DIY Growth Chart

Ward had his 18-month old check up last week and as always, was a little on the scrawny side when it comes to weight (15th percentile!).  However, he has always made up for the lack in weight with his height...which is now 90th percentile!  I ignored the nurse saying I should ''put more butter" on his food and am happy with having a long and lean (and healthy!!!) boy. 

So, the point of this rambling?  Well, I've had this 1x10 sitting in my garage for probably 2 months now that I intended to make a growth chart with.  After his Dr. appointment I figured it was time to get started before he sprouts up any further undocumented!


Here was my inspiration image, found on Pinterest.

Via Cozy Cottage Cute

Really, this is super easy.  I wanted the exposed wood portion to have a weathered effect, so decided to try something different than staining.  (Although, staining would work just as well!)  I found this link from The Friendly Home that gave me the idea. In order to oxidize the wood, you can mix a combination of steel wool and plain 'ole white vinegar.  I skipped the black tea portion and just used the plain solution to test it out.   The color ended up being browner than I thought it would be, so if you want to go the easy route (and get the exact color you want) go for the stain (or try ALL the steps shown on the link above!).  However, this little mixture was pretty cool, is SUPER cheap to make and will keep forever in the garage.

              

Before the vinegar mixture

After one coat of the mixture

After I painted the whole board with my vinegar mixture, I divided the 6ft long board into 6 equal parts, each part equals one foot.   Then, tape off every other piece with some newspaper I had lying around.

Then I got too ahead of myself and spray painted it without my stencil.  Whoops.  It's ok, now that is the back I guess ;)  (Also, I didn't put a very thick coat of spray paint on, I wanted it to have more of an aged look, so I didn't care about the coats being perfect!)

Then, I flipped it over and repeated the taping again.  I sized the stencil letters on my computer and printed them out.  Cut the actual numbers out for 2, 4 and 6 and the negative space for the 1, 3 and 5.  (If you have actual stencils that aren't flimsy paper, that is even better!)  Because my stencils were printer paper, I loosely taped the underneath with some painters tape to keep the edges down.  I covered up the alternating pieces with more newspaper and spray painted over my stencils.

Tape down the number stencil

I know it looks like a pile of trash, but almost done!

After all the stencils have been spray painted, remove all the newspaper and tape....and here is the final result!

As a finishing touch, I took my measuring tape and made small ticks on the right side so I could actually use this to measure Wards height.  Then, mount it 12" above the floor and it should be pretty accurate.  I plan on measuring him every so often and writing the dates/heights directly on the board so it will be a lasting memento to keep around. :)

 Here it is in Ward's room, now if I could get him to stand still for a second so I could take a picure....