For some time now, I've been pinning and eyeing extra-large ruler projects like this. I love the simple wooden decor and the whimsical addition of a giant ruler to your house. But I didn't think it really made a lot of sense to put one of these in our home until David and I had a bambino who's growth we could measure along the way.
And now that we do have a baby (almost) on board at the Ten June house? Oh yeah.
This project was really simple. I grabbed an old wooden board from our scrap wood pile in the basement. If you don't have any scrap wood available, you can pick up a board from your local hardware store. I grabbed a piece of wood that was completely beat up and had white paint all over it, just because I wanted to give this project a completely rustic effect.
I'm lucky in that my board was already stained, but you could stain or paint yours easily.
I measured the board and penciled off tick marks for every inch. I decided to start the board at one foot, so that I could eventually hang the piece on the wall, slightly off the ground. I'll just need to remember to always hang it so that the bottom is exactly one foot above the floor. Makes sense to me!
I was thrilled to be able to break out my non-toxic craft paint for this project (one of the biggest things I miss since I've become pregnant is painting!). As you can see, I almost haphazardly painted ivory lines over each of the tick marks. I wanted this project to be fun and rustic, not too formal.
My initial thought was to create my own stencils to paint the numbers on the growth chart (just because I freehanded the tick marks doesn't mean I could freehand the numbers and have them actually resemble numbers, ha!), just like I did with my DIY rustic wooden board sign. But then I got lazy realized I had some old chipboard stickers I could use and they'd be a heck of a lot easier cuter than any stencil I made. So a coat of ivory craft paint went over the chipboard stickers and... voila! Automatic ruler numbers.
And that's all she wrote, folks. Easy peasy project, right?
Right now, our new growth chart ruler is leaning against the wall in our office (and clearly it was hanging out in the breakfast room for awhile, too). Once we find a final location for it (the nursery?), I'll screw in a bracket to the back so we can basically hang it like a heavy picture frame.
I just love the big ol' ruler's rustic look. I can picture all of us crowded around it one day, measuring our growing little man and his siblings. Functional + sentimental art... I love it!
PS. Since I've been hanging on for dear life to Picnik, this was my first post that I edited photos via PicMonkey... not too shabby!
Linking up with Hi Sugarplum!
Linking up with Hi Sugarplum!
.jpg)
This is too cute. I love how rustic it is.
ReplyDeleteI love this so much! Not only is it cute, but practical and portable. I'm afraid that you are inspiring me to
ReplyDeleteAdd more projects to my list. Yikes!
that is so cute! i have plans to make one for my kids.... so far they are 5 and 6. so maybe i will have mine done by the time they stop growing. good for you for already tackling this project.
ReplyDeleteI love this Michelle. Might have to make myself one for our kiddos. Really simple and sweet. The stick on numbers worked out perfectly.
ReplyDeleteMichelle, that is so cute! We just mark their growth on the back of our basement door. Then when we finished the basement we just continued even though it looks a little messy when you come up the basement stairs. I guess it adds character! Love your project though!
ReplyDelete-Shelley
So whimsical and cute!! Baby boy will really like measuring himself with this one day!! How fun. And PicMonkey rocks...dare I say I like it better than Picnik?! YES.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE this Michelle - so rustic and cute! I think it's so neat to be able to track the growth of your little one - I'm sure he will love doing this with you guys too :)
ReplyDeleteI really love this idea, and definitely want to incorporate it into our nursery. Thanks for sharing! :)
ReplyDeleteGreat idea - I love the rustic look!
ReplyDeleteSuper cute project and something that Baby will definitely "grow" into! ;)
ReplyDeleteThat's so cute! And perfect for as the baby grows up! :)
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh - that is the cutest thing ever! LOVE it!
ReplyDeleteso clever, i love it!
ReplyDeleteomg this is wonderful! I love how creative you are. the rustic look to this chart is perfection.
ReplyDeleteSuch a great project! I love how the ruler has so much durability. It could work for several kiddos and easily move from house to house! I'll probably have to pin this!
ReplyDeleteI so love this! I'm just mad I don't have more room in my house for it! :( Maybe some day
ReplyDeleteI love this, especially since it's so simple. Pinning! And making, eventually... when I have kids down the line. :-)
ReplyDeleteErin @ The Great Indoors
I love it! And I'm totally doing this for my munchkin :) Good for you for continuing to be creative as the baby gets closer, that's no easy feat, I couldn't even stand up for more than 10 min. the last trimester.
ReplyDeleteI was so sad when Picnik broke up with me. I'm using a combo of Creative Kit in Google +, Picmonkey, and Picassa.
That is so cute Michelle.....I need to "get my diy on" real bad......
ReplyDeleteSo sweet Michelle. I'll have to have a baby just to get one!!!
ReplyDeleteSo cute! I love the rustic look it has as well!
ReplyDeleteA growth chart has been on my to do list forever. Thanks for showing this, now I'm inspired, and maybe could get it done during nap time! Thanks for posting!
ReplyDelete