When it comes to Mother's Day gifts, I have always most enjoyed the handmade, heartfelt ones: poems, drawings, pinch pots, and the like. Even as my girls have grown into adulthood, I've made it clear I prefer something from the heart over something from the mall. (My birthday is a different story).

After 23 years of marriage, I have finally figured out how to make it easy for my husband to get me what I want for my birthday. He's not too comfortable in the lingerie department and he can't keep track of which books I've already read. Although we have identical taste in home furnishings, he gets in a dither when he has too many choices. I don't really need jewelry and I don't wear perfume.

One of the best classes I've ever taken was my one-day soy wax fabric art session with Jeannie Palmer Moore last summer.

Paint has always been part of the mixed-media repertoire, but right now, painting is hot, hot, hot. Everyone seems to be painting, learning about painting, or has painting on their creative agenda.

What is mixed media? At its essence, mixed-media art is about using more than one medium in a piece of art. Beyond that requirement, mixed-media art techniques are boundless. To give you an idea of the range, we've assembled five different mixed-media artists with five different approaches in Exploring Mixed Media Techniques: 5 Free Mixed Media Art Techniques and Projects, a new eBook.

Decorative papers always catch my eye. I've been known to drop serious amounts of cash in those fancy paper product and art stores. But when I get them home, I always hate to use them—they're too precious. So when it comes to mixed-media art, I find it's easier and much less expensive to make your own papers for paper crafts or backgrounds.

When you're trying to make mixed-media art but you're short on time, what's the best step you can take? Over the years, I've heard many artists say the answer is to prepare backgrounds in advance.