The Oversized Ruler Tutorial

I wish I could take credit for this cute craft. I have to admit I saw it on Dear Lillie and fell in love with it. In case you haven't noticed, I don't show a lot of crafts on my blog, they just never come out right and seem very time consuming to me. I generally just stick to furniture painting.

I loved the idea of having a way to keep track of my daughter's height over the years in a decorative way. No ugly writing on the walls and no more losing all those priceless memories when you move from your home. You can now take it with you wherever you go!

This craft is even simple enough that I could pull it off. If you're still doubtful if you can make one I think Dear Lillie might sell them in her shop. I felt that it was worth it to try and save myself the $75.

How can you make one on your own? You're probably smart enough to figure it out, but I'll help out a bit.


Supplies

6'x1" board in your preferred width

Minwax stain of your choice or paint (I used Minwax English Chestnut)

Lint free rag or stain sponge

Number stencils or vinyl numbers if you prefer

Ruler and measuring tape


I started out by having my 2 year old help me distress my six foot board a bit. It was a brand new piece bought at Lowes. We hammered all the edges down and hammered in screws to make tiny holes. I knew I'd be putting my ruler in a kitchen doorway that was narrow, so I used a 4 inch wide board instead of 8 inches like Dear Lillie.

Stain your board using your lint free rag. Apply as many coats until you get the desired look. I think I just applied the stain once. You can also paint your board a color of your choice.

The stain dries fast and you can begin your numbering quickly. First I measured my baseboard; I knew my ruler would start after it and I wanted it to be exact when my daughter stood against the wall for measuring. My baseboard was about two inches so I skipped the first 2 inch mark and started with 4 inches.

I made a smaller line for every 2 inches and for every 6 inches (or half foot mark), I made a long mark. I just used a sharpie paint marker that I bought at Michaels. I used a regular black sharpie on one I made for my sister and it looked great too. I filled in the numbers with my stencil and sharpie as I went. Pretty easy and it looks super cute!

Jenine



Linking back to...
www.funkyjunkinteriors.net