Since my dad lives in another state 4 hours away, I can't just run to his house with my requests on any sort of regular basis.
But that would be AWESOME.
I showed him a picture of the big ruler I had seen and he immediately measured my baseboards.
That is key.
If you want the ruler to be a true and accurate growth chart, you have to know your baseboard height so you can start your hash marks considering the measurement starts at the floor.
Are you following me?
Because I think I got lost for a second and I was the one talking (or typing).
My dad used a piece of poplar 3/4 inches thick, just over 7 inches wide and 6 1/2 feet tall. He put a light stain on it. He measured and marked off the hash marks with a pencil. I went over it with a black paint pen. I used Word to print out large numbers in a font I liked. It was a typewriter font. I cut out each number with an exacto knife and traced them onto the ruler with a pencil. I filled in the numbers with the paint pen.
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| That's my dog Nigel. His head cocked like that makes me smile. |
It took no time.
Seriously.
But then I decided I wanted the ruler to be darker. My dad suggested shoe polish to deepen the color and it worked beautifully. The waxy stuff in the round tin didn't work nearly as well as the bottled stuff with the sponge tip.
Who still polishes their shoes?
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| I like the inconsistent coverage of the shoe polish. |
So we just leaned it against the wall for awhile.
It looked good.
But we couldn't get accurate height measurements.
People loved it.
So I had my dad make two more for friends.
He's good like that.
By the time he came over again, the ruler was still leaning against the wall looking good but acting like a poor growth chart. So I had him figure out how to hang it. He used screws and anchors making sure it was being drilled into the wall's stud (which is difficult when you have plaster walls like ours. Stud finders do NOT work!) That is why our ruler isn't centered on the small wall, we had to use the stud we could find.
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| We can't find the paint from the kitchen to cover those patch marks. [Sigh] |
I will tell you about the chalkboard door soon.
It has become a fun conversation piece for our kitchen. Especially for our oldest daughter who is checking daily if she is yet 6 feet.
Almost. She is 5' 11 1/2"
(We know this because we have THE RULER OF ALL RULERS)
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| Almost 5 feet. |
Even adults measure themselves. It's fun.
I think I have shrunk.
Not fun.
If you'd like a ruler and live in the Columbus, Ohio area, leave a comment and my dad will make you one.
At $30, it is a steal!
Okay, just for fun, let's compare:
<--- Ruler from Pinterest.
Ruler of All Rulers -->
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