Ruler Growth Chart for little ones.

I've finally started finishing some of the twenty something projects I have going right now! Woot woot. I bought the supplies for a wooden height chart that I saw on pinterest ages ago, but just hadn't started it because there were more pressing projects at hand. But last weekend I started it and finished it all in one day! That rarely happens. Okay, never happens. The work was quick and I had Chuck to help out with Jackson so I just kept on trucking!

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I saw this adorable oversized ruler growth chart floating around pinterest and wanted to try making it on my own.

Time commitment:

around 4-5 hours

Cost: 

approximately $15

Supplies:

1. Rust-oleum's american walnut stain (I got mine at Lowe's for seven dollars and some change)
2. A 1 x 10 x 6 (I also got this at Lowe's for around five dollars)
3. Black acrylic paint (I used some old stuff I had on hand)
4. Printed numbers 1-6 (I printed my favorite font at 200 pt.)
5. Pencil
6. Measuring tape
7. Paint brush
8. Finishing sander with 100, 150 and 220 grit sandpaper
9. Old rag

I started by sanding my 1 x 10. I started with 100 grit sandpaper and worked my way to the finer 220 grit. I sanded the entire board because I'm slightly OCD, but if you know what side you want to use, then you only need to sand that side. I would recommend sanding all the 1 inch edges as well since sometimes those can have sharp edges or splinters. I was so excited to get going on this that I forgot the camera. Sorry : (

Next I whipped out the Rust-oleum stain and started slapping it on. Please ignore the crazy red head in the photo. I have no idea why she started working in the garage in her pajamas. Crazy woman.

I waited for about 5 minutes before I started to wipe off the excess stain with an old t-shirt (Thanks, Dad).

I went inside to check on Jackson and to grab a snack while I waited for the stain to dry. It only took fifteen minutes or so. Next, I set up the measuring tape next to the 1 x 10 and marked out the tick marks with a pencil. In order to hang it, I needed to start the tick marks at 6 inches (so I could hang it 6 inches from the ground).

After all the tick marks were in place I printed out numbers in my favorite font (size 200 pt.), cut them out and laid them out on the board. Once I had them lined up where I wanted them, I traced over top of the number, making indentions in the wood. 

With black acrylic paint, I hand-painted the tick marks and numbers (painting within the indentions I had made in the wood).

Ta-da!

What do you think?

 Sorry for the lame pictures, it's late :) But I wanted to be able to finally have something to show for all of this time I've been "supposedly" working on projects. I'm pretty stoked about it. Check back to see how I plan to mark his height each year :)

Thanks for stopping by!