giant ruler growth chart

I am pretty excited about this project mainly because it was made entirely from leftovers. I love when that works out.

We had remaining bead board from our nook project (which I will share with you next week). It was just leaning against the wall in the garage begging to be used for something. I saw a jumbo ruler growth chart in a Pottery Barn Kids magazine awhile back. It was a traditional looking ruler and I loved it, but didn't love the price so never even considered the purchase.

So, here is the story of how that tall and skinny leftover piece of bead board became a giant ruler growth chart...

My husband first cut the piece for me to the size I requested. We kept the width at 9" and then cut it off at 5 1/2 feet. I wanted the growth chart to go to 6 feet and be 6 inches off the ground so 66 inches was the answer.

Next, I got out our ol' rusty can of white paint that has been used for more projects than I can remember. I gave the piece a fresh coat of white paint...

Then I measured and marked every inch down the board...

I visited my sticker stash and found my favorite font of letters to use for my stencils. I used the outlines of numbers 1-5. I also used dashes, letter l & i, as well as exclamation point outlines to mark the inches and feet. I used a large line to mark each foot, a medium line to mark each 1/2 foot, and the smallest line to mark every inch...

I got out my black acrylic to paint the numbers and lines. I carefully painted inside the stencils with just one full coat...

This way of doing stencils is not full-proof so my trusty white paint had to make an appearance again for a bit (or a whole lot) of touching up...

Next up were a couple coats of clear spray paint applied to the ruler for protection...

Jason hung it up in the kitchen using a black screw in each corner...

I was so excited and loved it immediately. The little man was also excited and happy to get measured...

The final touch was printing off a black & white picture of each member of the family in a 2 x 3 size and using tape to apply them to the ruler. Because of the clear coat on top, the tape easily can come off at any point so the pictures can be changed periodically without effecting the paint on the ruler...

I was excited to include the littlest member of the family on our new growth chart using an ultrasound photo. My pregnancy book says our little one should be approximately 12 inches long at this point...

I was so happy with the finished product. Now we have an interactive growth chart that the kids can have fun with. I just know Avery is going to try and measure everyone that comes over.

I spent about a week on this project because I took my time and enjoyed the process instead of rushing through it (as I typically do). I love that it fits right into our kitchen and that it was essentially free! Who doesn't love a free project? I love that the kids love it and will learn from it. I love that it is another place to put pictures of their smiling faces and to watch our little blessings grow!

I will be linking up to these parties this week! Join in and visit for some fun inspiration from some fabulously creative minds!

Happy Tuesday! See you next week.