Better Late Than Never

I've had this stencil for at least 15 years...although the copyright date makes it 20 years old. (Could I really have had it that long?!)

(c) Ursa Major Corp.

The idea is that you put up a stencil on the ceiling (mine was in 5 12-foot long strips) then use glow-in-the-dark paint to fill in the holes, remove the stencil, and voila!: a starry night every night.


Since I was busy painting the bedroom and generally trying to freshen things up around the house, I decided that it was finally time to pull out this stencil and use it. I've been wistfully looking at it for a long time. Years.

(c) Ursa Major Corp.

The Ursa Major Corporation (which is still making this stencil...although in a revised version) claims that the process of applying the stencil should take about two hours. However, as a single person fighting 12 foot long strips of paper to get them applied to the ceiling, I can tell you that Ursa Major's timeframe is a bit ambitious.

My neck and shoulders are aching today, but I have to tell you, the overall effect of the stencil is well worth it. Oddly enough, there's was this sense of floating as I lie in bed last night looking at my handywork. These little pinpoints of light go give the illusion of stars...but very close ones. The stencil was big enough that I had to do some of the east-west portions on the walls and that also added an interesting effect.

I have thought about giving away the box of stencils over the last decade. It was one of those things that I wanted to do, but couldn't get the energy for...or felt like if I'd be moving soon that it wasn't worth the effort. I considered that someone else might make better use of it. I suppose that they could have, but I'm very glad that I've held onto this little package. Better late than never---I now have my starry nights.