DIY Growth Charts

My kids like to see that they are getting SOOOO big! They always want me to measure them.

We had a wall at our old house where we marked their heights on the wall every six months...but with 4 kids all growing-the wall got to looking very cluttered. :)

I decided it was high time they had their own growth charts.

I started by cutting a piece of plywood into 4 somewhat equal pieces. The size isn't important, as long as you mark it right later on.



The tutorial I am showing now is for the 3 boys, I did another style for my girl that will be shown in another tutorial.

I sprayed the three boards with Krylon Gloss Blue Ocean Breeze. I had to use two cans to get the coverage I needed...it really pays to sand better...and to have someone to hold your needy baby for more than 5 minutes while trying to sand and paint would also be a big help! :)

Using my trusty old school Cricut and some black vinyl I cut out the numbers for the boards. I wanted to give them a playful look, so I did an assortment of styles.

Then I applied them, I wanted them all to be a little bit different but still cohesive since eventually they will all be hanging next to one another. My husband measured out the boards and decided that 5'4" is tall enough...they aren't going to want these long before they reach that height I'm sure. I wanted to be sure I could put their birth height on them and then on up. So I measured from the top as 5'4" and then moved down.

For the marks on the board I used the scraps of the vinyl from cutting out the numbers and letters-finally it didn't feel like such a waste! I hate cutting things on the vinyl only to have a couple things cut out and lots of unusable space left. This was a perfect use of those scraps.

Using a tape measure, I pulled the end to the top and left the holder at the bottom marking my inches. Note that these inches were not the actual measurements, I was just using the inch marks as guides. I cut fatter pieces of vinyl for the foot markers and the half foot markers.

Then I marked all the other inch marks. The easiest way I found was to cut long thin strips, mark the inches and then cut it off after marking it. Saved a lot of time from cutting a bunch of tiny little pieces and trying to place them in just the right spot.

I attached a DISChanger to the back of each one. These things are so easy to use. Just wet the backs, wait a few minutes for them to get tacky and stick them on. You let them dry on their good and tight over night and they are super strong.

My last step was to put a vinyl chalkboard label on from ten23 designs.

I can then write how big they are on whatever day they want to be measured.

Notice the awesome art work that this little thug contributed to the walls?

Mind you we've been here for just about a month. Grrrr!

The littlest guy's is in his room...he's not quite ready to share a room with the "big" boys yet, but he wanted to get in on the measuring that was going on in this room.

My final goal is to gather pictures from each year of their lives around their birthdays and post them up the side at each height and write their height and weight on them...maybe have them looking like Polaroids up the side.

What do you think?

This post can also be seen over at the DIY Club.

See all of my posts over there while you are at it!

Let's be friends!

Flashback-Lemonade Stand/Desk Makeover

Since I am busy...or should be busy packing, I decided to post some of my older stuff that some of you may have missed over the next couple weeks...hope that's okay! :)

We have this desk that has been seriously abused by my children. I am fine with that, it is their desk. We took out the bottom cupboard and shelf so that it could be used for their computer, but then I decided they didn't need a computer-so for quite some time it has just been an empty hole. Not a pretty picture.

Speaking of not a pretty picture, they color, paint and stab the top of it on a daily basis. There is only so much a magic eraser can do children!
In comes the easy, time saving, no paint fume method of covering up that problem...Shelf Paper! I always have a bunch on hand since I use it instead of vinyl for my Cricut-time saver and money saver-got to love it!
I just stick it on there, add a few heavy duty staples around the edges to be sure the kids can't pull it off in the first day I give it back to them and Voila! Desktop recovered!This drawer for the keyboard has some issues, we picked this desk up off the side of the road, and whoever had it before thought that the little paper clip holder was an ash tray. Silly people. Don't worry it's been bleached and cleaned long ago! I thought about getting rid of it all together since they don't have a computer anymore, but my daughter likes to have her books on it and then pull it out-so I kept it.And slapped some more shelf paper on there just to hold it together and cover up the burn marks.
Then used the product for what it was actually intended for...Mind you I could have scraped this all down, painted it super cute, maybe added a curtain or a cupboard door-but this is a desk that is bound to be abused over the next few years-I just want it to be usable.
Last but not least, I had my hubs cut a couple boards to use as shelves and nailed those babies in. Desk complete...

...Until you look at the back. Yikes! Not that anyone ever saw the back-but I had a plan!

First I measured the back, had my hubby cut a piece of wood that would fit it, I nailed that to the back and painted it with chalkboard paint.

Then I cut a thin strip of wood and nailed that along the top to give it a more finished look. Then came the fun part. I painted that piece of wood green, and painted a white swoop across the top.
Then I cut a bunch of triangles out of some colorful scrap paper...
Raided my stash of 12" border stickers from my scrapbooking days (I think these are from an old Stamp it up line)....
Then I just went to town and decorated it, mod podging everything down as I went. I was trying to keep it gender neutral, but it still ended up looking girly. Oh well. Using my paint marker and some cardboard letters I added this little sign across the top...

...and surprised the kids with a little Sweet Shoppe/Lemonade Stand that they can use this summer!
The best part is, I don't have to worry about storing it! It is already in their schoolroom as a desk, and when it is against the wall, you wouldn't know it was anything but the desk-they can also use it in the house while playing store. Plus it took me less than a couple hours to fix up the desk and make it into something completely new.

Check out these cute sites to make your world cuter!

Flashback-Pot Holder Quiet Books

Since I am busy...or should be busy packing, I decided to post some of my older stuff that some of you may have missed over the next couple weeks...hope that's okay! :)

Here is one of my kids' favorite things I have made them-still-a year and a half later!


Here is the first page.
Here is the fourth and fifth pages, I also made a bear toy, but Topher wouldn't let me have it for the photo shoot.
For these pages I just folded a piece of red felt in half, and sewed the one side to the book.
I then used a piece of velcro to hold it together. For the second page I made a pouch for the toy box, and filled it with toys to either keep in the box, or wrap as a gift. The tools can be wrapped as well.
I'm not going to lie to you, these take a lot of time! The hand sewing of all these tiny little felt pieces can be tedious!
I think it would be easier if I could have done it during the day when I had spare time, rather than trying to get them done while the kids were asleep, (and I wanted to be), but it was fun to do.

Check out these cute sites to make your world cuter!