Growth Chart Ruler DIY

Michelle
by Michelle
3 Materials
1 Hour
Medium

Learn how to create a growth chart ruler to keep track of your child’s growth throughout the years. The perfect keepsake project that the kids can take with them when they grow up! Keep reading for the easy tutorial.

Growth Chart Ruler DIY


We started marking my daughter’s height on our bedroom wall not too long after she started walking. It was so fun to compare her height over the years and see how much she had grown. Now that we are renovating our home to sell it, I wanted to keep those memories with me.


Our bedroom walls are covered in paneling. The plan, in the beginning, was to remove the paneling and paint the walls. That way I would be able to cut out the growth chart and take it with me. However, the plans have changed. Since paneling seems to be making a comeback in the HGTV world, we decided to just paint the paneling. It’s less work and saves us time and money. Win, win!


So that means I will not be able to take the growth chart off the wall. Instead, I decided to create a growth chart ruler and copy the marks from the wall over to the ruler. This way I can still take the memories with me! And when my daughter moves out she can have it to show her kids one day.



What you need:

  • Board – 6-foot long or longer (mine is a 1″x3″ board a little over 6′)
  • Sanding paper
  • Paint
  • Measuring tape
  • Pencil
  • Number stencils (or number stickers or vinyl cut numbers)
  • Black permanent marker (or a black paint pen)



What you do:


Step 1

First, cut your board to the length you want, if needed. I was lucky enough to find a board in my husband’s scrap woodpile that was exactly the length I needed. It’s just a tiny bit over 6′ long, which is perfect for my project.


Next, sand away any splinters that may be sticking out and any imperfections with sandpaper; wipe the board clean with a damp rag or tack cloth.



Step 2

After your board is prepped and ready to go, give it a coat of paint. I used white and I only did one coat because I wanted it to look a little worn. Let the paint dry completely before moving on to the next step.



Step 3

After the paint is completely dry, it’s time to start making the marks on your growth chart ruler.


Starting at the bottom of the board, measure up with the measuring tape and mark a line at every inch. After marking at every inch, go back and make straight lines all the way to the end of the board.


To make it look like a ruler, I made every third line longer than the others. Because I used a smaller-width board, my small lines are 1/2″ long and my longer lines are 1 and 1/2″ long.



Step 4

Next, use a number stencil to place the numbers 1-6 all the way up the growth chart ruler. Place them at every “foot” line, or 12-inches apart.


If you’d rather not use stencils, you can use vinyl letters cut from your Cricut or letter stickers from Dollar Tree. However, if you use stickers, you may want to use Mod Podge so they will not come off.


The stencils I used were actually my daughter’s and they are 2″ tall.



Step 5

After drawing all of your lines and numbers, go back over them with a black permanent marker or a black paint pen to make them stand out.



Step 6

If your height marks are on the wall like ours are, just copy them over to the growth chart ruler.


That’s it! Your growth chart ruler is complete! Now you can hang it on your wall or just lean it against the wall.



I think this would also be really pretty stained with white letters. Or personalized with your child’s name.


How would you create your growth chart ruler?



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Michelle
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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7 of 9 comments
  • Barbie Barbie on Jun 11, 2021

    How/where did you put the copied over growth marks? I need to do this for my FOUR children! Keeping the marks separate is difficult!

    • See 3 previous
    • Michelle Michelle on Jun 13, 2021

      That's a great idea! I love that!

  • Ellis Ellis on Jun 13, 2021

    Very clever, Michelle. I didn't think of doing this when we moved, I wish I had.



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