Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Paint A Night Sky On A Ceiling

Paint a Night Sky on a Ceiling


One of the most enticing things about camping in the great outdoors is being witness to the innumerable stars in the vast night sky. Both young and old alike enjoy looking up into the night and trying to find shooting stars or constellations. You can bring the night sky indoors by painting a ceiling mural to mimic its appearance. There are kits available for purchase that include special materials for this type of mural, but you can make one yourself using inexpensive painting supplies from the hardware and craft store.


Instructions


Preparation


1. Remove all furniture that you are able to move from the room. Any furniture that you cannot move, pull it as far from the wall as possible. Remove all items from the wall.


2. Place drop cloth over any remaining furniture in the room and on the floor. Because you are painting the ceiling, it's a good idea to cover the entire floor area with drop cloth.


3. Measure 18 inches down from the ceiling. Mark it in various points (on the walls) around the perimeter of the room. Use the points to draw a line around the perimeter of the room that is 18 inches from the ceiling. Draw the line freehand if you'd like to give it a more natural appearance.


4. Use 1/4 inch paint tape to cover your line on the wall. If you see yourself as a messy painter, add thicker tape to the bottom. The 1/4 inch tape is necessary because it is thin enough to follow any curves in your line.


5. Pour midnight blue paint into one side of your double sided paint tray. Pour navy blue paint into the other side.


Paint


6. Dip the double roller into your paint tray. One roller will be covered in navy, the other in midnight.


7. Paint the ceiling and down to your paint tape line using short, overlapping strokes. The different colors will give depth to the finish.


8. Wait for the ceiling and wall to dry. Draw a moon in the corner of the room.


9. Use your paint brushes and glow-in-the-dark paint to fill in your moon drawing.


Optional Additions


10. Use a large paint brush to flick glow-in-the-dark paint onto the ceiling. This will give the appearance of stars.


11. Use a small brush to tap circles of different sizes (no bigger than a dime) on the mural for stars.


12. Purchase a glow-in-the-dark star sticker kit and apply stickers to mural. Purchase a glow-in-the-dark kit with plastic star shapes; use sticky putty to apply them to the mural.

Tags: your paint, around perimeter, around perimeter room, blue paint, blue paint into