Making one of these growth chart rulers has been on my to-do list for a long time. When I received an email notification that my daughter sent me three Pinterest pins that were images of growth chart rulers, I got the hint ; )
At first I thought I’d make one for each of my grandchildren, but Dan thought it would be better to have a family keepsake with all the kid’s growth recorded on one ruler. Smart guy.
So without further ado, here is how to make a growth chart ruler – or at least how I made one.
You will need:
- a long board
- black sharpie
- painter’s tape
- measuring tape
- a straight edge
- sand paper
- stain
For the wood: I happened to have a piece of 1 x 6 x 5. Ideally a 6′ length would be better. I felt safe with the 5′ length since no one in my family is over 6 feet. Watch, now my grandson will end up over six feet just because of Nanny’s 6′ board ; ) The board will be attached to the wall one foot up from the floor.
The first thing I did was place a strip of painter’s tape down the middle of the board. Then I marked off the 12″ mark lightly with a pencil
Then I drew a line against a straight edge from the painter’s tape to the edge of the board with a black Sharpie. (Quilting square are handy for so much more than quilting, you know!)
Next, I placed a second strip of painters tape down, covering about half of the length of the 12″ marks. Then I made Sharpie lines at 6″ intervals. I repeated that same step for the inch marks. I don’t know why I didn’t take pictures of that!
Once all the lines were drawn, I took the board outside to finish it. Laying it across the railings on the deck made it easier to stain and stencil. (I need saw horses: in case Santa is reading this 😉
I just placed the paper stencil down on the board and traced inside the edge with a black Sharpie then filled it in using a thicker Sharpie.
Now for the stinky part. Yes, I mean stinky as in it smells bad. Really bad. It’s homemade stain that’s supposed to make wood look aged. I put some steel wool in a jar with vinegar and let it sit on my counter for a couple of days. And listened to it hiss and moan. I’m serious. It was making noises. I took off the lid because I was afraid it was going to explode or something. Anyway, after a day or so it makes this stinky solution.
So wearing two pairs of rubber gloves, I rubbed said stinky solution on the board and this is how it looks after one coat.
Two coats. And the stink does go away after it’s dry. Thank goodness.
Have you ever tried the stinky stain? I was hoping for more of a gray, weathered color. Maybe I let the steel wool in too long, But in any case, I like how the ruler turned out. And if my grandson grows to be over 6′ tall…well my daughter will have to add an addition to the ruler ; )
My kids are too old for me to make one for them, but I think this would be an amazing baby shower gift.
My kids are all grown Jeanie, but I love it has a décor piece! Pin to Tim’s to-do- list!
I just wanted to comment…You can look through your kids records and find heights and dates/ages and mark them on the board then eventually grandchildren can be measured and she how they compare. I made my ruler when my third child was born and just added the other two children’s heights. Even their birth length…We marked mom dad and grandparents final height and the kids love it! just a thought:) anytime we think one of them looks like they have grown we measure and we always measure on their birthday. We are casual and fun about it marking a line,date and their name!
Good ideas!
I’ve been wanting to make one of these! I will have to try the sticky stain – I like the color. Another addition to my to do list!
I love measuring the kids as they grow. And this one would be much easier to carry to a new house than the door we currently measure on, lol!
We measure our kids growth on the back of our laundry room door but your idea is so sweet and what a wonderful keepsake it will make. I will be pinning this to look at making for my family since I should be able to transfer my kids heights and dates right onto it 🙂
What size stencils are you using for the numbers?
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Thanks for the easy DIY… FYI the “stinky” stain colour is very dependent on the wood you use. If your board was pine, you need to add some tannins to the mix by washing with a black tea solution first then applying the vinegar mixture. This should give you the brownish grey aged barnwood effect you might have been going for. Also, if the mix is too brown from sitting too long, just add some more white vinegar to the solution to dilute.