We were more like nomads...moving from apartment to apartment, city to city.
Don't get me wrong. One upbringing is not better than the other. I enjoyed many benefits from moving fairly often.
One of the things that I missed out on, though, was the stereotypical markings in a door frame to note your growth through the years. You know what I'm talking about? They often show it in family-type movies. I know it's such a small thing, but it became kind of a symbol to me of growing up in a real community. It's not just in the movies, either. I remember going over to friends' houses and seeing the markings on their walls or doorways noting the dates, ages, and names of the kids as they grew. It always held a special place in my heart--dunno why.
Being a new mommy in a metropolitan area, knowing that odds are we'll move several times, I still want a way to track our family's growth. I just need something portable. I found this growth chart on Pinterest:
(The Brimfield Growth Chart by Karen on Etsy, found here)
My hubby was trying to purchase it for my birthday earlier this year, but it was back-ordered. Being impatient and all, I decided to try and make my own personalized version.
Off I went to JoAnn's (again), with coupons in hand. I knew the growth chart above was printed on artist's canvas. I had already looked at rolls of primed canvas, but knew I would never get around to using that much...so the price was way too high for my smaller project. Instead, I purchased a half-yard of 60" outdoor canvas and asked the cutter to cut it in two equal pieces (each piece finishing 60" long by 9" wide). Woo-hoo! I now had the basic fabric for my custom growth chart.
At first, I thought I might use iron-on transfer paper. I bought a pack at Michael's (using another coupon), but after a quick test learned that the white areas that are not cut off the transfer remain completely opaque and glaringly white. Bummer. The font I planned to use had WAY TOO MANY jagged edges to make that a hassle-free endeavor.
So then I tried permanent marker on another scrap. Nope. It bleeds. A LOT. Lastly, I tried acrylic craft paint.
So then I tried permanent marker on another scrap. Nope. It bleeds. A LOT. Lastly, I tried acrylic craft paint.
It worked.
So here's what I did: 1) I stitched the two pieces of canvas together on one seam, short-sides together to make one really long strip of canvas. 2) I used stitch-witchery to iron seams on all sides to keep the fabric from fraying.
3) I used pencil to mark out the inches on each long side of the canvas and to freehand the numbers at each foot mark. 4) I hand-painted the measure marks, numbers, and letters on our growth chart. Here's the finished product.
3) I used pencil to mark out the inches on each long side of the canvas and to freehand the numbers at each foot mark. 4) I hand-painted the measure marks, numbers, and letters on our growth chart. Here's the finished product.
I still need to decide how I want to hang it, but that's for another day. Right now I'm just thrilled I got it done. (That's a big accomplishment right now...)
I gotta say, I'm actually really pleased with how it turned out! We now have a portable growth chart, specialized for our little family that coordinates with our style--and is 100% unique and handmade with love. It's not professional by any means, but I kinda like that about it. I can't wait to find the perfect place to hang it in our *hopefully* new place. Hurrah! I get to start a new tradition with my family.
I love it!
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