DIY Height Chart

Happy New Year!  I hope you're off to a great start.  Our New Year has started off well.  I cleaned out closets and drawers, reorganized, and rid our home of unnecessary items that were taking up valuable space.  Now, this doesn't mean that the house is clean.  Far from it!  For some reason our house only stays clean for about 20 minutes, 30 minutes max!  I've learned to live with the mess because constant cleaning and nagging is NOT worth it.

Anyway, in the spirit of a new year and celebrating what it truly important in my life, I made a height chart to document Dominic's (and the soon-to-be baby girl's) growth.  

I've seen tutorials all over the web for this so I figured it couldn't be too hard.  As usual, I read a few and created my own general plan of action.  I gathered my materials: an 8' board, stain, a black permanent marker, a ruler, and a pencil.

Of course, I didn't take pictures of the process :).  I made this one night while sitting in front of the TV and pictures didn't even cross my mind.

Because of where I planned to hang this, I had to start measuring at 6" rather than 0".  My baseboards are 6" high.  By starting the ruler higher up, I account for the space from the floor to the bottom of the ruler.  This keeps the height accurate.

I simple started marking off 1" increments with my small ruler, marking them in pencil.  Then I went back to each mark and drew the line.  I think I made the smaller increments 2" long and the 1/4" increments 3" long.  I started making all the lines in pencil but thought it was taking too long.  I grabbed the permanent marker and made the lines, being sure to double check how long each one should be before drawing. 

Numbers are up next!  For authentic looking numbers, I printed out enlarged numbers from my computer.  I think I used Century but you could use any font you like.

I used the tried-and-true method of scribbling on the back of the numbers in pencil and then traced over the front of the number where I wanted it on the "ruler".  This left a barely-there outline for me to color in with permanent marker.  

Once I colored in all the numbers, I began staining.  I used the Provincial color.  I think it's from Minwax.  I just grabbed a rag, dipped it in the can and spread it on the board, making sure to go with the grain and get even coverage.  Don't forget the sides!  

Update - after having the piece for about two months, the stain has faded/absorbed a little.  I've been thinking about giving it another coat of stain to darken it.

Here's Dominic checking it out the next morning.  Once I showed him what to do, he immediately put his back against the ruler until I could mark his height.  Because it wasn't hung at the right height yet, I just pretended to mark it and then did it for real once I hung it.  

I love this height chart ruler because it's a functional piece of art.  Plus, if we ever move, we can take it with us, along with how tall the kids were each year.

How do you celebrate those who are important to you?  Scrap books, photos, height charts?   

As you can see in this last picture, I've started displaying some of Dominic's art.  I'm definitely not one of those people who keeps every piece of art my kid makes, but I do like to keep some.  I've slowly begun working it into our decor.  As Dominic makes more art, I'm sure I'll have to make some tough decisions, but for now, his art rotates through empty frames.