I recently guest posted at Craft Monkey with this post.
While vacationing recently, I was looking through some magazines and I found this project. I love the versatility of it. Shortly after seeing it in the magazine I was visiting my Aunt Dot and noticed that her granddaughter had marked the height of her son on my aunt’s dining room doorway. The problem is, the granddaughter and the great-grandson have since moved out and my aunt may be selling her property soon. With this DIY Growth chart that would never be a problem. You move, it goes with you!
I purchased an 8 ft 1x6 (which is really 5.5 inches wide), and cut the board in half. This gave me two growth charts each 48 inches long.
I painted a coat of black paint just on the top of the board.
I used my Silhouette to cut out the numbers and dashes to resemble a ruler. I use contact paper to make stencils instead of expensive vinyl.
I create a hinge with ScotchBlue painter’s tape, then I remove the paper backing.
I also use clear contact paper as my transfer paper. Here, the paper backing has been removed and I’m about to burnish the contact paper numbers and dashes onto my board.
To keep the paint from bleeding under my vinyl (contact paper) I paint another coat of black over top of the vinyl.
After the black paint dried, I used this handy roller painter from Martha Stewart and rolled some pink pearl paint over the entire board.
After the pink paint dried, I peeled off the vinyl (contact paper) numbers and dashes.
While I was at it, I painted a red one,
And a couple of off white ones.
As with any growth chart, these hang a couple of feet off the floor. Remember, the best part is you can take them with you when you move! You could also attach pictures at the appropriate spot when you record your child’s height.
gail
Gail Wilson is the author and mastermind behind My Repurposed Life. She is obsessed with finding potential in unexpected places and believes that with a little hard work and imagination, any old thing can be made useful again, including herself!
Gail reinvented herself during a midlife crisis and has found purpose again. She hopes you will find new ideas for old things and pick up a few tools along the way.
hilary @ oldhouse.truelove.
cute!
Crafty Mischief
These are great! I think I need one! Our's is paper and ripping. The wood would be much better.
My mother in law has a door in her house that she uses as a growth chart. She also stamps the grandkids hands (or feet when they're babies) on it. The kids love it! And, she says she can just take the door with her if she ever moves.
Thanks for sharing Gail!
Frugal Home Designs
Love it! What would you charge for a contact paper stencil?
Anita @ GoingALittleCoastal
These are a great idea. I had some marks in my old house from the previous owners. They were in the closet so I never painted over them!
Katie
These look awesome Gail! My fave is the pink one! š I actually kinda like how they look all piled next to each other!
Toqua's Crafts
My son now lives in the house where there are marks on the small bathroom wall where my kids were marked on the wall for their growth chart. It would have been nice to have this idea back then! Thanx for sharing!
Jodi
LOVE! This project has been on my to-do list for a while. I stumbled upon some of them on pintrest and really need to make a couple for my kiddos!
Granny
Those are really cute. I like the idea of putting a picture next to the "foot mark" to show when they reached that height. Bet those will sell well.
Amanda
These look great! I really must try this to record the twins growth, they are growing so fast its hard to think they were ever teeny tiny. Thanks for the 'how to'