Graphic 45 Featured Artist: Lyn Bernatovich

Hello G45ers,

Happy Friday and welcome to another beautiful day here at the Graphic 45 blog. This is going to be an epic day of inspiration. We have a very special guest artist, the amazing Lyn Bernatovich! Her Graphic 45 creations are out of this world! She's going to share some of her incredible works of craft art and a few fun tutorials today! We love Lyn's marvelous style and we know you will too! Her incredible creations are sure to get you in the crafting spirit! You're going to see some fabulous projects, including many gorgeous holiday crafts! It's going to be so much fun! But first we wanted to announce our winner from yesterday's Mod Podge blog contest! Today's winner was chosen at random from comments left on our blog yesterday. And the winner is...

-Trish Alger: "Amazing ideas! Thank you."

Congratulations, Trish! Please email us with your shipping information at [email protected] to claim your prize! Hooray! Big thanks to everyone who left us comments yesterday. As always, we love hearing from all of you!

And now it's craft time! We've been noticing Lyn Bernatovich's crafts for quite a while. She is active on the Graphic 45 Ning site and it's impossible not to notice her talent. She puts so much love and imagination into each of her craft creations. Every craft is an expression of joy and inspiration. Lyn definitely knows how to capture the vintage beauty of Graphic 45 papers in her creations. She has an incredible understanding of using color and embellishments to add charm and sophistication to her crafts. She also enjoys sharing  her love for crafting on her incredible blog called Lyn's Paper Petunia. It is filled with so many great ideas and tips on papercrafting. It is this wonderful combination of artistic talent, technical skill and positivity that makes Lyn an obvious choice for a Graphic 45 Featured Artist! We are thrilled to share her work with you all today! Please join us in welcoming the fabulous Lyn Bernatovich!

Since 1998, my passion, my burn, my creative energy mainly stems from a desire to teach what I know about paper crafting to others.  Directing a monthly paper arts club, as well as teaching paper art classes at a local artsy shop, Stampin' & Scrappin' Time in Bridgeport, NY have been a perfect creative outlet for me. I am also on design teams for Paper Craft Planet and Creations by AR.  Both provide me numerous opportunities for creative challenges that I find completely satisfying. 

My blog (Lynspaperpetunia.blogspot.com) is an artistic expression of my work, classes, and projects. I consider myself to be a card maker with a special interest in mini books and altered projects.  My work leans toward vintage, shabby and country cottage chic, re-cycled, and re-purposed.  Paper speaks to me and Graphic 45 has done just that from the moment I discovered it several years ago.  I’ve been fortunate to have met Diane and Charee through retail shows and just love how they live vintage!

You know that old saying, "Do what you love, love what you do?" Well that is my paper art life through and through!  Sharing what I know with others is exactly where I want to be.  I'm also fortunate that my husband and son totally get what I do in this paper art world. My reward is definitely the journey and I love all that paper art has brought me and embrace whatever lies ahead.

The new year is almost here and it's the perfect time for calendars! Here is a wonderful 2013 calendar using lots of different Graphic 45 collections! Each month has its own unique and happy look!

2013 Calendar Months

Free Downloadable Calendar from:  http://www.calendarlabs.com

January: Ladies Diary, misc. trims, Ranger Old Paper Distress Ink

February: Kraft Reflections, Curiosity Shoppe, Quickie Glue Pen, Ultra Fine Glitter, Ranger, Vintage Photo Distress Ink.

March: Le Cirque Collection, Ranger Scattered Straw Distress Ink, misc. buttons, satin ribbon, Fiskars border punch, Ranger Old Paper Distress Ink.

April: Le Romantique, misc. trims, lace doily, seam binding (Zipper Stop.com)

May: Once Upon a Spring Time, Ranger Old Paper Distress Ink, Quickie Glue Pen and ultra fine glitter, gem.

June: A Proper Gentlemen, Ranger Vintage Photo Distress Ink, misc. jute.

July: Little Darlings, Ranger Old Paper and Vintage Photo Distress Ink, seam binding,    misc. crotchet trim (JoAnn).

August: Tropical Travelogue, Ranger Old Paper, Vintage Photo Distress Ink, seam binding, paper flower (Paper Mart.com), misc. gems.

September:  An ABC Primer, Ranger Vintage Photo Distress Ink, Creative Imaginations cord.

October: Bird Song, Prima gem, Mizuhiki cord,  mirror card scrap.

November: The Magic of Oz, Seam binding, ultra fine glitter w/Quickie Glue Pen

December: Nutcracker Sweet, ultra fine glitter w/Quickie Glue Pen, misc. gems, Ranger Vintage Photo Distress Ink.

Just in time for the holidays! Here is Lyn's amazing star tree topper! This lovely creation was made using the Graphic 45 Christmas Emporium collection along with beautiful embellishments. Follow her fun tutorial to create one for your Christmas tree! 

Brass Flower Clip

 Since the CD easel was made after the individual calendar months were created, the brass flower clip was designed to hold the months securely within the display area.  This was a total afterthought but I ended up really liking its functional purpose!

 

Supplies for embossing the Graphic 45 brass flower:

Graphic 45 Brass Clips

Vintaj Reliefing Block

Vintaj/Sizzix Nouveau Roses Embossing Sizzlit

Sizzix Big Kick or Similar Die Cutting Machine

Brad, Pliers, Jute

 

Place one flower at a time into the embossing folder and run through a die cutting machine.  Sand using the Vintaj relief block to add highlights.

Using the pliers, bend the petals in interesting ways by curling the ends, pressing the petals forward, bringing the petals in from the sides.  Just play with it!

Before stacking 2 flowers together, run a length of jute through the center hole in the bottom flower first.  Stack the flowers and insert a brad to hold in place.  Tie the jute ends through the brass clip and tie in a big bow.

Star Tree Topper

 

Supplies:

Christmas Emporium

Craft Store 8” Wood Stars

Lace Doily

Chunky Gold Glitter

Ribbon

Prima Flowers

Pins, Craft Store Bells

Tulle

Gems

Ultra Fine Glitter, Quickie Glue Pen

Every year my paper arts club donates a tree entirely made of hand crafted cards to our local museum’s festival of trees.  Each year I create a tree topper that is always two 8” craft store wood stars.  This year’s star reminded me of a box of vintage valentine cards that my mother had and I loved looking at.  I remember always seeing lots of lace doilies, glitter, ribbon and dimension, which is how this year’s design came about.

The wood star is used as a pattern to trace onto the pattern papers.  Brush Mod Podge onto the paper and affix onto the wood star using wax paper bunched up to smooth out and press the paper down.  Ranger Vintage Photo Distress Ink is blended around the edges to create depth. 

Place the two wrong sides of the stars together and wrap the ribbon around the star ending at one end.  Refer back to the main photo and tie a pretty bow.  I added tulle behind the green bow for added fluff.

The doily has an edge of gold chunky glitter round it.  Fussy cut a focal image and mount so it is really raised.

Lots of ultra fine glitter was added along with a sprinkle of gems.

Here’s a side view of how the height was created by making a tiny box ‘lid’ that is glued behind and affixed to the doily.

 And here’s the tree the star sits on!  There are over 130 cards on the tree!

Here is a really fun idea! It's an altered CD case using Olde Curiosity Shoppe! Follow this fun and easy tutorial to create one of your very own!

 Altered CD Calendar Case

 Supplies:  Calendar Case.com

Every year I teach a calendar class at our local LSS and this year I had decided the theme would be all Graphic 45 papers!  The individual calendars months needed to be displayed in an artistic way, so my idea to alter a CD calendar case began!

Finished CD Side View

 

Instructions:  (CD Directions 1)

 

Outside Spine and Back Cover showing taped areas:  6-7/8”x4-7/8”

Inside Cover showing taped areas:  5”x4-7/8”

Front Cover:  (CD Directions 2)

To complete the front cover, cut the inside cover paper first as well as any focal cut out area.  Next, decide what dimensional cutouts and borders will affix to the outside cover keeping in mind to reveal the background that will be taped to the inside cover.  Place the taped areas to hide behind any of the outside front cover items.

Finished CD in the Easel Position

Add additional paper to the inside Easel area as desired.

Here is another wonderful holiday craft creation! This is a stunning gift bag that's just perfect for this festive season! Customize your holiday gifts with a fun handmade gift bag! Lyn gives easy instruction on how you can make one for friends and family! What fun!

Gift Bag From Scratch

Supplies:

Christmas Emporium

Graphic 45 Decorative Brads

Office Supply Brown Kraft Paper

Hole Punch, Tape Runner, Crop-A-Dial

Empty Box to use as template

Call me crazy, but I love making gift bags from scratch using an ordinary roll brown kraft paper, especially because I can control what size bag I’m making based on the empty box used as a template.  Generally, I decorate just one side of the bag as that is the focal area.

Here’s a view from the side showing more of the bag construction.

Just like wrapping a gift, begin by folding over the top edge and then simply wrap the paper around the box being careful to leave the box extending beyond the edge of the paper so it can be easily removed.

Fold and tape one end only just as you would when wrapping a gift.

Pull out the box and your bag is created!  For stability, trace the bottom of the box onto chipboard and cut out.  Here I cut two for extra sturdiness.  Insert the chipboard inside the bag and secure in place with tape runner.

The handles were cut 2” x 12” and folded in half lengthwise.  Run tape on the inside to secure the long folded edge, but leave about 1-1’2” free of tape at the ends.  Cut a slit up the fold about 1-1/2” and lay both sides over the top edge of the bag.  Punch a hole through the handles and bag and secure with a brad.  Decorate as desired!

To create the bag, begin with a clean, empty box that is taped closed. 

Here's another fun holiday idea! It's a handmade gift box featuring Nutcracker Sweet! This is another great way to add some more love to your holiday gift-giving! Follow Lyn's fun instructions to create your own handmade gift box!

 Nutcracker Sweet Gift Box

Supplies: 

Nutcracker Sweet, Score Board (Martha Stewart), Scoring Tool, Tape Runner, May Arts Mesh Ribbon, Memory Box Die Cut, Paper Flowers (Paper Mart), Misc. Stick Pins, lace doily, feathers, tulle

 As my supply of Nutcracker Sweet paper was dwindling rapidly, I wanted to have enough to make a gift box and these were literally the last few large sheets that were left!  As a lover of dance since my childhood, Nutcracker Sweet was truly speaking to me as I fondly remembered my ballet days dressed in pretty tutus, sparkly sequins, and soft tulle.  I didn’t want to cover up the pretty pattern paper design so the focal bow ended up in the top corner.

I created the mesh bow first, hot glued a large tulle bow behind the mesh and then built the rest of the dimensionals behind the tulle.  Anything goes here.

Here’s a side view of the box showing a cut out border affixed to the bottom edge of the top cover to give more stability.

The box is 6x6 with 3” sides when finished and makes a versatile size for gift giving.

 Here’s how it was made:

Start with bottom first:

For a 6" square box that has 3" sides, the formula for scoring is as follows:

6" + 3" + 3" (totalling 12") or Box Size plus two times the height of the sides.

To create the side flaps, cut at the 3" and 9" cutting lines on two sides only. Apply tape runner to 3 sides of the center section on two sides as per pattern photo and affix each flap to create the box shape.

For the lid to fit properly, you must add 1/8" to the size of your box. In my example, a 6" box bottom will now become a 6-1/8" box lid.

 To make everything fit correctly, I scored at 2-7/8" and at 9". However, I trimmed away 1/8" on the 9" sides for everything to be square. If you scored all sides at 2-7/8" your lid will be 6-1/4" which is too large.

I used the Martha Stewart score board as it has 1/8" increments.  Her board also has a key inside the cubby that holds the scoring tool with dimensions for making several different box sizes.

Here is a great gift idea! It's a beautiful Tropical Travelogue altered composition book. This is a wonderful idea for friends or family of all ages. Composition books have so many uses and this great tutorial will show you how to make a beautiful customized book for someone you love!

Composition Book

Supplies:
Tropical Travelogue
Brass Butterfly
Creative Imaginations Cord
Mod Podge
Ranger Sanding Block

There’s something about a composition book that I have to cover before I can begin using it as my sketch/idea/notes book.  It takes me about one year to get through using a book and I save all of them as they are sometimes handy to refer back to.  They do take a beating being carried in my purse, but everything I need to jot down, sketch, create an idea, or write goes in there and I can’t live with one always by my side.

 This project goes together quickly and makes a great gift or project for any age group. 

 Here’s how to cover the book:

Begin by sanding the outside front and back covers to create a toothy surface for the glue to have something to really grab onto.  Leaving the cover as is will cause the paper to lift away prematurely.  I prefer using a wet glue (Modg Podg) for almost all of my book altering projects as it gets in every crack and crevice for optimum adhesion.  After sanding, wipe off excess flakes.

Trace the front and back covers using the book as your pattern onto the pattern paper.  For the inside covers, place the paper on the inside cover and trace again.  Next, paint the Modg Podg with a brush onto the paper starting from the center and working out toward the edges.  Cover all area of the paper.

Lay the glued paper onto the cover starting with a corner and working your way down the page.  Modg Podg is very forgiving and you’ll have time to slide it into place before it dries. 

To really burnish the paper onto the cover securely, wad up a piece of wax paper into a ball and rub it all over the paper and over the edges.  You’re looking for every bit of the paper to be glued securely.  If you missed an area, just go in and dab glue where needed.  The beauty of using wax paper to burnish is it slides really well over the surface and gets out all the bumps or bubbles.

Here’s how simple my back cover is.  I left the black spine as is and built a little border out from the edge

I added a big splash of color for the inside covers.

Finally, here’s a close up of the little dangly trims.  I put the butterfly through a Vintaj embossing folder and colored it with Ranger alcohol inks and then bent it with pliers.  A little bit of Ranger Vintage Photo was added to the sticker tag for depth.

That's all for today, G45ers. We want to thank the incredible Lyn Bernatovich for her gorgeous work today. We had so much fun getting to share her fantastic talent with all of you! We encourage you all to check out Lyn's amazing blog for even more craft inspiration and fun.

Lyn's Blog:

http://lynspaperpetunia.blogspot.com/

We wish you all a very happy rest of your day and a great weekend! Come back and see us on Monday for more fabulous craft inspiration, blog prizes and much more! We have some real treats planned for all of you!

Happy Papercrafting!

Your Friends at Graphic 45

 

 

Comments

[Amy Kluchesky]

Great ideas. I never thought of cover a CD case before.

[Cora Miller]

Always amazed by the range of talent displayed by the clever crafts you show. I am in the middle of a project using Bird Song as I am a late comer to your wonderful papers & fancy goods. I am making a photo diary of my workings to remind myself of the amount that goes into each piece.
Thank you for the inspiration to make me a better crafter.
Regards Cora Miller Australia.

[Dorothy]

Everything is so awesome!!!

[barbara f]

As always great ideas and inspiration. I never cease to be amazed at the creations and the artistry!!

[julie Tucker-Wolek]

Wow wow and more wowwwwww! These are all gorgeous!

[Sharon Young]

All I can say is wow! Lyn what fantastic projects you shared. Thank You. And thank You G45. We are all so blessed that incredible artists like Lyn are willing to share.

[maryjanew]

What a wonderful bunch of ideas and inspiration! So very creative! Thanks.

[Donna Ellis]

So many great projects, my mind is reeling! Love how Lyn used all the G45 lines to make that calendar.

[leah Salter]

Inspiring!

[Jocelyn Cazier]

Great, great ideas! Especially for using up scraps left over from projects!

[Charlie LaBotne]

WOW....I spied several new things to put into my crafty head...Great Ideas.

[Barbara Diane]

Hello!

I have Lyn's blog on my list of Graphic 45 artists that I visit every day and her talent in awesome. I love all of the projects today - especially the composition book as I love to make these! I also love the November calendar page and the altered CD case! Thank you for featuring Lyn's work - you have such beautiful papers to create with and she is a master! Wishing you a happy weekend! We have so much sunshine again this morning here in this part of WI - I hope that you do too!

Hugs,

Barbara Diane

[Jeniff]

This projects are very inspirational.

[Mary]

Wonderful ideas!!! Happy inspiring Friday!!

[Jackie H]

Wonderful and creative projects !! I will be back later to soak it up!

[Jenna]

Wow- that's a years worth of inspiration and projects right here!!!

[Enikö DeLisle]

What wonderful ideas...love the tree topper & both calendars are lovely. Great idea with the CD cover & love the wrapping tutorials!

[JOYCE]

Wow, such wondferful progects, too make great one to mention. Love them all.

[bonnie]

I've had the pleasure to take classes from and with Lyn - she is a wonderful person, always willing to share ideas and techniques and her work is always beautiful. Bravo!

[Caroline]

Wow, Never ending inspiration. What's not to love with distressed, shabby chic & Graphic 45?? The brass clip is gorgeous. TFS :)

[{vicki}]

wonderful
wonderful wonderful
projects

LOVe the star tree topper and the gift bag!
They are my two faves!

[butterfly]

Great inspiration throughout, thank you! That tree is something else!!
Alison x

[Rita P.]

thanks so much. Too much of a good thing really is wonderful.

[Sue B.]

Fun fun fun thanks for the ideas.

[Der Her]

Wonderful work. Love every projects.

[Amy Armour]

Ok, my head just exploded, seriously! I'll be back when I find all the pieces...lol! Just lovely!

[fusiafscrapping]

Your creations are just so cute and pretty. Thanks for sharing.

[Kent Mullens]

Great Projects... so Creative. It is always good when your family gets you and supports. I am blessed that way also..

[Marcia Crawford]

Thank YOU so much Lynn,what inspiration!! Loved everything....will keep me going for a long while, you are amazing and of course the Graphic 45 paper made it much more so amazing. Merry Christmas!

[Eugene Bellion]

This woman is amazing! I want to be just like her when my crafting grows up...

[inga klaus]

I could spend all day just looking at these wonderful projects. I keep going back to see if I missed anything oh and to wipe the drool up.
Thank you so much for the inspiration!

[orlie]

Lynn needs to be on G45's design team She is Great.

[Pam]

What a wonderfully talented & inspirational person Lyn is! The calendar pages are extraordinary and the tree topper is fabulous. The altered CD case is just gorgeous, as are all of Lyn's creations. She & Graphic 45 were made for each other. Her enthusiasm for this crafting that she loves comes through on every piece she creates. Can't wait for what comes next!

[Diana Pyeatt]

I am so impressed! Lynn, you do wonderful work. All your blog projects are so inspiring and G45 makes everything better!

[Michelle Salazar]

Wow amazing work and lots of inspiration to get crafting!

[Susanna]

Clearly Lyn doesn't sleep! I wouldn't either if I was so chocked full of inspiration! What incredible projects!!!!!! Thanks so much for sharing!!!!

[Tona]

Oh wow! What fantastic projects!!!
My LSS finally got Place in Time in so I'm picking that up tomorrow. Now I need to find some Little Darlings because I just found out that I'm going to be a grandma :)

[Helen Cooke]

Thanks for introducing us to Lyn and her gorgeous creations!

[Gloria Stengel]

Wonderful work. What a feast for the eyes. Welcome to the blog, Lyn!

[Gwen Moss]

Wow, what a glorious assortment of fantastic projects. So much inspiration. Thanks.