Growth Chart Ruler DIY

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.

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Before I show you how to make a growth chart ruler, I thought I’d give you an update on how things are going with our new home. In case you missed it, we bought a house a few months ago and 11 days after closing a large oak tree fell on the family room, causing quite a bit of damage. (You can read more about that here.)

A contractor finally came out to the house and told us he’s booked up for 3-4 months, just the same as everyone else. He did mention that he may be able to get to the roof and exterior work a little sooner. Hopefully, he can and work can start sooner rather than later.

It’s so frustrating that everyone is so booked up for months and months. The main reason is that their workers are getting paid more to sit at home and do nothing than get out and work. Which to me is very selfish because there are so many people that need work done that can’t get it done. But, that’s a whole different story…

So that’s what’s going on with the repairs to our new home – nothing. Ugh!

Now let’s move on to the growth chart ruler DIY.

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?

Looking for more fun and easy upcycled DIYs? I recommend these:
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Reclaimed Wood American Flag
Hymnal Page Candles
DIY Shabby Chic Lamp