Saturday, July 18, 2015

DIY Growth Chart Ruler + Video Tutorial


Hey Everyone!

I am super excited to share with you my latest DIY project, a growth chart ruler! I have been wanting to make one forever. I can't believe it took me this long! In fact I had wood stashed in my garage for years... it is actually one piece of a bi-fold door that I kept from when we built our house over 10 years ago! Talk about hoarding, I know right!?!

A friend from work (hey Katie!) had asked me if I could cut out some numbers for her to create a growth chart ruler on my silhouette. Of course I said yes, but at the time I had way too much other stuff going on. Fast forward a couple of months and finally I had sometime this past week to work on it. So since I was making a template for her, I thought why not make one for myself.  Finally I could check it off my to do list!

There are many ways to make these growth chart rulers but I wanted mine to last forever as a family keepsake and treasure, not sure how vinyl was going to hold up over the years and that is why I chose to do it like I did. I am SO happy with how it turned out and how simple it was to make. The hardest part was being patient and waiting for things to dry! 


For this tutorial I thought I would try doing things a little differently. Rather than having tons of pictures, I decided to create a little video! Hope you find this step by step instructional video helpful on creating your own growth chart. I used the paint, vinyl, paint, peel technique all the time (PVPP) and wanted to show you exactly how it works.

I have to apologize in advance as you may need to pause the video as it is jammed packed with great tips and I didn't want the video to be super long! So with out further adieu, hope enjoy my first ever You Tube video... and as they say all the time on You Tube "please give me a thumbs up if you liked my video and leave me a comment"!


Here is the list of supplies I used:
  • Wood (piece of a bi-fold door re purposed)
  • Modpodge
  • Acrylic paint
  • Foam roller and brush (could use a paint brush as well)
  • Paper plates (for paint an Modpodge, easy clean up)
  • Measuring tape
  • Scissors
  • Vinyl (cheap kind that you can line drawers with, got mine at the dollar store)
  • Silhouette Machine (to cut out the growth chart)
  • FREE file from the Silhouette School (see details below)
  • Heat gun or blow drier (if you are impatient like me ;)
  • Hanging hardware
  • OPTIONAL: stain or paint for the wood (If you choose do this, prep your wood by using the stain or paint before starting this tutorial. VERY IMPORTANT: Make sure you sand your wood lightly if using a stain before applying the Modpodge, this will give the Modpodge something to grab on to, or it may all peel off!)

For those of you with a Silhouette Machine, Melissa from the Silhouette School has the growth chart ruler Studio cut file for FREE on her blog! While you're there check out some of her amazing tutorials and projects :)

Thanks for stopping by!
Happy Crafting  :)


PS. For those of you wondering why Modpodge? Well I had lots of it around, and it is the perfect top coat sealer. Plus it gave the wood a natural look that I was going for!


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Thanks so much for taking the time and leaving me a comment! I always love hearing from you and I appreciate you stopping by! Hugs, Ilda