Watch-Her-Grow Ruler

Another National Crafting Month Creation! 

I am lucky to have a lot of friends that I consider family. My friend, who I grew up with and consider a sister, just had a beautiful baby girl in September of last year.  It has been so exciting to watch her little girl grow and learn over the last six months. She is beautiful and full of giggles and drool and I absolutely adore her. It's fascinating to watch her learn and grow... and of course, I love to spoil her!  So, when I ran across this simple and fun DIY, I thought it would make a fun gift!

I took a trip to Home Depot and got all of my supplies. I searched through a bunch of the pine boards to find one that looked the cleanest and had the fewest knots, grooves, and imperfections. The board was about $8.50, not too shabby! I snagged some sandpaper blocks for less than a dollar and a sample size of paint, about $3.50. It took me a few minutes to find the perfect coral color to match Allison's nursery decorated in coral and creme (it's stinkin' precious!). I also grabbed a wall hanging kit. My mom had black vinyl adhesive paper leftover from another project, so she help me cut the numbers, letters, and dashes with her Cricut machine. She also happened to have a bunch of felt adhesive wall bumpers, always prepared! 

Supplies

pine board, 6 ft tall x 12 inches wide 

sandpaper

paint

paint brush

number and letter stickers 

wall hanging kit

wall bumpers

I was pretty proud of the pine board I found. I managed to find one with just a few imperfections/grooves. I still needed to make sure that the surfaces were smooth and looked nice when painted, so I took the sandpaper to it and smoothed it all down. 

Once the surfaces and edges were nice and sanded down, I began painting. I first started with some leftover foam brushes that I had around the house, but then went back to Home Depot and got a trim painting kit for $1. It came with the perfect size small roller brush and a small tray that I could pour the paint into. 

I got a Behr Premium Plus paint sample. I love how this color turned out. I did about 3 coats by the time I was done painting. 

After I let it dry completely, I got out a tape measure and marked off the inches with a pencil on the edge of the board. Then I marked each six inch interval, where a longer marking would go.  My mom helped me apply the vinyl cut lettering for "Allison" at the top of the board. We were careful to do our best to make it centered on the board. 

Then I added the small lines for each inch mark and longer ones for the 6 inch and foot markers. I started with the bottom of my board being the 6" mark, so the board could measure up to 6'6". Then I added the numbers at the foot markers. 

I thought it turned out pretty cute for my first large-scale craft. Allison sure looked adorable next to it! Pretty soon she'll be standing up on her own. Time sure does fly!