DIY Ruler Growth Chart

I feel like before I even begin this post, I am NOT preparing for a child! LOL. I have always loved the look of the oversized ruler/growth charts and I just had to have one! And it won't hurt to have one when there are little Ray babies WAY down the road!

Now that that's out of the way, here's how I made the ruler. I ordered my vinyl kit from Groopdealz. At the time, I didn't think it was something I could do on the vinyl machine I had but now I wish I had waited because the machine I have now could crank this out in no time! That will factor into the cost of the project when we get to that!

I started out at Lowe's. I picked a 1"x8"x6' plank. I went back in forth in the store about whether I wanted a 8" or 10". The width of it is totally up to you. I liked the idea of something substantial but thick because you never know what space you'll have for it if you ever move.

Here's a picture of all of my supplies...

Please excuse Sadie. She insists on being a part of all things that happen in this tiny apartment.

I bought my stain at Walmart. I didn't want a ton because I wanted it to look uneven and worn. I picked a dark walnut. I laid the plank out on trash bags cause that's how we roll around here! Side note: I highly recommend staining it outside and wearing gloves. I am a messy painter anyway but this is definitely not something you want to drip on your clothes or the carpet.

I started with just one coat of stain and let it dry. I will say that when I went to finish this tonight, the top was completely dry but when I went to pick it up, the sides were still tacky and even wet in some spots. I recommend leaving it outside for 24 hours to make sure you don't get stain all over your house!

This is what it looked like after one coat of the stain

I decided I liked it enough that I didn't need another coat. Once it was dry, I went back with a measuring tape and chalk to mark every 6 inches. I made sure that my measuring tape was straight so that I could use the 6 inch marks to actually line up my vinyl. 

After it was marked, I laid my vinyl pieces out. I lined them all up first and then peeled the contact paper away. 

 The next part is up to you. I was on the phone with my mom when I was trying to do the numbers and we were scouring pictures on Pinterest trying to decide if we liked upright numbers or sideways ones like a real ruler. The choice is ultimately up to you! I chose to make them sideways like a real ruler so that means that when it is hanging on the wall, all the numbers will be sideways but I love that look!

Here's a picture of the final product! Please excuse the iPhone pictures... it's just easier...

Another note about this ruler... You have to make the choice before you lay your vinyl lines. Do you want it to start at the floor or is it going to hang on the wall a bit away from the floor? That will just change how you lay your lines. If you choose to start it flush with the floor, you will start your ruler at zero technically. If you do it like I did, I started it 6 inches off the floor so I started at a half a foot and I just added the extra half a foot at the top above the 6 foot mark. The choice is all yours! :)

Now let's break down the cost:

-Wooden Plank: $9.66 at Lowes

-Stain: $4.97 at Walmart

-Vinyl kit: I paid $10.99 but I can cut them myself for $8!

How would you customize your own family ruler/growth chart?

DIY Chalkboard Countdown

So, while I should be cleaning and organizing our apartment for the hubs to come home, I've taken on  DIY projects instead. Totally appropriate right?!

My first DIY project was an easy one. I found the idea on Groopdealz. I LOVE shopping on Groopdealz but I really dislike paying for things that I know I could turn out in 2 seconds and for a fraction of the price! I had seen this idea on Pinterest after I gave up the deal on Groopdealz and was longing to make it!

The only problem with making the sign is that I sold my Cricut, bought a Silhouette, and then fried the motherboard of my computer... all in one weekend. So I had to wait to get the computer back (which finally happened on Monday! Huge shout out to Best Buy!)

I went to Lowes for my wooden plank. I had a size in my head but without measurements, I was kinda walking around blind. I found a piece 1"x5.5"x14.5" and was on my way! Long story short, the piece I picked out rang up for $25!!! The lady at checkout agreed that that was completely wrong and tried to get someone from lumber to give us another price. After several attempts and no help, she decided that it must have been someone's cut scraps and that I could have it for FREE! Whoop whoop! The great thing about this chalkboard countdown is that you can make it however you'd like. You can have a different saying on it, use other colors for paint, and use a bigger or smaller plank! It's totally customizable!

Here's what I used:
-wooden plank from Lowe's
- Martha Stewart Chalkboard paint in Grey
-Vinyl cut of saying

and that's it!

I painted the plank with the chalkboard paint. Once the first coat was dry, I tried it out with my chalk markers (the best invention ever!) and realized that it needed another coat because the chalk wouldn't come off. I added a second coat and this was what I ended up with...

Then I cut my vinyl out using the color of my choosing. The great thing about vinyl is that it comes in a ton of colors and if you know someone who is super awesome (like me!) you can get your saying cut for dirt cheap! (More about that at the end!)

I applied my vinyl and ta-da! I was done! I could not be more pleased with how it turned out and it is currently in my living room with the countdown of days until Hubs come home!

So how much would one of these cost you?!

-Wooden plank: Free or around $5 from the ones I saw at Lowes. A 4 foot plank would be ideal if they would cut it in half for you! Then you'd have 2 that you could do something with and it wouldn't cost more than $10 probably. 

-Chalkboard paint: $1.99 for Jo-Ann's. They have a rainbow of chalkboard paint colors! Think outside the box! Don't just go with black!

-Vinyl cut: $3 if you buy from me! I have 30 different colors to choose from.

As far as the sayings go, you could do something like "Today I'm Thankful For {   }" or anything your heart desires!

What are some DIY projects you've been working on lately? I'd love to hear your ideas!