How to Decorate Your Ceiling With Constellations

Paint the ceiling with a dark blue paint to create a background for the constellations. For ceiling decor that is invisible during the day or for very small rooms, paint the ceiling white.

Use a small planetarium projector, available from toy stores, to project the constellations onto the ceiling. If you want a specific constellation such as your star sign, simply select the appropriate slide in the projector.

Practice painting techniques from steps 4 to 6 on paper before you start on the ceiling.

Apply paint to the projected images. On a dark blue ceiling, use light blue or white to paint the constellations. For an image that only appears at night, paint the projections with glow-in-the-dark paint. Another option for a dark blue ceiling is to paint one set of constellations with light blue or white, and another set with glow-in-the-dark paint. This will give a nighttime and a daytime sky.

Bend the bristles away from the center of a cheap paintbrush so they fan out. Dip the brush in the paint, remove any excess and the squash the brush onto the ceiling, spreading the bristles out to create a star shape. Use a range of brush sizes to create smaller and larger stars.

Create comets by using the same technique as the stars. However, rather than lifting the brush straight off the ceiling, drag the brush away from the star, so that the paint trails out forming a tail.

Use a sponge to create galaxies. Dip the sponge lightly into the paint, remove any excess and then lightly dab the sponge onto the ceiling to create a stippled effect that represent a tight cluster of stars.