The Rule

I ooh'ed, ah'ed and added a few versions of this to my "must do" list when I saw the idea on pinterest.  I swear y'all ... I could spend days on there! Trouble is, most of the things I pin are so aspirational that there just isn't time in this busy diva's day to pull them off.

In this case, I found the adorable pics I'm sure you have all seen ... the giant life size ruler that you make and put on the wall to measure the littles each year on their birthday.  Y'all, I must apologize for the poor pics to follow.  Quite simply, it's the foyer entry way from the garage and let's be honest ... not super lighting! 

Anywho, this was something on my to do list, but actually finding the time to "do" ... well, that was a challenge.  Just a few weeks before the babe's first birthday, I visited creative, crafty bestie M's home and saw that SHE ACTUALLY MADE IT.  After she explained the steps, I knew I had to kick my booty into overdrive and ensure I had mine ready before Baby B's first year checkup. 

Best part ... this was actually a really easy craft.  The most challenging part is ... well, getting it right the first time!  Trust this diva, I'll explain.  It was a snap to craft and such fun.  I had the best time updating the big ruler to proudly report Baby B's birth and year 1 stats this week.  This may be the only reason I'm ready for Baby B to turn two!  Keep him this sweet age forever.

Here's how I did it:
Here's what you need:

• A long 1x6.  In our case, we expect tall littles ... so we went for a 6+ foot board and then offset it on the floor so it was almost 7 feet when complete. 
• A small container (sample size) of stain
• A Sharpie - the newer the better!
• A ruler
• Sandpaper

Here's what to do:
1.  Begin by sanding the wood.  It's important that it's smooth.
2.  Apply the stain to the wood.  Note, I went with a provencial wood stain and it looked medium tone on the sample.  The wood absorbed the stain very quickly and it was much darker than expected.  I did this project after Baby B went to sleep and did the staining on my porch.  A dollar store table cloth served as a drop cloth.

3.  So, going with the flow ... I sanded off some of the top coat of the wood and actually found myself using what was initially the back side of the wood.

4.  After letting the stain dry entirely, the only step left is to draw the ruler.  To draw all of the tick marks, I used a ruler.  For my ruler, I pre-measured that the board would stand about 9 inches off of the floor, so I started the tick marks just shy of a foot.  That way, my 6 foot board would measure up to about 7 feet tall.  I first tried paint and had the bright idea to paint cream colored tick marks.  The reality ... that was a messy disaster.  So, plan B... I used a Sharpie marker to make the tick marks and complete the next step.
5.  For the numbers, I used the same process I explained here.  I just traced the numbers onto the board and filled them in.
6.  If you desire, apply a clear top coat. 

In just a few easy steps, my board was ready for hanging.  As for Baby B, he's measuring in just shy of 33 inches for his first year check up.  That's right folks, over 97% for the height on this little fella! 

xoxo!