Giant Ruler Growth Chart

I absolutely loved doing this project.  It was easy and didn't cost much money yet the outcome is amazing!

 

Here’s what you’ll need to make your own version:

Materials

• 1-1” x 8” x 6’ pine board
• Sandpaper
• Foam brush or paint brush
• Stencils (I used my Cricut machine)
• Pencil
• Ruler
• Black paint marker
• Polyurethane
• Hanging method—sawtooth hanger, heavy duty mounting tape, anchors and screws, etc.

We had nearly everything to make this at home, except the board. A quick trip to Lowes and we had ourselves a 1” x 8” x 6’ premium board for less than $10. Make sure to look for one that isn’t warped and has a texture and grain you like.

There were a couple things printed on the board that I wanted to remove so I just used sandpaper to remove it.

 

Now the print is gone.

I used a foam brush to put on a couple coats of polyurethane.  You could use a paint brush if you want but I like the foam brush because it is cheap and I can just throw it away when I'm done.

I decided that I wanted to hang the ruler 8” up from the floor, so I started my first hash mark at the 9” spot. There, I just drew a pencil line. To keep the ruler looking authentic, I made the 1/8 marks 1-1/2” long, the 1/4 marks 2” long, the 1/2 marks 2-1/2” long, and then the foot marks 3” long.

 

I used a black paint marker to go over my pencil lines.

I used my Cricut Machine to make the stencils.  You can buy them or draw them freehand if you prefer.

This is the part I messed up on.  I put the stencil down and just used the paint marker and colored it in but when I pulled the stencil up the paint had bled under the stencil. 

I used nail polish remover to take up the paint and decided to use a pencil to trace the stencil and then use the paint marker to color it in.

The paint came right up with the nail polish remover.

It's hard to see in the picture but I used a pencil and trace the stencil.

Then I colored it in.

My significant other put a hanger on the back and hung it up for me.