{ DIY Growth Chart for a Vintage Baseball Themed Room}
Hello, hello!
Our two boys have grown 3-4 inches in the last year since we moved in to our house! I know this because I’ve been marking their height on the wall in their room, err, with a Sharpie. Fancy huh? I’ve seen these growth charts all over the internet lately, and I thought it’s about time this DIY mama stops writing on the walls with a Sharpie, and DIY’s one of these babies!
The boy’s room is navy, grey, white, and red, to honor their favorite team, the Boston Red Sox. I gave their old Ikea dresser a subway style makeover a few months ago, so in making this Growth Chart, I thought I’d stick with the theme we’ve got going and make it red with white letters, and distress it to look vintage. ‘Vintage’ is the kick I’m on lately, please bear with me. Thanks!
Want to make your own? Check out how I did it:
{How to make a DIY Growth Chart}
First things first, you need wood! You can get a 6″x8′ cut down at most home improvement stores. I decided to make it 6 ft tall, and had it cut to size at Home Depot.
After some light sanding, I sprayed the top and sides with primer, and let it dry.
Next I marked every 12″ with a pencil (lightly) and added a 2″ vinyl number to each (see them in red below).
Sprayed the top and sides in 2 coats of a pretty shade of red.
Once the paint was dry, I removed the vinyl stickers, exposing the white paint.
Then every 2″ I added a white stripe (varying the lengths to show the 6″ and 12″ mark), using a white painting pen. I did this free hand, but you can certainly use a stencil do this if you have one.
I liked the glossy red look, but remember, I’m on a vintage kick, so I needed to distress this sucker!
{Distressing a Piece of Wood}
To give it a ‘distressed’ look, I simply went over the entire piece with sand paper (150 grit) lightly, focusing on the edges, numbers, and measurement marks (all the white).
Then I used some dark stain I had left over from another project and with a foam brush applied it over everything, wiping off with a cotton towel. This gave the numbers an ‘aged’ look, making them a nice shade of cream, also ‘aging’ any exposed wood (after sanding).
Still trying to figure out where to hang it in their room!
A friend of mine has enlisted me to make a few of these for her kid’s as well! She wants a ‘rustic’ look; wood stain, with black numbers (which I also love!), so ‘stay tuned’, I’ll be sharing those with you as well!
Have you attempted to make one of these for your kids?
Thanks for stopping by, see you again soon!
**Project Update!! **
Here is a pic of one of the growth charts I made for my friend,
in a dark stain with black letters!
Here is a pic of one of the growth charts I made for my friend,
in a dark stain with black letters!
Kimberly says
My little boy’s room is vintage baseball too! He totally needs a growth, we just write it on the all now also :). Thanks for the inspiration Barbara!
Barbara Hiatt says
Thanks Kimberly! So easy to make too! I really didn’t think the markings on the wall looked all that bad till I put the growth chart next to it! Have a wonderful day!
Kadie says
It turned out SO cute!! I need to make one too, they just grow so fast.:)
Barbara Hiatt says
Thanks Kadie! They sure do grow up too fast…makes me kind of sad! Thanks for the visit! :)
Kara @ Petals to Picots says
This is such a great idea! I love that you could take it with you if you ever move too. I mark my kids’ heights on a door and always think that it would be sad to lose the markings if we ever move :(
Barbara Hiatt says
Thank you Kara! I love that these are portable too!
sara @ applestone drive says
Awesome! I need one now for my boys’ vintage baseball room. :) Great job!!
Barbara Hiatt says
Sara, I thought of you as I was writing this post up! It goes so well with the dresser, I knew it would work in your son’s room too! Can’t wait to see it all complete!! Thank you so much XO
Michelle@ Learning to Be a Mom says
This is such a great tutorial! I have a board to start making one, but I haven’t started yet. This tutorial will be a great help.
Barbara Hiatt says
Great Michelle! Please let me know if you make one! Thank you for stopping by:)
[email protected] says
Your growth chart is perfect for that room! Great job. Thanks for sharing this week at One Creative Weekend! Have a great weekend!
Barbara Hiatt says
Thank you so much Heidi! Great party!
Stacia Liechty says
I love the red! Looks awesome. I just linked up my ruler growth chart to One Creative Weekend too! Great minds think alike! I just became a follower, so I could keep up on all that goes on in that brilliant head of yours. I’d love it if you stopped over and looked around my brand new blog, if you like what you see, follow me too!
Stacia@http://feathersandsunshine.blogspot.com
Barbara Hiatt says
Thanks Stacia! We are definitely in sync! I’ll stop by your place! Appreciate the comment and the follow!
Jill @ Create.Craft.Love. says
Such a great job, friend! I love how it looks in Chase’s room! So cute! Can’t wait to see the other ones! Thanks for sharing at the Pomp Party! Pinning!
Barbara Hiatt says
Thanks friend!!
Danielle @ 2 Little Superheroes says
Wow I love this. And it’s so different from all the white ones I’ve seen all over Pinterest. Looks like it fits into your sons room perfectly.
Dawn Braun says
Super cute! I’ve been wanting to make one of these as well…and I’m pretty sure you’ve just given me the kick I needed! :) thanks!
Barbara Hiatt says
Great Dawn! I love this one, I’m sure you’ll enjoy having one as well! Thanks for stopping by!
Bingo Buttercup Crafts says
This is greatness and perfectly suited for me and my growing family. I have one sweet boy and one on the way who are (based on their Daddy and myself) probably gonna be pretttttty tall kiddos. :) I would love to make this for them! Thanks so much for posting! I love your inspiring & cute blog, my dear!
p.s. Thanks so much for the sweet words on my blog! I’m thrilled that you like my printable tags!
-Amberly!
Kelly @ Here Comes the Sun says
I love how this turned out! I’ve seen these floating around Pinterest but I like yours the best! One of these would be perfect for my son’s room!
Katherines Corner says
looks great! Thank you for sharing at the Thursday Favorite Things hop. Your participation helps make it a success.I’m sorry I am slow to visit I am fighting a nasty head cold and my time on the computer has been limited.Wishing you a beautiful day .xo
Stacey says
That is adorable Barbara! I love that you distressed it!
Thanks for linking up this week!
Stacey of Embracing Change
Cassie @ Primitive & Proper says
looks awesome!! love the red color you used… i grew up in red sox land, but my family was team yankees. ;)
Ivy and Elephants says
This is such a super cute idea. Love it! This is such a creative post. I would love it if you would share this post at our WIW linky party. Hope you can join us. :-)
Paula
ivyandelephants.blogspot.com
Paula says
That looks so great! It goes perfectly in the room. We’d love for you to link this up at our party! http://housewivesofriverton.blogspot.com/2012/09/riverton-housewives-round-up-33.html
Kathryn Ferguson Griffin says
Oh, that turned out really cute! Great job!! Thank you for sharing. Visiting from Beyond the Picket Fence. Would love it if you would share this at my Make it Pretty Monday party at The Dedicated House. http://thededicatedhouse.blogspot.com/2012/09/make-it-pretty-monday-week-15.html Hope to see you at the bash! Toodles, Kathryn @TheDedicatedHouse
love bug momma says
How did you hang it?? I hotglued one I made and it fell off…. is there a better way? [email protected]
Betsy @ Romance on a Dime says
Looks great!! I’m glad you linked up at Take it on Tuesday! Pinning this.
Christine says
I…. LOVE IT Barbara!! It’s absolutely FABULOUS!!!
Thanks so much for sharing this at The DIY Dreamer.. From Dream To Reality!
Ro LittleAcorns says
Hi there! Stumbled across your blog and love it, especially love how your DIY growth chart turned out! Such a fun, aged, sporty look!
A few months back I asked my husband to help me make one for our boys and we had fun preparing the board, but got stuck on creating a neat, professional way to put on numbers and tick marks. We tried numerous methods, and weren’t happy with any of them, so decided to design a DIY vinyl decal that you can just transfer onto the board and were finally happy with it!
Since then, knowing how popular this project is, we actually opened a shop on Etsy to sell the decals for other DIY-ers who wanted to make a board but didn’t have the creativity or time to hand draw out or stencil numbers and tick marks. If you’d like to take a look, or recommend the shop to others in your post as an option for those who might be frustrated by the same step, it’s: http://www.etsy.com/shop/LittleAcornsByRo
Maybe it will be a help to others out there!
Thanks and best wishes!
Ro
admin says
Thanks Ro! Good luck with your shop!