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, potato-based foods, pointing, nail polish and Silence of the Lambs. I also love piping hot, black coffee, The Twilight Saga, 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 navigating his post-college life. We really like them a whole lot. I’m 60 years old and have achieved the height of 5 feet and 5.5 inches (I am shrinking now). I am a work in progress. My former therapist might vouch for me, or not.

I’ve worked as a graphic designer for more than 35 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 started working in the scrapbook industry back in 2002, but in 2017 I discovered card making and it felt like breathing new life into my crafting. It certainly gave my business new life. My main focus today is on card making, 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, and I design clear stamps and dies for Simon Says Stamp. I also teach virtually for various stamp and die companies throughout any given year.

If you want the story of how I came to make a living in the craft industry, read this post and follow the links. It doesn't bring us up to my cardmaking era, but that will give you the gist of where I came from.

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 used them when forced to do so by my editor at Scrapbook & Cards magazine.

(Note: the magazine, for which I was the art director for a decade, published its final issue in December of 2025.)

I'm 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 LGBTQ+ communities, as well. There is no room for discrimination, judgment or hate in my crafty community. If that’s your vibe in any way, me and my content are not for you. We need MORE love and understanding, friends. Not less. If you want a richer life, widen your circle. 

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.