I was among a lucky group of women who got invited to a special opening of the store and I left the place with a LOAD of great bargains. Here’s a list of my delightful finds, all for $134.19:

• a name-brand (can’t say the brand) dress for me to wear to my Godson’s first communion
• a boutique-quality  sundress for my teen
• two pairs of shoes (also name brand) for my 4-year-old
• a name-brand summer top for me
• a “sliders” burger basket for my grill
• a “Live Laugh Love” wall decal for my family room
• an 18×24 wooden framed mirror for my kitchen

As promised, I found the same brand names carried in department and specialty stores priced at 20 percent to 60 percent less at Ross. In fact, the above-mentioned dress would have cost me nearly “$130 at my favorite department store, and I got everything on that list for $134.

Ross Dress for Less stores — more than 1,000 nationwide — have been in business for 30 years and carry apparel, shoes and accessories for the whole family, as well as home fashions. It’s literally a treasure hunt shopping experience.

The Ross “strategy” is “no frills, big thrills.” And that holds true in the store — no  fancy displays or staging of the merchandise but thrilling merchandise just the same. Despite the “no frills,” the store was super organized and easy to navigate,  and the racks aren’t overstuffed like you find in some discount stores. Plus, the associates were helpful, efficient and informed, even on the first day the store was opened for business. I think that bodes well for the customer service going forward.

But don’t take it from me — try it out for yourself. I was told (and I believe) that the best way to find those treasures at Ross is to visit often and snatch them up when you find them. Enter the contest below for a $25 Ross Dress for Less giftcard  to get you started.

Giveaway Guidelines:

To enter the contest, you MUST subscribe to Lipstick to Crayons (subscribe button in upper right corner) and then comment below that you did so (or leave a comment telling me you’re already a subscriber). After completing this mandatory first entry method, you can gain additional entries by doing any or all of the following (but be sure to leave a separate comment for each thing you do):

1. Blog about this contest.
2. Tweet this giveaway on Twitter (You can tweet daily, but leave a comment for each time you do so).
3. Add Lipstick to Crayons to your blogroll or my button to your sidebar
4. Become a fan of Lipstick to Crayons on Facebook.
5. Post a link to this contest on your Facebook page.

This giveaway closes at 11:59 p.m. Central time March 20, 2012. Be sure to include a valid email address with each of your entries. The winner will be randomly chosen via random.org and will be notified via email and announced on this post.

If the winner does not claim the prize by March 23, 2012, she will forfeit the prize to an alternate winner who will be drawn at random.

THIS CONTEST IS CLOSED. CONGRATULATIONS TO CAROLSUE, COMMENT #39.

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I recently had the pleasure of spending two nights at this urban B&B when my teenage daughter and I were in Indianapolis for a swim meet.  Here are some of the things we loved about the Nestle Inn:

The home has the historic look and feel of an old dwelling, dating back to the mid-1800’s, but it has all the modern amenities tucked within its walls. Our room was furnished with a large, comfortable bed and an awesome mattress, a nice desk for working/surfing, fast, wireless Internet, modern bathroom fixtures and toiletries, and a beautiful antique wardrobe that housed a nice television and DVD player. Plus, despite the frigid temperatures outside, the house was WARM — unusual for an older structure.

The Inn is “nestled” into Mass Avenue in Indy, making it a great place to visit anytime of year because of its proximity to the theatre, arts, shopping, pubs, breweries and fabulous restaurants. It literally is in the heart of the theatre district, and although we didn’t get to enjoy any of the theatre venues because of our swim meet schedule, we loved the environment of the surrounding blocks. The area is busy with foot traffic and abuzz with people having fun, making it a fun place to be, even if you are going to be spending most of your time at IUPUI’s Natatorium. And speaking of IUPUI, it only took us minutes to drive from the B&B to the campus and the Natatorium, as well as all the other downtown hotspots. The Nestle Inn also sits on the Cultural Trail in Indy, which is a bike and pedestrian path that is nine miles long and connects all the “neighborhoods” of the city.

Innkeepers Leesa and Bob Smith strive to deliver individualized service to their guests. They helped us navigate the city (and even “talked me back” to the Inn one night when I managed to get hopelessly lost after leaving the pool); left movies in our room after I had inquired where to rent them because we just wanted to relax after a long day; and prepared a “breakfast care package to go” for my teen and left it hanging on our doorknob after learning that she had to be in the pool for warm-ups by 6 a.m. and would, therefore, miss breakfast at the Inn.

The library at the Inn is amazing. My first morning there, I woke before my daughter and carried my laptop into the library to answer emails and do some Internet research. The furniture was comfortable; the walls were lined with interesting books and periodicals; and the coffee, creamers and snacks set out on the table were a wonderful surprise, considering I was up before the sun the house sounded as though everyone was still sleeping.

Parking was easy, which was unexpected considering the urban setting. Most times, we were able to find a spot on the street right in front of the Inn. But, Leesa gave us a pass to a parking lot one block away in case we couldn’t find street parking or were unsuccessful achieving a solid parallel parking job.

The food was delicious and FUN. That’s because during the week, you are treated to breakfast next door at Henry’s Coffee Bistro, an eclectic coffee shop with lattes, hot breakfast sandwiches, sweets and waffles for breakfast and a host other tasty food for brunch and lunch. On Saturday and Sunday, breakfast is at the Inn and the one I enjoyed included delights such as “just right potato bites,” an Eggs Benedict-like entree, fresh fruit and homemade banana-bread muffins, among other treats.

Now that I’ve shared what I loved about the Nestle Inn, let me share some additional trivia about this wonderful B&B:

Bob and Leesa purchased the Inn in September 2011 from the previous innkeepers who wanted to retire. (They had operated the Inn since 2000). Bob is a psychotherapist and a 29-year career firefighter/paramedic. Leesa is an Innkeeper with more than 29 years experience in the hospitality industry and in business and marketing.

In the mid-1800s, Jonathon and Alice Stewart lived in a small, one-story dwelling on the site of the current Nestle Inn. In 1896, John built their residence as a two-family home, adjoining two structures together so that their families could live close to each other. They lived in the home until 1920 and then the entire house was rented to a long series of short-term tenants including Carl F. Mellian, a machinist and Grant Kelner, a cigarmaker. The house also served as a boarding house for young women who came to Indianapolis during the turn of the century to work at the Real Silk glove factory located nearby on Park Street.

In 2000, Steve and Barb Tegaren bought the home and restored it to a five-room Inn. They operated it for 10 years, welcoming visitors and friends and establishing the Inn as the No. 1 B&B in Indianapolis, according to Trip Advisor. (I’ll second that!)

The Nestle Inn has proven to be a great destination for a girls weekend getaway or a family gathering. In fact, Leesa recently rented the whole house to a family who was celebrating their mother’s birthday. Leesa was delighted to watch the kids hanging out in their jammies while parents relaxed drinking wine and the grandparents enjoyed having the whole clan gathered together under one cozy roof. She also hosted a women’s book club that found the Inn to be the perfect spot for their needs.

I honestly cannot wait to return to the Nestle Inn and am already trying to figure out what “occasion” I’m going to use as my excuse. So, the next time you want or need to visit Indy, whether for business, pleasure or kids’ sports, skip the chain hotels and give Leesa and Bob a call. You won’t regret it.

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Scentsy wickless candles are a safe way to bring great fragrance and stylish decor into your home. They are flameless candles that are heated in a decorative warmer where wax is slowly melted by a small, low-watt bulb.

You can choose from more than 75 warmer styles to fit any size room, decor or personality. I chose the full-size Hope warmer from the Miracle collection and it is lovely amid the earth tones in my living room. The full-size warmers are 4.5” wide by 6” tall and cost between $30 and $35 dollars.

Scentsy comes in 80 wickless candle bar fragrances, including spa, tropical and romance scents. Each bar contains as much fragrance oil as a 12 ounce jar candle. And when your wax is completely used, you simply buy more for your beautiful warmer, which makes a pretty way to add some mood lighting to a room, as well.

Scentsy is a direct selling, wickless candle company headquartered in Meridian, Idaho. The company is owned by Orville and Heidi Thompson and sells its products through a field sales force of more than 70,000 independent sales representatives known as Independent Scentsy Consultants, who market and sell Scentsy products through home parties.

In addition to warmers, Scentsy sells plug-ins, foams, travel tins, room sprays and other fun, fragrant products. To find out how to host or party or to find a consultant near you, go here.

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Case in point — my 3-year-old has a an enormous Dora the Explorer playhouse measuring approximately 4 feet by 4 feet by 4 feet and she loves it. We recently put it in our finished basement, along with some of her other large toys, dedicating an entire back corner of the basement to her as a new playland of sorts. But the area needed something to mark it off as her own and to jazz it up a bit so it wasn’t just a bunch of toys clustered together.

That’s where the new Nick Walls by HP came to the rescue.

Last winter, Nickelodeon and HP announced the availability of Nick Walls by HP — a quick and simple to install wall decor featuring themes from popular Nickelodeon shows such as “Dora the Explorer,” “SpongeBob SquarePants,” “Go, Diego, Go!” and “iCarly.”

We chose the “Dora the Explorer” design and the ordering process was so easy. The easy-to-use online portal enables customers to personalize their designs by selecting and arranging images of characters, animals, flowers, landscapes and more. In addition, Nick Walls by HP can be customized to fit the exact dimensions of the room while designing around fixed elements such as windows, doors and light switches.  You can make it as busy or as uncluttered as you want.

My husband chose to install the wall art while I was out of town, which was a nice surprise for me, but didn’t lend itself to any before, during and after pictures. He was able to do the installation without any help, so it wasn’t awful, by any means, but he did say it was very similar to hanging wallpaper — not something he loves doing. Unlike traditional wallpaper, Nick Walls by HP only require water and a sponge to install. It is printed on PVC-free paper with odor-free water-based inks and meets the GREENGUARD Children & Schools standard for low-emitting products. You can watch an installation video here.

My toddler absolutely loved the final result, and her play area is clearly “defined” by this fun addition!

HP Wall Art provides maximum customization at an affordable cost, with pricing starting at $3.99 per square foot. Nick Walls by HP is the first line of designs from HP Wall Art. HP plans to expand the service over the next year, giving consumers the opportunity to bring their favorite movie heroes, musicians, sports personalities and even their own photos to life in their homes.

To see pictures of other rooms that have been decorated with HP Wall art, go here.

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————-

Childhood obesity is now the nation’s disease—an ailment crippling the body politic. The long-term health effects are well-established and include early onset diabetes and premature hip and joint problems. American children are prematurely aging, suffering from sicknesses that were once the provenance of older adults. Old has become the new young.

The lineup of culprits includes school vending machines, latchkey children, the endangered home-cooked meal, vanishing physical-education classes, fried everything, supersized portions, sedentary hours spent zoned out in front of the computer screen, nutritional ignorance, misleading labeling and more. But whatever and whoever is to blame, it is surely not kids. We cannot expect children to make the right food choices when healthy foods are out of reach and nutrition-smart role models are not in evidence.

The saddest thing about childhood obesity is that it’s unnecessary. It’s inexcusable that in the breadbasket of the world American children are eating so much lousy food.

As an agriculturist and horticulturist, I believe that the answer is simple. As parents, educators, nutritionists and marketers, we have to imbue our children with the love of—and consumption of—the most beneficial food for growing bodies. This means fresh vegetables and fruits, whether store-bought or home-grown.

As kids, we imitate our elders, who teach most effectively by example. Right now, adults aren’t doing a good job of modeling good behavior. According to a recent report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, just 26% of adults have three or more servings of vegetables a day, a number that includes those who deem a tomato slice or lettuce on a burger as a “vegetable serving.” In other words, roughly 80% of U.S. adults scarcely eat any vegetables at all.

Liking vegetables is not a given: Every food other than breast milk is an acquired taste. But children can easily learn to enjoy eating their greens. It’s simply a matter of education and familiarity—as in “family.” Children will happily eat squash, artichoke or broccoli, to the delight of the parents who taught them to do so. As for fruits, children can gobble them up, but like vegetables, they must be at the ready, at least as available as all the junky alternatives.

Kids imitate their elders, who teach most effectively by example.

In our research at Atlee Burpee, we have found that kids who grow vegetables alongside their parents eat them regularly and with gusto. Peas, green beans and raw carrots—the very vegetables that kids are told to eat, their parents’ admonishing fingers wagging—are particular favorites.

While not all American families have the benefit of a sun-filled backyard for a vegetable garden, companies like Burpee offer many vegetable seeds and plants that you can grow easily in containers. You can grow beets, carrots, sweet potatoes and Brussels sprouts, which can be plucked from the stalk well into winter.

Eighteen years ago, as president of the American Horticultural Society, I initiated a children’s gardening program. Our annual symposium drew thousands of educators and community gardeners with the goal of educating and inspiring children to grow gardens in their school and neighborhoods. The results were heartening: Thousands of churches, schools and community centers sprouted new gardens.

Yet no single institution is sufficient; fighting a problem of this sort requires a multifaceted effort. Churches could do much more to inspire families to grow vegetables. Public and private botanical and community gardening groups should augment efforts to lure neighbors into their educational demonstration gardens. Most families, whether in the city or suburbs, can plant at least a “starter garden”—involving pre-teen children in the planting, tending and harvesting.

Let’s make 2011 the Year of the Vegetable. We have nothing to lose but our waistlines.

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One thing I wanted to do was give one of them a couple shelves to hold some books. But when I found what I wanted at Pottery Barn, I was put off by the price – $47 on sale!

So my very handy husband and I decided we could do better. The result is at right. We made our version of the Pottery Barn Collector’s Shelf for roughly $17 and I couldn’t be happier with it.

I always intended this shelf to be semi-DIY project because I planned to buy a couple shelf brackets and flip them upside down to serve as the sides of my shelf.

But while looking for the brackets at Michaels, I saw the unfinished shelf below. Of course, it’s meant to have the brackets on the bottom with the long shelf on top but I kept imagining it flipped upside down. I thought it would be great.

Plus, it was $12.99 and with a 40 percent Michaels coupon, I got it for only about $7.80!

So the shelf made this project pretty easy. We only needed a few more materials to make it complete:

• 1 3/8-inch dowel road – at least 36 inches long
• Bag of 3/8-inch dowel plugs
• 1 can of spray primer – white
• 1 can of white spray paint
• 1 1×3 inch board – at least 36 inches

Here’s what we did next:

First, we cut the dowel rod down to about 30.5 inches, which is the distance between the two brackets of our premade shelf plus a half-inch.

Next, Jeff drilled a hole in each bracket and slid the dowel through. We decided where to place the dowel by flipping the shelf upside down, with the shelf sitting on the workbench, the way it will be hung when we’re done. Then we imagined books or other items sitting on it. The dowel is meant to keep items from sliding off so it should be forward enough to allow space for items and low enough to keep items from falling beneath it.

Then we plugged each of the holes on the outside of the brackets using one of our wood plugs, just to make it look a little nicer.

Next, we cut the 1×3 inch board down to 30 inches, the length between the two brackets. Then, Jeff sent it through his planer (at right), a power tool that shaves down wood, so that it was the same thickness as the existing brace.

(We did this because Jeff likes to play with his power tools and we were using a piece of wood he already had in his shop. You could easily purchase a piece that would be the right size.)

Then we attached this piece of wood at what would now be the top of the brackets by screwing them in through the brackets. We did this to add a little stability to the shelf and to add a good place for some hangers.

(Jeff suggests just drilling through the top bracket straight into the wall to hang the shelf. I think we should use hangers. It hasn’t been hung in its final spot so this discussion is  ongoing.)

Then it was time to spray paint. Because the wood was unfinished, I started with primer and then moved onto to a top coat. It needed a surprising amount of sanding because the paint really brought up the grain of the poplar.

(By the way, do you use these trigger handles? If you do much spray painting, you really should try it. It makes a huge difference!)

So that was it. I hung the shelf temporarily in my guest room (using some of my favorite Command Adhesives Picture Hanging Strips) so I could show you the finished project. I added a couple of the kids books I have, although I know I could have done a much better staging job!

Total cost: Just about $17. It’s definitely not a copy of the Pottery Barn version, but I think it will look great in my niece’s room, which I hope to show you soon!

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You may be intimidated to try this. To make it look good, you’ve got to keep your storage fairly neat.

But don’t skip this idea just because you don’t think your dishes are pretty enough. Any stack of plates or bowls will look just fine, even if the dishes themselves aren’t beautiful. So do collections of glasses or cookbooks.

In the photo above from Sunset magazine (available at MyHomeIdeas.com), the dishware and glasses are very plain but the collection looks great. And I love the way the owner included frames and other decorative items in the top of the cabinets, which are tough to use anyway.

One key to making open cabinets look great, of course, is painting the interiors – either to match the exteriors or contrast with them.

In most cases, you could do that with a $12 quart of paint.

In the photo at right from Southern Living (also at MyHomeIdeas.com), the cabinets almost disappear, blending into the walls and backsplash and showing off their contents.

Remember, if you want a really clean look, you might have to to do a little patching to fill the holes where the hinges used to be.

Also, there’s no need to open up all your cabinets to get this look. In the BHG photo below, only a few of the upper cabinet doors were removed, leaving plenty of closed storage for all your stuff.

In this kitchen, the homeowners also used a contrasting color to really bump up the drama and added some baskets which let you hide even more stuff!

(Photos at top of post, from left: Apartment Therapy, Apartment Therapy, BHG.)

Want to see some more ideas from our list of 30 decor ideas in 30 days for under $30?

Check out these:

Idea #22: Try a creative wall covering

Idea #23: Use hooks for function and decor

Idea #26: Use everyday items to make amazing art

Idea #27: Change up a room’s accessories

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We’ve already featured a number of framing suggestions, including ideas to frame jewelry to give a little sparkle to your bedroom walls or fabric to introduce some color and pattern to a room.

Today, I’m recommending that you frame an object special to you.

So often, the things most important to us are tucked away in a drawer or in a storage box. They aren’t featured in our decor and available to make us smile every day. It’s time to change that.

For me, the objects in question are some printing blocks that were in my grandfather’s print shop when I was growing up. They’re incredibly meaningful to me, but I’ve never wanted to show them off in a traditional printer’s tray and couldn’t find a better option.

So I decided to frame a few of them (above right) inexpensively, using the frames from prints that I should have taken down long ago. In all, I spent less than $13 on this project. I only bought some cork squares and spray paint.

What about you? My special items are printing blocks. Yours might be a precious letter from a parent, tickets from your favorite play, a childhood toy car or a pair of baby shoes.

For Tim Melideo, the something special is a collection of vintage cameras that he hung in a set of frames he found for a buck each at a garage sale. I found the photo above at Apartment Therapy, where Tim said he used Velcro strips to secure the cameras.

For John & Sherry at Young House Love, it was keys. As a gift for her husband, Sherry framed the keys to all the places they’d lived.

“I picked up an affordable little shadow box from Target and simply adhered each key with a few dots of Liquid Nails and scribbled the location and date of each key underneath,” Sherry explains in this post.

“To this day it’s one of our favorite items in the entire house. The keys are like fun little artifacts of our relationship.”

What do you own that’s worth framing? Send us a photo if you try it.

Meanwhile, check out some of our earlier $30 tips:

Idea #20: Use wallpaper in unusual ways

Idea #18: Make or repurpose a headboard

Idea #11: Paint or paper inside a bookcase

Idea #9: Paint an accent wall

Idea #2: Paint the ceiling anything but white

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So it was fun to meet Birmingham, Alabama-based designer Dana Wolter through Twitter. I took a look at her portfolio and saw so many of those strong patterns I love.

Fortunately, Dana was willing to answer some questions for us about how to incorporate bold patterns into our home decorating.

I got a lot of great tips from reading her ideas and I think you will too.

Plus, all the fantastic rooms in this post come straight from her design portfolio. They are just beautiful!

Here’s what Dana had to say…

Question: Many amateur home decorators are afraid of using bold patterns. But I see several great examples in your portfolio. Why do you like using strong patterns?

Answer: Every room needs to have a focal point, and a bold fabric or wallpaper is a great way of providing one. Bold patterns add energy to a room and can keep a room from being too predictable. If you notice in my interiors where we have used a bold pattern or two, the other elements of the room are simple to balance it out.

Q: Should big, bold patterns only be used in big rooms? Should homeowners stick to small patterns in small spaces?

A: Absolutely not! If used correctly, a bold pattern in a small room can really make a statement and pull the room together. I especially love using a patterned  paper in a powder bath, as it is an easy way to add interest to a room filled with so many hard surfaces.

As you can see in the picture at right of the desk area in the child’s bedroom, the wallpaper is extremely bold but it works as everything else is so simple. White desk, white walls, very cohesive décor on the desk, etc…set in a small space with a bold, large pattern.

It is all about balance; If you use a strong pattern or two in a space, make sure the scale of each is different from one another and there are other places in the room where your eyes can rest.

Q: Are there particular types of rooms that better lend themselves to big patterns?

A: Maybe because my life is so busy with work and children I tend to stay away from really strong bold patterns in a master bedroom and master bath. I am a big believer these spaces should be calm, subtle, and inviting.

We love using bold patterns in children’s rooms, media rooms, powder baths, but it really depends on the space and how we feel it needs to exert itself. For instance, a chocolate and white Schumacher damask fabric is used on the back of the banquette in the kitchen below we recently completed for a client. The kitchen is beautiful with textured wood, shiny fixtures, bone cabinets, and marble countertops. We felt it needed a little weight added to it, and in my opinion, this bold pattern provides this.

Using bold patterns in a child’s room is a great way to add some personality to a space.

The white and black bedroom below actually belongs to one of my girls. Being a tween, she was adamant about wanting color and pattern in there. Girls that age want a “hip” room. I think it turned out well as it meets her criteria yet the room still blends with the rest of our house.

Q: What are some good ways to introduce bold patterns in a room?

A: If you had told me three years ago I would be using so much wallpaper, I would have laughed. Wallpaper is hot right now with so many fresh, vibrant patterns out there. It is not the wallpaper we remember from the 80’s.

Fabric is also a great way to introduce a bold pattern or color. We tend to use neutral fabrics that read as solids on our upholstery, so patterned window panels (see at right) and pillows are great ways for us to add some interest, balance, and pull the room together.

Q: Is it possible to mix patterns in a single space?

A: Absolutely! We often mix patterns in a room, as in the bedroom below. The key is to make sure the scale of each pattern is different from one another. If you can make sure the scale is different from one another and the colors blend, mixing patterns will work and can actually add dimension to a space.

Q: How do you know if you’ve gone overboard?

A: If the space feels chaotic, you have gone overboard. When using bold patterns in a room, remember to always allow for a few places for your eye to rest; whether through a solid fabric, a neutral wall, solid upholstery, etc…

If you look at the picture of the child’s bedroom with the papered accent wall, you will see we have mixed three pretty bold patterns on the bed. It works as the rest of the bed is crème so your eye has a place to rest.

Q: Can you give us a list of your three or four favorite patterns or items with patterns?

A: Two patterned fabrics I used recently for pillows in a family room were Highland Court 180829H Palazzo (near right) and Highland Court 180831H Alhambra Fret (far right). They added a punch and helped pull the neutral pieces of upholstery in the room together.

For an accent wall or powder room, I think the Dedar paper called Viceversa would look great. I also love Kravet’s W3016-16 for a girl’s bathroom with crème finishes.

I just used Schumacher’s 173980 High Voltage (far right) in smoke as a bed skirt in a bedroom, and it turned out fabulous! Love the geometric design on it. I also plan on using Groundwork’s 2430-GWF (near right) in ivory/bark somewhere as it will make beautiful window panels.

Q: Is it better to take a chance on bold patterns on upholstery or on a wall or does it matter?

A: I think it truly depends on the space and how you want the room to feel. Does the space call for a calm interior that looks like it has been collected over time, or does the room call for some weight and a punch of color? If you are nervous about incorporating a bold pattern, start small and use it on some pillows.

Thanks so much to Dana Wolter for this great advice and information. Make sure you check out her entire portfolio, which is full of beautiful designs.

Find other designer Q&As at The Design File:

How to decorate in black and white

Contemporary stunner in Holy Cross

Choosing and using art in your home

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