growth ruler

Our Mickle Makers Club made these growth rulers several weeks ago.  

We purchased pine boards from Home Depo.  I really wanted to use a rustic barn plank, they're so cool, but the seller would only sell the planks by the barn! 

We couldn't decide whether to white wash then (writing shows up better) or to stain.  We decided that we liked the look of the stain better.

We used some left over walnut stain we found in the garage.  The instructions says to wait 6 hours in between coats to let it dry . . . 6 HOURS?  who waits 6 hours?  I wiped off the excess stain with paper towel to create a vintage affect and waited about 20 minutes.  

This chart is from "Knock Off Decor".  If you start on the 6th inch, and hang it 6 inches off the ground, it gives you up to 6 feet, 5 inches.  Hopefully you won't need more than that!  If your kids do then, "THEY'VE CONQUERED THE RULER"!  

We used this nifty stencil from a friend.  I recommend making one but you don't have to.  It does get a little tedious with the markings.

For the ruler numbers, we painted onto number stencils, then carefully placed them on to the board.

 I found several great tutorials online:

That Village House

517 Creations

They were quick, easy and cheap to make.  The friend who lent me the stencil makes a bunch at a time and gives them for baby gifts, what a great idea!

This is such a fun tradition to start with your family.  With our children gone now, I just might use mine for our grandchildren so when cousins come to visit, they can see how much they've grown since they last visited, and they can see how tall their cousins are.

speaking of cousins . . .