Hi everyone and thanks so much for visiting!
Today’s post is how to make your own DIY ruler growth chart! I already have a measuring board hung up in our toy room that we use to measure the boys every year before school starts and on New Years Day to see how much they’ve grown, but when my friend called me up wanting to make one of these together, I just couldn’t pass her up! Plus, right away I thought about how I would love to have one for our cabin so we can measure the boys each summer. Thinking about how much they’ve grown since we first bought our cabin almost five years ago is making me want to cry, but never mind that, it will be cool to see how much they grow over the years…kinda!😬😢
I hope you can see the board since I decided to camouflage it in this picture with the wood background!😜
Let’s get to it, as every one of us parents know, are kids grow quick!! So let’s hurry up and get this project done so you can start measuring to see just how quickly and how much they really do grow! Ugh, can’t stop getting sad thinking about my kids growing up so fast! I’m about to have a seven year old in two months!!!😳
This post does contain affiliate links, which means that if you purchase anything off of my links I will make a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend what I’ve used and love! Thank you!
Okay, here is what you’ll need!
- A board of your choice. I got mine at Lowe’s for $9. Mine’s 3/4 inches thick and 6 feet long. You can do whatever height and width you prefer though.
- Wood stain or paint of your choice. I chose this stain and color here.
- An old sock or a foam brush if you choose to stain your wood.
- Tape Measure. This one works great for us.
- Pencil
- Decorative tape. I used this gold decorative tape found in the middle of this pack. I needed 1 1/2 roles of it, so I bought two packs.
- Number stencils or number stickers (if you choose the stencils then you’ll need paint too!) I found mine at Michael’s.
- Finishing Spray. I used this one.
- Wood glue. This wood glue is what we use and it is strong!
Directions:
- Buy and gather up all your materials.
- Grab your piece of wood, your sock, your stain and get to staining that wood! Place your sock on your hand, dip it into the stain, and rub it on your wood until the whole thing is covered and even. I only used one coat of the stain, but you may want more depending on the color you like best.
- Let that dry for at least an hour.
- Get out your measuring tape and start penciling in your measurements. See Picture below to see what I mean. ***Important note*** Almost every wall has a baseboard or something at the bottom so don’t forget to measure that and start your board at that many inches. For example, I started mine at 4 inches because where I’m going to hang it at our cabin is 4 inches above the ground level. Picture below is not hung yet, but you can see I started at the 4th inch.
- Once you get all the lines penciled in, you can start taping. I started on the back and wrapped the tape around until it was 1 1/2 inches out for the inch marks, 3 inches out for the six inch mark, and 4 1/2 inches out for each foot marker. Those sizes worked for my board, but you may want longer or shorter depending on the width of your board. I measured each piece of tape and marked it with a light pencil mark, then cut it, but maybe you can come up with a easier method! If you do, let me know!
- Any tape pieces that are coming off like so…
I glued down with wood glue. - Now you get to put on your numbers or stencil them in!
8. Last step!! Spray your board to help seal in your tape and number stickers! Let it dry, and you’re done!!!!!!!
Now we can cry together as we document just how much our kids are growing!!😳😉
Thanks again for coming, and hopefully you’ll come back soon for the next project!😄
XOXO,
Lauren
The Decor Mama