DIY Ruler Growth Chart
My nephew turned one last July, and his mommy had discovered that generally, by the time you get to child #2, you have all the toys you will ever need without getting more! And she had recently discovered Pinterest and its plethora of great ideas, which resulted in a request for a growth chart similar to the ones floating around in cyberspace. I looked around and found a good tutorial and then like any good aunt, got right on it–4 months later. Just so you don’t think I should be locked up for nephew neglect, I did have some gifts for him to open on his actual big day! Not that he really noticed through all the icing and cake he had smeared all over 
I am really happy with how it turned out:
I did change a few things from the original tutorial. I made two short lines at 1.5″ and then a longer line at 2″ (so 1.5, 1.5, 2, 1.5, 1.5, 2″ and so on) and then each number line I marked at 2.75″. I also printed the font (I used Book Antiqua) at 300. I used the tutorial’s transfer technique and I also used a black Sharpie to make the lines and fill in the numbers.
The stain was a custom mix of two stains I had in the basement–which one was already a custom stain to begin with, so I can’t even tell you what the two are to reproduce mine. I didn’t topcoat it with anything because my sister wanted it to look worn. I prefer that look on it as well. Keep in mind that if you are using it for an actual growth chart that you will write on, you will need to be able to mark over the top of your topcoat if you choose that route. If you use a wax, that may present problems.
And in the interest of full disclosure, not only was it 4 months late, but I finished it at their house while visiting last weekend. That actually does border on nephew neglect. Wonder when I’ll get around to sending out Christmas cards this year…would it be inappropriate in May?
6 Responses to “DIY Ruler Growth Chart”
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I have had a growth ruler on my list of things to do for a few years now. I have had the perfect piece of wood propped up in the garage just waiting. Now, I’m glad I procrastinated. I like the ruler you did much better than the one I had in mind. Once again, thanks for the great post.
There is no nephew neglect going on! Have you seen how busy this girl is??? Thanks for making us something we will treasure for years to come! It was worth the wait.
Lori… You have a talented sister. Everytime my wife see me exploring Kristen’s blog and looking at the various builds, she always makes a point of telling me that nothing I have made ever looked as good as Kristen’s. Luckily my wife’s comments are said with love(??)!
I love the ruler. so cute and truly useful. I have the growth chart from my three boys and it is still a true treasure even though they are in college now.
I wish I had thought of something like the ruler when my kiddos were little (way before Pinterest!!) We have a 2×4 hidden away in a closet that we get out on their birthdays and make the new marks. I could probably transfer the heights to a new board, but I’m a little sentimental–the 2×4 has been the tradition for 16 years now!
Hi there! Stumbled across your blog and love it, especially love how your DIY growth chart turned out!
A few months back I asked my husband to help me make one for our boys and we had fun preparing the board, but got stuck on creating a neat, professional way to put on numbers and tick marks. We tried numerous methods, and weren’t happy with any of them, so decided to design a DIY vinyl decal that you can just transfer onto the board and were finally happy with it!
Since then, knowing how popular this project is, we actually opened a shop on Etsy to sell the decals for other DIY-ers who wanted to make a board but didn’t have the creativiy or time to hand draw out or stencil numbers and tick marks. If you’d like to take a look, or recommend the shop in your post as an option to others who might be frustrated by the same step, it’s: http://www.etsy.com/shop/LittleAcornsByRo
Maybe it will be a help to others out there!
Thanks and best wishes!
Ro