felt like breathing new life into my crafting. It certainly gave my business new life! My main focus today is on cardmaking, but I have plenty of posts over the years for scrapbook inspiration!

Aside from running this site, I create numerous tutorials for my YouTube channel, I am the art director and a contributor for Scrapbook & Cards Today magazine, and I design clear stamps and dies for Simon Says Stamp.

If you want the full story of how I came to make a living doing what I do, read this post and follow the links.

I wear a lot of hats and do a lot of things. Try as I may, however, I will never be a fan of the Oxford comma and only use them when forced to do so by my editor at Scrapbook & Cards magazine.

I try to present an honest portrait of life as a middle-aged woman who works, lives and creates from the almost middle of Minnesota. It may seem like I don’t take myself too seriously, which is partially true. I do not know everything. I am not the smartest person in any given room. I am, however, probably wearing the same shirt you saw me in yesterday.

I am definitely wearing the same shoes.

I believe in working hard, staying curious and being nice. We need fewer asshats in the world. I’m doing my part.

All people are welcome here in my space. I stand with all marginalized communities and am a proud ally to the LGBTQIA+ communities, as well. There is no room for discrimination, judgment or hate in my crafty community. We need more love, friends. Not less.

I never take for granted the fact that I am still able to make a living and support my family doing crafty things. So if you’re here, I appreciate you. When you buy one of my products, shop with any of my links, or even just watch one of my YouTube videos, you are directly supporting this small business woman who is extremely grateful for your business.

Like, for real.

Side note: my last name is not as complicated to pronounce as one would think. People tend to overemphasize the “Ziel” part, and say “Zeeeaalll-ski.” It’s much simpler than that. It’s just: zil-ski.  Like pill-ski. Even Steven.

I'm all over the place… online!

If you’d like to find and follow me in other places, by all means do. Here are some links to take you where you may not need to go, but what the heck, it could be fun! Click on images to see more.

If you would like to read more business-y stuff and see what I looked like with much shorter hair, check out my Disclosure.

Thank you for being here.