Artists and craftspeople know that the colors they choose — and leave out — are critical ingredients in their works' success, no matter the medium.

Browse the best quilts in the state at the Arizona Quilters Guild’s annual show, where a sew-a-thon will benefit the Child Crisis Center.

The tragic shooting of 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn., felt particularly personal to many students and teachers, including fourth-grade teacher Jaime Hunt at Higley Unified School District’s Cortina Elementary School in Queen Creek.

Tis the season in which family problems become magnified. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, thank your lucky heritage. Mixed up in our holiday cheer is nearly always increased strain in relationships. It’s eerie. It begins to build soon after Halloween, kind of like a dust devil that stirs up emotional junk.

‘Tis the season in which family problems become magnified. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, thank your lucky heritage. Mixed up in our holiday cheer is nearly always increased strain in relationships. It’s eerie. It begins to build soon after Halloween, kind of like a dust devil that stirs up emotional junk.

Glasses are lined neatly one after the other, grouped together by pattern. Wine glasses, champagne flutes, goblets, tumblers — some colored, cut or etched — fill the cabinets that line all of the walls of The Glass Urn in Mesa.

A desire to recycle, save money and add that personal, imaginative touch is what entices many crafty people to create what easily can be bought. This time of year, that includes crafting a lunch sack.

The Ahwatukee Prickly Piecers have been working to complete an “opportunity quilt” to raise money for their guild chapter to pay rent for the church where they meet, to pay for the charges to their sew-in’s for charity, to buy fabric, batting, thread, webbing, and more. It will also pay for workshops with teachers to learn sewing techniques that can be used in charity work.

A desire to recycle, save money and add that personal, imaginative touch is what entices many crafty people to create what easily can be bought. This time of year, that includes crafting a lunch sack.

When I think Halloween, I think of my friend Twila, who does it up big. She teams up with Chery, one of the designers at Nell Hill's, and the two of them have a ball as they make over Twila's house.

If you’re itching to take up knitting or are stuck in a beadwork project, there’s help — and many classes — online.

If you're itching to take up knitting or are stuck in a beadwork project, there's help - and many classes - online.

On this side of the aisle, weathered barn boards and a chipped farmhouse table are laden with patchwork toys, quilts and wooden pull toys. On the other, the latest innovation in holographic technology turns a kid's iPad case into a mini surfing movie.

The Valley must hold some kind of record for how many people vacate the city over Labor Day weekend. It has to, because with temperatures still bordering on insufferable, having three days to escape the heat sounds like a great idea. Consult our roundup of events across Arizona if you’re itching to hightail it to cooler climes for a day or the weekend. Just be sure to call ahead to check for any last-minute changes.

The Valley must hold some kind of record for how many people vacate the city over Labor Day weekend. It has to, because with temperatures still bordering on insufferable, having three days to escape the heat sounds like a great idea. Consult our roundup of events across Arizona if you’re itching to hightail it to cooler climes for a day or the weekend. Just be sure to call ahead to check for any last-minute changes.

In a GPS world, physical maps are becoming quaint relics for travelers. But decor with a map theme is hot.