Saturday, June 16, 2012

Fish Growth Chart

Awww...I went to a sweet baby shower today.
You can imagine how many times
I heard the word "cute".
There were so many charming little
dresses and booties.
And for baby Claire that's
on her way into this world
she will be so cute in
all of the sugary fashion.

But for nursery styling,
Baby Claire's mommy
wants a shabby beachy style.
So I jumped on that idea
with this
simple fish growth chart.

The shape is simple
and
the paint is worn.
The horizontal stripes
along with the weathered detail
make a sweet rustic style
for baby's nursery.
Because the style is really generic,
it would work great for
boy or girl
and will be adaptable to
any age really.

So here's the scoop
on how to
make one for your own little sweet pea.

I used 1/2" plywood
and cut a fish shape 45" x 7".
I have always loved the fish shapes at Castaways Hall
and drew out a template similar to one of those.

Cut and sand.

Brush entire piece, front and back,
with watered down raw sienna paint.



Let dry.
I wanted the back to look good too
so I used the same paint technique
that I used on this table
and  this flag.





Once that is dry
turn it over and paint the other side white.
After the white dries
tape off the horizontal lines
and paint in whatever color stripes you want.
I didn't use full brush coverage
because I wanted the worn look.



Using a yardstick and a ruler
as your guide, take a liner brush
to make the inch markers.



Paint numbers at the "foot" marks.



Personalize.



Use two screw eyes to pull the sisal through.
Tie off with braiding cord or jute twine.
Make sure when you start the braiding cord
you leave a long tail.
That way you have something to tie on to
at the end.





Now you just loop tie the rope
and you're ready to hang.
When you hang it on the wall
be sure the 2 ft. marker is actually
2 ft. from the floor so measurements are accurate.
You could use a fine tip marker to
document the dates of measuring
kiddo's height.







Here's the back...









Glad you could stop by!
Always appreciate your visits.
Have a great day, Deb





Link Parites:    

Tuesday:          Coastal Charm
                         Home Stories A to Z
                        My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Wednesday:    Savvy Southern Style

Thursday:        Beyond the Picket Fence
                        The Shabby Creek Cottage
                        House of Hepworths
                        Delightful Order

18 comments:

Courtney said...

Beautiful Deb!! Perfect for a beachy room!
Lucky Claire ;-)

Courtney said...

Beautiful Deb!! Perfect for a beachy room!
Lucky Claire ;-)

Rasonda @ East Conolly Cottage said...

SOOOO cute!!! In love with this!

The Checkered Apple said...

This is just too cute Deb! I love how it came out!

AJ @ trulylifeinwords - said...

I just found your site. I love the painting tips. Will get card stock and make some stripes.

Heidi Lisa said...

Love it! And my daughter's name is Claire....only she's 24 and a tad taller than your fish...lol

Pam - @diy Design Fanatic said...

Super cute idea! The theme for the growth chart and room is really wonderful!Stopping by form My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia.

Mary @ Sea Quilts said...

I'm in love with anything water related ... which means I am VERY fond of this project!

Mary

Unknown said...

This is SWEET!!! Very Creative!! Love it!! Shelly Andrade

Maureen said...

What a very special gift! It looks awesome.

Deb Hrabik said...

Thanks Maureen!

Amanda said...

That is such a simple yet fantastic idea! I wonder if it would be easy to do with a surfboard shape? Or possibly a shark instead of a fish....
Thanks for sharing!

Deb Hrabik said...

I like both of those ideas, Amanda!
Thanks for stopping, Deb

Toqua's Crafts said...

What a wonderful idea! I like that it's unique and not like all the others around out there.

Thank you for sharing.

I'm visiting from House of Hepworth's

Deb Hrabik said...

That's nice to hear!
Thanks, Deb

Unknown said...

Hi-just wanted you to know I featured your fish growth chart on my blog today-what a creative one you are-love your other pieces too!!

Connie Nelson said...

I made some growth boards for my grand kids and love yours so much! Found you after going down rabbit trails from comments on Dewdrop Gardens. I'll be back!

Deb Hrabik said...

Nice to meet you, Connie.
Thanks for stopping!
Deb