Giant Ruler Growth Chart!

Happy October Everyone! October is a eventful month here in the Koenig  household filled with lots of birthdays and who can forget Halloween. This year will be especially fun since it will be my first Halloween as a mom. I decided to start the month off with a project I have been dying to make since I found out I was pregnant, a GIANT RULER!

Growing up, just like in many families, all the kids were measured on the same stretch of wall in the dining room. Now, almost thirty years later, all those moments in time are saved along a gross amount of dirt. It isn't as easy as one might think to clean a wall around hand writing. Now that I have my own family started, I wanted to continue the tradition of keeping track of my kids measurement, minus the dirty walls. So thanks to the wonders of Pinterest and google I'm able to do just that.

The materials that can be used are really up to each person and the look that they want from their giant ruler. Here in the Koenig house hold you will find we have our own way of doing things.

Supplies:
7" x 1" knotty pine board
150 grit sand paper (or whatever you prefer)
clean cloth for wiping down board
staining sponge or brush
clean cloth
straight edge or square
pencil
pin striping tape ( min. 40 inches )
flush cutters or a razor
foam brush
number & letter stencils
black acrylic paint
clear spray paint

First, select a piece of wood that you like. I am making two so I chose a more unusual piece for my house and a piece with some great knots for my father's.

Taking the sand paper smooth down the board of all the rough spots and rounding all of the edges.

Wipe down the board of all dust with a clean cloth.

Depending on the look that you want this is where you can get creative with your ruler. I have seen many shades used on the rulers from honey to almost black. As per custom in the Koenig household we are a little different. I decided that for my father's ruler we would go with blue and for ours we went with green. Whichever stain you decide to go with follow the instructions as indicated on the can. We used the Minwax water based color stains since we already had them in the garage. Take a staining sponge or clean cloth and wipe down the board with the grain. Since I used the color stain I only let the color sit for a couple seconds before wiping up the excess stain. I then let the stain dry.

Time to make the measurements. We decided that since our families aren't known for being the tallest people we would safe with having our board end at 6' 6". This means we started the measurements at 6". I took a fabric tape measure and taped it down the center of the board to make measuring easier. Than with a square I marked my lines starting with the foot markers with 3 inch lines. I went through and marked the half way points with 2 inch lines and quarter dividers with 1 inch lines.                                    

 

Once I made my lines I used the pin stripping tape and carefully lined it up against the edge of the line. You can pick the top or bottom of the line to tape against you just want to be consistent. I used my Husband’s flush cutters to get my clean lines on the tape, but you can use a razor blade as well.

To make the numbers I took my handy square again and lined it up with the quarter lines above each foot line and centered the number at 4 inches and taped them down.

If you haven't ever stenciled before the key is to not use too much paint. This will ensure crisp lines. With your foam brush go slow and dap on the black paint creating a layer of paint. After that you can carefully smooth out the paint. 

Carefully remove the numbers. Now if  you want to personalize the ruler you can add a name. I left my father's blank as it would be for all grandchildren and added my son's name on for ours.

Now clear coat! I used a spray clear coat to make it easier.

Finally, it's done and now I can hang it and measure my son. He isn't able to stand on his own just yet but as soon as he can we will be ready!