My Birthday Show! Creative Mojo June 15, 2011

It’s the middle day of the middle month!

I’ve always considered it a lucky day

because

It’s my birthday!

(And I wouldn’t want to share it with anyone else but you!)

It’s

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

and time for

\

Just log onto www.toginet.com

A brand new, LIVE, 2-hour

Creative Mojo with Mark Lipinski!

3 pm -5 pm EST 2 pm – 4 pm CST 1 pm – 3 pm MST 12 pm – 2 pm PST

Call into the live show with your questions or comments for my guests

(877) 864-4869

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CLICK HERE to join Mark’s FACEBOOK Fan Page!

CLICK HERE to follow Mark’s Twitter updates!

CLICK HERE to join Mark’s Pickle Road Studio Posse on Yahoo!

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If you’re on Facebook or active in blog-land you might recognize my co-host . . . .

MEET

my real co-host . . .

San Francisco

Mojo Fan, Art Quilter & Needleworker

Jaye Lapachet

About Jaye . . .

Jaye, comes from a long line of needlewomen. When they weren’t playing cards, chasing children, cooking, running the household or working at jobs outside the home, they were doing some handwork – crocheting, embroidery, knitting, sewing. One of her first memories of needlework is watching the women of her family sitting around crocheting. Her maternal great grandmother crocheted rugs out of bread bags and Jaye’s other maternal great grandmother (on her maternal grandfather’s side) bought a doll for her at the local thrift store and made a variety of outfits for it as a gift. She remembers sitting with her godmother learning to embroidery on muslin stamped with blue designs and working on her first crewel project, which was a dollhouse filled with furniture.

Jaye has made quilts since 1986, when she took a quiltmaking course at a local Adult School. Since then she has explored many different styles and techniques and now uses machine piecing and quilting for most of her quilts. She is interested in the interplay of colors in quilt design and enjoys working in series in order to study the effects that slight changes to design and color can have on a piece.

Ms. Lapachet is a member of numerous quilting groups and organizations. She is interested in the process of working on quilts collaboratively as well as individually. Before she began making quilts, Ms. Lapachet made collages out of found images and ephemera. She also painted using acrylics on canvas and watercolors on paper. In addition to quiltmaking, she has taken courses in drawing, painting, watercolors, art history, design, and general sewing.

She also enjoys writing and teaching.

Here are some examples of Jaye’s work

CLICK HERE to visit Jaye’s blog

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Creativity . . .

can make you healthy!

Are you having a hard time understanding the importance of finding creative outlets and time in your busy schedule? I know I do. Sucks, doesnt’ it?

Meet

Louisville-based journalist,

Diana Rodriguez

About Diana . . .

Diana Rodriguez is a full-time freelance writer who specializes in health writing and feature stories, as well as writing custom Web content for a variety of businesses. She started freelancing in 2006, and took the full-time plunge in 2008. She has written extensively for HealthDay, and her work has appeared on a number of Web sites, including MSN and Yahoo!, and is building her website and brand as The Pen Jockey. Diana holds a B.A. in journalism and French from Miami University. She lives in Louisville, Ky., with her husband and toddling daughter.

CLICK HERE to visit Diana’s website, The Pen Jockey!

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Realistic Painting

A step by step transformational painting method!

Meet

Artist and Author

Daniel Carrel

A little about Dan . . .

Dan is a masterful artist who has been teaching art for more than thirty-four years. Although he has taught at five universities and colleges, much of his experience and passion focuses on helping nontraditional students learn or relearn to access mental functions associated with art. What motivates him is a deeply held conviction that artistic expression is the birthright of every living soul, and it is his mission to help you access that divine right. Dan shows his students how to create the underlying painting structure of color chaos, which allows the student to see and discover the basic visual patterns that are needed to complete a realistic painting. Even if you never picked up a paintbrush, you’ll find yourself painting beyond your wildest expectations.

Take a look at Dan’s book:

(OMG! I LOVE THIS BOOK!!! xoxom):

CLICK HERE to purchase Dan’s beautiful new book:

Realistic Painting Workshop: Creative Methods for Painting from Life

Here is just some of Dan’s artwork . . .

CLICK HERE to visit Dan’s website!

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A Piece of the Creative Pie . . .

Meet

Author

Gina Hyams

A little bit about Gina . . .

Gina Hyams is an author and editor who specializes in mysterious and confounding subjects, such as pie, nannies, extraterrestrial encounters, the history of incense, folk art, facials, pink palapas, death, and room service.

She is the creator of Pie Contest in a Box: Everything You Need to Host a Pie Contest (Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2011). Her other books include the bestselling travel-design titles, In a Mexican Garden: Courtyards, Pools, and Open-Air Living Rooms and Mexicasa: The Enchanting Inns and Haciendas of Mexico, as well as Pacific Spas: Luxury Getaways on the West Coast, Day of the Dead Box, The Campfire Collection: Thrilling, Chilling Tales of Alien Encounters, and Incense: Rituals, Mystery, Lore (Chronicle Books). She is also co-editor of the anthology, Searching for Mary Poppins: Women Write About the Relationship Between Mothers and Nannies (Hudson Street Press and Plume, divisions of Penguin U.S.A.); it won a 2007 NAPPA Honors Award (National Parenting Publications Awards for Parenting Resources).

Gina was a contributing editor to Berkshire Living. Her essays and articles have also appeared in Huffington Post, Newsweek, San Francisco, Organic Style, Ideal Destinations, Healing Lifestyles & Spas, and Salon.com. She has contributed to Fodor’s Travel Publications, National Public Radio, and numerous anthologies. She was honored for her Twitter stylings by Mashable: The Social Media Guide in Nonfiction Tweets: 70+ Authors to Follow on Twitter.

Her background also includes extensive experience in marketing and public relations on behalf of Berkshire Crafts Fair, Berkshire Playwrights Lab, Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, Berkshire Theatre Festival, Elements/Jill Schwartz, Hancock Shaker Village, HarperCollins Publishers, Heritage Museums and Gardens, Holson Productions, Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, The Mount, Mother Jones magazine, San Francisco State University Poetry Center, and Victoria Kirby Public Relations.

Gina has done pro bono work on behalf of Berkshire International Film Festival, Meals on Wheels Association of America, Monument Mountain Regional High School, and WBCR-lp Berkshire Community Radio. She also serves as a member of the Berkshire Creative Economic Council.

Raised in San Francisco, she now lives in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts with her husband, Dave Barrett, and daughter, Annalena.

Gina talking P-I-E!

CLICK HERE to order Gina’s, Pie Contest in a Box!

CLICK HERE to visit Gina’s website!

Now meet New York City’s

Queen Esther

Singer and actress Queen Esther grew up in Charleston, South Carolina, with a large, loving extended family that included grandparents and greatgrandparents. She says her mother made the best sweet potato piesthat she was an effortless baker who used
very simple ingredients and never measured anything. For Queen Esther, baking pie is a way to keep her creative
juices fl owing. “It’s a lovely way to get lost in my own home,” she says. “When I bake, something clicks and I stop
thinkingand that’s when real creativity tends to emerge.”

Queen Esther’s Pie Contest Tip: “Only one—be yourself. Make it up as you go along, and more of you will be in what you create than you’d dare to think.”

And here’s Queen Esther’s winning recipe from Pie Contest in a Box!

Sweet Aplewood-Smoked Bacon Aple Pie
by Queen Esther

Best Savory Pie Winner at the 2010 Roaring ’20s Jazz Age Lawn Party Pie Contest on New York’s Governors Island

Crust
✽ 2/3 cup shortening
✽ 2 cups all-purpose flour
✽ 1 to 3 tablespoons cold water, or a bit more as needed
Filling
✽ 8 to 10 medium/large Granny Smith apples
✽ 7 slices of applewood-smoked bacon
✽ 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter, sliced
✽ ½ lemon
✽ 3 tablespoons clover honey
✽ ¼ cup all-purpose flour
✽ ¼ cup firmly packed brown sugar
✽ ½ teaspoon ginger
✽ ½ teaspoon allspice
✽ 1 tablespoon cinnamon
✽ ½ teaspoon ground cloves

Preheat the oven to 400°F. While you peel and thinly slice the apples, cook the bacon slowly until it’s soft and chewynot hard. Dice the butter by taking a pat and cutting into fourths. Set sliced apples, bacon, and butter aside, while you prepare the crust.
✽ ✽ ✽
Mix the shortening and flour together gradually with a fork and add water until the dough reaches the appropriate consistency. Cut the dough in half and roll out onto a floured surface with a rolling pin, placing one round section into a 9-inch pie pan, cutting the edges where appropriate. Roll out and shape the top and set aside.
✽ ✽ ✽
Squeeze the lemon over the apples and pour the honey over them, tossing them lightly. Combine flour, brown sugar, ginger, allspice, cinnamon, and ground cloves in a small bowl, stir, then sprinkle over the apples and toss lightly.
✽ ✽ ✽
Take 3 slices of bacon, cut them into ½-inch pieces, and cover the bottom of the pie crust. Place one layer of apples over this, along with 4 small cubes of butter. Continue layering the pie with one slice of bacon cut into ½-inch pieces, apple, and butter cubes until the pie is a mound, topped with apple and the last of the butter. Cover it with the rest of the dough. Be sure to make slits in the dough. Place in the oven and bake for 30 to 40 minutes. Let it rest for an hour before serving. Enjoy!
—From Pie Contest in a Box by Gina Hyams/Andrews McMeel Publishing

How could I …

tease you with the new pie making trend and not share TWO of my own, Mark Lipinski’s fav-o-rite pie recipes!

Luscious Blackberry Apple Pie

Ingredients

• 1 pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie
• 5 cups thinly sliced, peeled cooking apples
• 1 pint fresh blackberries, rinsed and drained
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon water or milk
• Additional sugar

Directions

1. Place bottom pastry in a 9-in. pie plate; top with a thin layer of apples. Combine blackberries and remaining apples in a large bowl; sprinkle with lemon juice. Add sugar and cornstarch and toss gently. Spoon into pie shell; dot with butter. Top with a lattice crust; seal edges. Combine egg and water or milk; brush over lattice top and pie edges. Bake at 375 degrees F for 50 minutes or until filling is bubbly and apples are tender. Sprinkle with additional sugar. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Source: http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/blackberry-apple-pie/Detail.aspx

Extreme Banana Cream Pie

Ingredients

• 1 pkg. (16.5 oz.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Refrigerated Chocolate Chip Cookie Bar Dough
• 1 bottle (16 fl. oz.) Buncha Banana Flavor NESTLÉ NESQUIK Refrigerated Ready-to-Drink Milk
• 1 pkg. (6-serving size) banana or vanilla instant pudding and pie filling mix
• 1 container (8 oz.) frozen whipped topping, thawed, divided
• 2 medium bananas, sliced, divided

Directions

PREHEAT oven to 350° F. Grease 9 1/2-inch pie plate.PRESS 20 squares* of dough onto bottom and up side of prepared plate.BAKE for 18 to 22 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely on wire rack.BEAT Nesquik, pudding mix and half of whipped topping in large mixer bowl on low speed until combined. Increase speed and beat for 2 minutes or until thick.PLACE half of banana slices over bottom of crust. Pour half of pudding mixture over bananas. Top withremaining sliced bananas. Pour remaining pudding mixture over bananas. Spread with remainingwhipped topping. Refrigerate for 2 hours.* You will have 4 squares left. Refrigerate for future use or bake and enjoy!

Source: http://www.verybestbaking.com/recipes/129036/Extreme-Banana-Cream-Pie/detail.aspx

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Begin a Creative Book Club!

How to plan, start and continue a book group for creative people (like you!)

Meet

Quilt Designer, Author, Business Owner, Fellow Creative and Friend

TOBY PRESTON

A little about Toby’s shop, Kindred Quilts . . .

Kindred Quilts is located in the quintessential town of Clinton, New Jersey – a pre-revolutionary town that has managed to maintain its charm in spite of development.
We are located at the very end of East Main Street, across from the Post Office. There is parking in the rear of the building.
When you visit, make sure you leave time to walk the one block to Main St. Clinton is a beautiful town.

We love fabric, threads, quilts, embroidery, punchneedle, wools, ah… the list goes on. We are insatiable and we bet you might be too!

Our small shop is packed with approximately 2000 bolts of gorgeous cottons, Weeks Dye Works hand-dyed wools, books and patterns, punchneedle and whatever strikes our fancy for the season.

Blessed with a staff that is as passionate as its’ owner, enthusiasm is not hard to find! The walls are smothered in quilts. Inspiration even hangs from the ceiling!

Because of individual talent, Kindred Quilts has appeared in several issues of McCall’s Quilting, McCall’s Quick Quilts, Quilter’s Home Magazine and Irish Quilting.

We hope you enjoy the shop if and when you visit, and of course the website!

Click here to visit Toby’s website!

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Pets are Hot! Hot! Hot!

We’ve got the cure for summer pet care!

Before I introduce you to my Mojo guest, I want you to meet my furry crew . . . .

Petunia Lipinski

Violet Lipinski

And, Principessa

Tulip Lipinski

N-O-W

Meet

my Mojo guest

Paola Hernandez

About Paola . . .

Paola Hernandez is the Director of Communications for the New Jersey Veterinary Medical Association (NJVMA). The NJVMA was founded in 1884 and is a professional association representing the state’s veterinarians. The NJVMA is dedicated to advancing the veterinary profession in New Jersey. Paola manages all publications, media relations, and social media for the association.

About the New Jersey Veterinary Medical Association . . .

The New Jersey Veterinary Medical Association was founded in 1884 and is a professional association representing the state’s licensed veterinarians. The NJVMA is dedicated to advancing the veterinary profession in New Jersey.

The Executive Board is the governing body of the NJVMA. Committees and task forces are charged with accomplishing the objectives of the association at the direction of the Executive Board. Committees are responsible for the ongoing work of the association. Task forces are utilized to accomplish specific projects within a limited time frame.

The NJVMA serves its members in many ways. One of its most important functions is the representation of the viewpoints of veterinarians to the state legislature and regulatory agencies. The Legislative Committee works with our legislative agent and our executive director to monitor and analyze legislation and regulations. Responses are formulated with the approval of the Executive Board. The Political Action Committee supports the work of the Legislative Committee. The introduction of legislation is also a function of these groups and advice is given by our legal counsel in these and other matters.

The association is a significant information resource, both for its members and for those outside the profession. It is a nexus point for all the issues, factors, and organizations that will have an impact on New Jersey’s veterinarians. The NJVMA communicates items of importance to its members via faxes and membergrams, all of which are overseen by the Member Communications Committee. Members are also just a phone call away from answers to their specific questions because of the expertise and availability of our executive director at the NJVMA headquarters.

The NJVMA interacts regularly with several outside groups via our liaisons, namely to the AVMA, by our Delegate and Alternate. The association also promotes a positive image of veterinarians through its public relations efforts. One of it most-successful programs is the Animal Hall of Fame, which celebrates the human-animal bond.

The NJVMA assists its members in several ways by providing excellent continuing education via the Annual Meeting and the Winter Seminar, supplying member benefit programs which is overseen by the Membership Committee, and offering a voluntary Hospital Inspection Program.

The Finance Committee, chaired by the treasurer, submits a budget to the Executive Board to reflect the association’s strategic priorities. In addition, it is responsible for seeking sources of revenue for the NJVMA. Proper management of the association’s finances ensures that resources are available to support its many important projects.

The NJVMA is a dynamic and effective advocate for the veterinary profession. It represents and serves New Jersey’s veterinarians like no other organization can.
Volunteers Working on Behalf of Your Profession on the State Level

The NJVMA Executive Board is comprised of four officers, one representative from each of the eight constituent veterinary associations in New Jersey, New Jersey’s AVMA delegate and alternate, two members selected each year by the president to serve as at-large members, and two members serving their second year as at-large members appointed by the immediate past president. The Board is assisted by executive director, Rick Alampi, and advised by its consultants, Steve Brawer, Esq. and the legislative agent team from Princeton Public Affairs Group. Committee and task force chairs, liaisons and representatives from the Department of Agriculture submit reports to the Board and are invited to attend Board meetings to participate in discussions or share information. The Board meets in open session six times per year – NJVMA members are always welcome to attend the meetings of the Board.

The Board establishes policies on behalf of the NJVMA membership and gives direction to the executive director, committees, and task forces. The Board must be fiscally responsible to its members and should ensure that adequate resources are available for the projects and activities it has initiated. The goals and objectives established by the Board must be consistent with the association’s mission and strategic plan. The policies, programs, and finances are designed to support the goals identified initially during the strategic plan, last updated in 2003.

In order to respond effectively to external changes, which affect veterinary practice and the emerging needs of it members, the Board is committed to working harder and faster, especially with the input we receive from the membership. The Board will remain flexible and will respond to changing demands while maintaining the association’s mission.

Each Board member carries significant responsibilities while serving in that role. Preparation for and attendance at each Board meeting is required. Board members are encouraged to participate fully during meetings. Anyone attending the meeting is invited to share information and express opinions relevant to items under the Board’s consideration. Constituent representatives shall present a summary of the Board’s activities to their local associations after each Board meeting. The constituent representatives shall also bring concerns from their local association to the NJVMA Executive Board’s attention.

CLICK HERE to visit the New Jersey Veterinary Medical Association website!

2010 Animal Hall of Fame – Meet Ricky

of the New Jersey Veterinary Medical Association

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