DIY: Growth Chart

I'm having SO much fun! Next weekend I'm heading over to my friend's house to celebrate her daughter's (Kayla) 1st birthday.  So this weekend, I'm working on Kayla's presents. And I'm jumping up and down over how this growth chart is coming along.  It's pretty much done, but I'm working on packaging it up.  So here's a sneak peek...

I was completely inspired by THIS picture on Etsy. 

This is the first time I've worked with burlap.  I love the look of it, but I think I'm allergic to it.  Every time I worked with it, my eyes itched.  Weird. 

I started out by stitching black thread through some of the burlap, but it wasn't popping so I decided to use ribbon.  I used Liquid Stitch to adhere it to the burlap.

Then I attached dowels to the top and bottom also using Liquid Stitch, then pinned it until it dried completely.

I wanted to put numbers on the growth chart, so I tried to decide what to use.  First I tried painting on acrylic but didn't like the look.  Then I tried writing it on with a Sharpie, but didn't like that look either.  Then it dawned on me that I have a craft room FILLED with stamps and ink.

At first I wanted to use craft ink because it's really thick and I thought that it would work well on burlap.  My only concern was that because craft ink is so thick, it takes a LOOONG time for it to dry.  I didn't want it smudging all over the place.  So I pulled out my Staz On ink pad and made a sample of both. The top 14 was made with Staz On and the bottom two numbers were stamped with the StampinUp! craft pad shown.

The numbers were crisper with Staz On and I knew it would dry well, so that's what I went with.  Staz On is great... you can use it on any surface including glass and metal and it's permanent.

I prepared my acrylic block by drawing hashmarks to use as a guideline when placing my stamps on it.

I LOVE using clear stamps especially on a project like this.  I love being able to see EXACTLY where I'm placing my image.

Ooooooo!  It's totally coming together and I'm LOVING the look!

Next I made the tags that will be used to document her growth over the years.  I think it would be cute to have her write her name on the tags so they can document both her growth and penmanship over the years.  Eeeekkkk!!  I'm getting giddy imagining it.  I just LOVE kids' writing.

Hmmm... I hope my friend doesn't check my blog.  That's the problem with blogging and making presents, I get too excited about finishing a project and can't wait to post it.  I'll have to TRY and use some restraint in the other projects I'm working on for her... Onesies!!!! Eeeeekkkkk!!! I love them!

*There's still time to enter the giveaway for a coffee cozy and Starbucks gift card HERE*

I'm linking to Saturday Nite Special, Transformation Thursday, Someday Crafts,  and Met Monday.