Easy, Durable, Take-With-You-When-You-Move Growth Chart

I found this guest post I'd written, oh, probably almost two years ago.  The blog I guest posted on doesn't seem to exist anymore, so I guess I'd better repost my tutorial here!  Well, without further ado, here's my Easy, Durable, Take-With-You-When-You-Move Growth Chart.

. . .

Hi, everyone!  I'm Jill from Jill Made It, and I am really excited to be here today!  I love creating things, designing new things, and generally making my little world a prettier place.  I also love teaching people the things I learn, hence writing tutorials!


When my siblings and I were growing up, my mom kept track of our heights on growth charts.  Unfortunately, the early ones were made of paper and didn't survive.  Next, she marked our heights on a door...and then we moved.  Now that I'm a mommy, I want to keep a record of my munchkin's height, too, but in way that will withstand life in general.  So I came up with the Growth Stick.

(Yes, it's intended to be hung on the wall, but I couldn't get any good pictures outside.)

It is so easy and cheap, yet it will last right near forever.  Love that kind of project.

All you need to make it are:

 a 2x4x6 length of wood

sandpaper

some semi-gloss paint (mine was leftover from refinishing a dresser, which made this project even cheaper!)

two sharpies or other permanent markers (one fat, one medium or thin) 

a paintbrush (a large foam one)

a yardstick

and picture hanging hardware of your choice

First, sand down your board.

(Don't be like me and fail to realize your board needs sanding until after the first coat of paint.)

Paint all sides except the back.  (It'll never be seen anyway.)

Now take your smaller sharpie and mark the center of your board (longways--you know, like a hotdog).  You'll want to mark it near the top (but not at the very top--you'll see in a minute), then at the bottom and middle. These are just little marks to make sure you get your line straight.  (Sorry I forgot to take a picture of this.)

Next, use your yardstick and fat sharpie to connect these marks into one nice, straight line.

Use the space you saved at the top for your title.  I tried to come up with something cute, but decided to go with simple instead.

The next step is to mark your measurements.   First, determine how high on the wall you want to mount the growth chart.  I think we picked 7 inches off the floor.

This is the main reason for the skinny sharpie.

Make any touch-ups.

Mount your hardware, then hang your brand-new, super-durable, highly transportable growth chart.

Now all that's left is to mark everyone's heights!