growth chart

sorry for my absence. it's summer, we're busy. i haven't been pulling out my camera for the randoms fun things we've been doing (and i was sick for over a week!). but i'm back with a fun craft i made after thinking about how big finn is now. my parents always charted our height on a door, but we're in a condo and can't take any doors with us when we move. so i looked for a growth chart and found the cute ones to be around $50...yeah, no. i made one myself, instead. and i'll show you how :)

 

here's the infished product. a canvas height chart to measure your child as they grow. you should be able to click the pictures for larger images.

supplies:

a 6ftx9ft canvas drop cloth ($10.98 at lowe's)
brown acrylic paint
sponge brush
letters & numbers stencil set
3/8" wooden dowel
brown sharpie
also: sewing machine/thread, hot glue, twine/ribbon/string

cut a rectangle from drop cloth measuring 9" wide by 60" long. this allows for a chart that includes 20" - 72", which leaves space for marking newborn length up to adulthood. you won't use the entire cloth, obviously. but you'll have spare canvas for another one or a different project!

fold the sides and bottom edge once about 3/8", then again to enclose the raw edge, iron and pin. sew two lines of long stitching along the pinned edges for a clean yet industrial look. fold the raw top over about an inch and sew 7/8" from top to create a sleeve for the dowel.

starting an inch from the bottom, use a ruler to measure inches, marking at each one. begin with 20" and end with 72", making larger marks for 2-6 feet.

using a straight stencil piece (i used the center of a "cent" symbol from my set), paint on tick marks at each inch. make a longer mark at each foot. stencil corresponding numbers (2-6) at foot marks, as well as the child's name at the top. (as a note, i tried the brown sharpie for thicker markings, but it bleeds. they make paint sharpies that could work. you can see in the sample picture with the "1" stencil.)

once dry, insert dowel and hot glue a strand of string/twine/ribbon to hang. growth chart finished! use the sharpie to make small ticks and date to remember how little your little once was. fyi: this chart is not waterproof or safe for washing or ironing on the paint.