Make Your Stainless Sink Shine - My Natural Secret Ingredient

Since we installed our new stainless steel farmhouse sink I've been kind of obsessed with keeping it shiny.  I normally wipe all the water spots off after I use the sink, but not everyone in our house takes the time to do that.   So.....let me tell you my secret to keeping it shiny longer using a natural secret ingredient.

This of course it how it looks after I've cleaned it and used my secret ingredient to make it all shiny and pretty!

We have very hard water, so this is what happens!  If you don't wipe it down right away, it gets all ookey looking like this! Yuck!  It drives me wild when its like this!

All these water marks are just not helping me think my new sink is pretty...nope at all!  Let's get rid of them NOW!

First I scrubbed the sink really good with a mixture of Dawn dish soap and vinegar (recipe here).  I used my yellow and green scrubber (use the yellow sponge side, not the green scrubber side) and spread the mixture all over the sinks.  Let it sit for about 10 to 15 minutes, rinse thoroughly and dry the sink with a paper towel.  NOTE: Sometimes if I have stains, I used my miracle cleanser, you can read about it HERE.

This is my secret to shiny! 100% olive oil.  Can you believe it? Have you ever tried it before?  It also helps to repel the water.  Like wax on a car it beads up and rolls right off and down the drain.  I read about its use HERE.

Careful, it doesn't take much at all.  Just pour a small amount of oil on a paper towel like you see above and get to buffing.

Using a circular motion I make sure to get it spread around and rubbed in so its not collecting dust and cat fur...oh wait, that's just our house huh?  Just keep polishing until you like it!

See! Shiny!  An no more water spots!  I have to be honest with you, it doesn't stay like this long, but while its looking like this....I love it!

It doesn't have to be done all at once.  It is a slow process in the works! C-ya next time!

I'm Linking to:
These lovely and FUN parties!
Between Naps on the Porch
DIY Home Sweet Home 

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Old Book Page Heart - How to Make Paper Roses

Sometimes when I have an idea or a vision for a project I want to create, it actually turns out better than I expected. This was one of those times!

You probably know what I'm going to say next...I got my idea from Pinterest!  First I saw THIS and then I saw THIS and I combined the two ideas....sort of. LOL!  I always try and make the projects I see and recreate, "my own".  Let me share with you what I did.

You will need the following items to recreate my framed heart:

Old book pages
8 x 8 piece of scrap wood
Hot glue gun and glue
Scissors
Acrylic Paint (red)
Crackle Paint (cream)
Small paint brush
Old fence pickets
Sandpaper

First, you'll need to make lots of book page roses. LOTS...about 40 or so varying in all different sizes.  Cut your pages into 1 1/2" to 2" wide strips.  Crumple the paper long ways to make it look like the above.

Add a drop of glue to one end and then start rolling, twisting and gluing as you go.  The longer your strip of paper the bigger the rose will be.  To make larger roses, I glue two strips end to end after I crumpled them.

Keep rolling and twisting and gluing until you get to the end of your strip of paper then glue the end flat.  This is very time consuming.  NOTE: My hands were tired and my fingers were sore after making all these roses. So worth it though!  I'd certainly do it again!

Make several roses in each of the sizes.  I think I ended up with about 3 or 4 different sizes.  You'll need smaller ones to fill in blank spaces.

This was my test run.  I drew a heart on the board with pencil and tried to fill it in with my roses.  I didn't like it.  So I cut out a heart from one of the book pages and laid it down for my guide.  To hide the paper cut out, I made sure to glue the roses over the edge of the paper.  You can see it peeking out in the picture below.

Before I glued down all the roses, I painted the board.  First coat was with the crackle paint.  My crackle paint is several years old and didn't really work the way it should have, but its ok.  Next I painted the red coat of paint and let it dry really good. Next, lay down your heart shape, arrange your roses until you like how it looks, then start hot gluing your roses in place one at a time.

The crackle paint worked a tiny bit, but it wasn't enough of a distressed look so I took the sand paper to it to really scuff it up.  I can't leave anything alone! LOL!

Here it is what it looked like when I thought I was done.  Then I changed my mind and wanted to add more to it!  My honey helped me with the next step.

That's better!  He made a frame for me using some more of our old fence pickets.  I always love when we can use the pickets in one of our projects.  They are so rustic, which I love!

After my honey put together the frame, he used his nail gun to attach the heart board to the frame.  You could probably use hot glue as well, but since he was at it, he just went ahead and nailed it together.  Lastly, I added a hanger to the back and hung it in the dining room.....I changed my mind AGAIN and now its perched on the mantel with a few other little Valentine items. So cute!

It doesn't have to be done all at once.  It is a slow process in the works! C-ya next time!

I'm Linking to:
Sunday
Under the Table and Dreaming by Stephanie Lynn
The Self Sufficient Home Acre 
The Chicken Chick,  Sew Can Do
Monday
Craft-O-Maniac, 
Between Naps on the Porch
DIY Home Sweet Home
Keeping it  Simple 
The Dedicated House
Skip to my Lou
Home Coming
Tuesday
Not Just a Housewife
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Sugar Bee Crafts 
New Nostalgia 
It's your Life
BeBetsy
Fluster Buster   
Confessions of a Plate Addict
A Stroll Thru Life
Wednesday
Clean and Scentsible
Lady Behind the Curtain
Family Home and Life
Ducks n a Row
VMG206
Herrban Momma 
Family Home & Life
Oh My! Creative
Thursday  
Bloom
The Taylor House
52 Mantels
Domesblissity
4 You With Love
Sweet Haute
Artsy Fartsy Mama
From My Front Porch To Yours
Friday 
Lil’ Luna
Tatertots and Jello
Five Simple Things
Craftionary
Diana Rambles
I Heart Nap Time
Crafts a la mode
Saturday 
Angels Homestead
Positively Splendid,
Or So She Says
Your Homebased Mom
What's Cooking with Ruthie
Made From Pinterest

read more

Yarn and Felt Valentine Wreath with Loopy Felt Flower How-tos

I've been wanting to make one of these yarn wreaths ever since I first saw them on Pinterest.  I finally decided to make one for Valentine's Day.

These kind of wreaths are very time consuming (wrapping the yarn), but I think it was worth it because I love how it turned out!

These are my supplies.  I ended up not using the larger heart, white yarn or the red felt. I change my mind.....a lot!  I'll find another project for those!

To recreate my wreath, you will need.

16 inch foam wreath
6 inch foam heart
1 skein of red yarn (it doesn't take the whole skein)
2 squares of white craft felt (the softer the better)
3 Loopy Felt Flowers (directions below)
3 crocheted hearts (or any other embellishment you want)
1 small piece of tape
Hot glue gun

Use a small piece of tape to hold the end of your yarn while you wrap.  I tried holding it and it just kept unwrapping and getting tangled, so make it easy on yourself and grab a piece of tape.

Wrap the yarn until your arms fall off!  Just kidding!  It does take some time for this step though.  I grabbed a cup of coffee and turned on the DIY channel while I wrapped my foam wreaths.  I'm weird and had to wrap mine neatly, some people just wrap until you no longer see the wreath base.  It's up to you!

This is how they will look when you're done.  The hearts are a bit more tricky than the circle.  The pointy parts are very hard to cover....just sayin!

Now I'll show you how to make your Loopy Felt Flowers.  I've made a few other projects with these flowers HERE.   They are fun and you'll want to keep making them!

To make the Loopy Felt Flower, you will need:

Felt of your choice (I used white this time)
Sewing machine
Sharp scissors
Hot glue gun (use the low setting)
Cut your felt into strips that measure: 2" x 8", 1 1/2" x 4" and 1" x 3" and then a circle of about 1 1/2".

Fold your strips long ways in half and stitch very close to the open edge like this. Repeat for all three strips.

Using your sharp scissors, snip to the stitching being sure NOT to snip the stitching.  If you cut small sections, you will get a fuller flower, larger sections, not so full.  I prefer the smaller sections.

Starting with the longest strip, take your felt circle and lay down some hot glue on the very outter edge.  Glue the strip to the circle like shown above.

Keep adding your strips using the medium lengthed one next and then the shortest one until you've reach the center.

This is what it will look like when you have all three strips glued to the circle.

Now add your crocheted heart (or other embellishment) to the center to cover the empty space.  I got my hearts on Etsy HERE.

Here's what they look like all together.  I love those hearts and I've just about used all mine up! They are the perfect touch!

Next, I glued my Loopy Felt Flowers to my wreath with hot glue.  The wreath looked too plain at this point so I also cut out some leaves and stems (freehand) from the white felt and added that to each end of my flowers.

Again, it still needed something, so I cut (10) strips of white felt about 1/4 inch wide and made the criss-crosses around the empty space on the right.  I just hot glued the ends to the back to hold them in place.

It doesn't have to be done all at once.  It is a slow process in the works! C-ya next time!

I'm Linking to:
Sunday
Under the Table and Dreaming by Stephanie Lynn
The Self Sufficient Home Acre 
The Chicken Chick,  Sew Can Do
Monday
Craft-O-Maniac, 
Between Naps on the Porch
DIY Home Sweet Home
Keeping it  Simple 
The Dedicated House
Skip to my Lou
Home Coming
Tuesday
Not Just a Housewife
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Sugar Bee Crafts 
New Nostalgia 
It's your Life
BeBetsy
Fluster Buster   
Confessions of a Plate Addict
A Stroll Thru Life
Wednesday
Clean and Scentsible
Lady Behind the Curtain
Family Home and Life
Ducks n a Row
VMG206
Herrban Momma 
Family Home & Life
Oh My! Creative
Thursday  
Bloom
The Taylor House
52 Mantels
Domesblissity
4 You With Love
Sweet Haute
Artsy Fartsy Mama
From My Front Porch To Yours
Friday 
Lil’ Luna
Tatertots and Jello
Five Simple Things
Craftionary
Diana Rambles
I Heart Nap Time
Crafts a la mode
Saturday 
Angels Homestead
Positively Splendid,
Or So She Says
Your Homebased Mom
What's Cooking with Ruthie
Made From Pinterest

read more

Clover House's Top 15 Posts of 2013 - A Year in Review

WOW! What a year 2013 has been! We've done so much but still have so much to do! It took a bit of gathering of information, but here's our top 15 project posts of 2013.  Just click on the link below each picture to be taken to the original post and all the good information!  Enjoy! :)

#1 HOW TO CLEAN AN HE WASHER

#2 A CLEAN SINK'S FRIEND

#3 RV FLOOR UPDATE

#4 RAISED BED GARDEN PART 2

#5 RAISED BED GARDEN PART 3

#6 RAISED BED GARDEN PART 1

#7 LAUNDRY ROOM REVEAL

#8 RV CABINET UPDATE

#9 CROCKPOT CREAM CHEESE CHICKEN CHILI

#10 FENCE PICKET A/C UNIT COVER

#11 TILING THE KITCHEN FLOOR

#12 DIY TACO SEASONING

#13 ORGANIZE AND BEAUTIFY YOUR CABINETS

#14 KITCHEN CABINET PART 3

#15 EASTER EGG WREATH

I hope you've enjoyed browsing our past year of the top 15 posts!  Did you get some good ideas?  I hope you pinned them! Thanks to all of our readers for making it such an awesome year!  Keep watching in 2014 for more great ideas, recipes, tips and tricks!  :)

It doesn't have to be done all at once.  It is a slow process in the works! C-ya next time!

I'm Linking to:
Sunday
Under the Table and Dreaming by Stephanie Lynn
The Self Sufficient Home Acre 
The Chicken Chick,  Sew Can Do
Monday
Craft-O-Maniac, 
Between Naps on the Porch
DIY Home Sweet Home
Keeping it  Simple 
The Dedicated House
Skip to my Lou
Home Coming
Tuesday
Not Just a Housewife
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Sugar Bee Crafts 
New Nostalgia 
It's your Life
BeBetsy
Fluster Buster   
Confessions of a Plate Addict
A Stroll Thru Life
Wednesday
Clean and Scentsible
Lady Behind the Curtain
Family Home and Life
Ducks n a Row
VMG206
Herrban Momma 
Family Home & Life
Oh My! Creative
Thursday  
Bloom
The Taylor House
52 Mantels
Domesblissity
4 You With Love
Sweet Haute
Artsy Fartsy Mama
From My Front Porch To Yours
Friday 
Lil’ Luna
Tatertots and Jello
Five Simple Things
Craftionary
Diana Rambles
I Heart Nap Time
Crafts a la mode
Saturday 
Angels Homestead
Positively Splendid,
Or So She Says
Your Homebased Mom
What's Cooking with Ruthie
Made From Pinterest

read more

Christmas Shutter Decor

I wanted a new decoration for the front door this year, so I came up with this little lovely.  Very easy to put together and also easy to take apart in case you want to use your shutter again for something else.

I found and pinned THIS idea on Pinterest (Thanks Linda!) and went from there with my idea.  I decided not to paint my shutter.  Mainly because I made this during our recent Texas ice storm and I really didn't think painting was an option!

To recreate my shutter decor, you will need:

1 old shutter
A few Christmas tree trimmings or greenery of some type
Nippers to trim your greenery
Light weight wire
Pliers or wire cutters
Pine cones
Twine
Ribbon for a bow
Miscellaneous decorations (I used some glittery twigs)
Hot Glue Gun

Arrange your greenery and secure with wire.  Add as much or as little as you like until it looks good to you.

Next, glue the twine lengths to your pine cones, make your bow and then tie everything together and hot glue it to your greenery.

Lastly, make a hook with your wire and attach it on the backside of the shutter for hanging.  Not too shabby for a craft made in 20 degree weather!

It doesn't have to be done all at once.  It is a slow process in the works! C-ya next time!

I'm Linking to:
Sunday
Under the Table and Dreaming by Stephanie Lynn
The Self Sufficient Home Acre 
The Chicken Chick,  Sew Can Do
Monday
Craft-O-Maniac, 
Between Naps on the Porch
DIY Home Sweet Home
Keeping it  Simple 
The Dedicated House
Skip to my Lou
Home Coming
Tuesday
Not Just a Housewife
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Sugar Bee Crafts 
New Nostalgia 
It's your Life
BeBetsy
Fluster Buster   
Confessions of a Plate Addict
A Stroll Thru Life
Wednesday
Clean and Scentsible
Lady Behind the Curtain
Family Home and Life
Ducks n a Row
VMG206
Herrban Momma 
Family Home & Life
Oh My! Creative
Thursday  
Bloom
The Taylor House
52 Mantels
Domesblissity
4 You With Love
Sweet Haute
Artsy Fartsy Mama
From My Front Porch To Yours
Friday 
Lil’ Luna
Tatertots and Jello
Five Simple Things
Craftionary
Diana Rambles
I Heart Nap Time
Crafts a la mode
Saturday 
Angels Homestead
Positively Splendid,
Or So She Says
Your Homebased Mom
What's Cooking with Ruthie
Made From Pinterest

read more