Ready, Set, GLOW! with our Glidden Disney paint makeover

When we finally moved my son to his own room, it was a big blank beige box and I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do to really make it his.  Ideally, it would be something fun that really reflects who he is, but also something more mature that he can grow into so we won’t have to redecorate every few years. 

We ended up deciding on a “vintage world traveler” room and it really couldn’t fit our train/car/bus enthusiast any better.  With maps, compasses, airplanes, trains, cars, and vintage suitcases to complete the look, I thought we were done decorating… but then I was introduced to Disney paint from Glidden. 

When I heard that I was getting a chance to review these special paints {they come in glitter, metallic, and more} that are available at Walmart, I was thrilled.  And, then I heard that Glidden makes a glow in the dark paint, and I was beyond excited.  All of a sudden, I had a whole new vision for the room.

I called in Kerri, AKA The Maven of Social Media, and we went on a mission to find the Glidden Disney Ready Set GLOW paint together at a local Walmart.  At first, we thought the paint was gone and we were ready to try another store, but we searched all the rows of paint cans one by one and found one way in the back that was just hidden on the shelf.  SCORE! 

Then, because I had a brilliant idea of some décor I wanted to add to his room, we went into the toy section and found some Toy Story figures and goodies that would make his room amazing.  And, how could these not look amazing in a little boy's room? 

Once we were through shopping, I couldn’t wait to get started.  I called in my niece for the afternoon and we made a plan of how we could make the room transformation.  Really, there was no question what we were planning to do as soon as she saw the supplies: we were making a
Buzz Lightyear themed room.   

You see, I have always wanted a glow in the dark galaxy on my ceiling and I knew this was the perfect chance to make it a reality.  Add in a Disney twist that my son would love, and I knew this was the perfect theme for our little guy that would also grow with him. 

When you think glow in the dark stars, what do you think?  Stickers?  When I was young, I had the awful stick-on glow in the dark stars I’m sure you’re familiar with, but they never really satisfied my desire for a pseudo night sky that I could watch while I drifted off to sleep.  I knew that with a little bit of work I would be able to create that beautiful night sky I always dreamed of and make my son’s room arguably the coolest in the house. 

But, being that his room is full of real maps, nautical charts, and vintage treasures, I wasn’t content to just splash some glow in the dark paint up on the ceiling and call it good.  Nope, I wanted it to be as astronomically correct as possible.  In fact, I wanted it to be something that the kiddos could learn from and have his room be the way I will teach them all the constellations we can see outside at night. 

As daunting of a task as I thought it might be to create a night sky as accurately as possible with paint, I was bound and determined to make it happen.  We started by using an iPhone app that shows your position in relation to the stars so that when you turn the phone you can see precisely where the constellations are in the night sky. 

By using the app and a night sky field guide, we were able to mark the major constellations we wanted to feature using tiny bits of tape so that we could see them as we painted around them.  Once the star groupings were as we wanted, we started filling in the major stars around them pretty liberally.  Using dabs of paint that ranged between that of a pencil eraser all the way to ones the size of the tip of a ball point pen, we designated the brightest stars in the sky and fainter ones. 

Tip: It helps to periodically turn the lights off while you’re painting with glow in the dark paint so you can really get a feel for the room, but since we were painting in the early afternoon, we still had way too much light coming through the window to see the tiny stars we were painting.  To compensate, we threw some darkening shades up for the time being and then we could see a little bit better.  If we had been able to, it might have been better to do the painting at night instead when you can really see what you’re doing. 

After we finished with the fainter stars in the sky, we were ready to peel the tape and make much larger dabs to designate the constellations properly {we used an asterisk design to designate these stars and make them more prominent than the other non-constellation formations}.  Tip: We found the process of peeling tape and painting was easiest if you only peel half of the tape off and make your paint mark, otherwise your eyes kind of go cross-eyed trying to find the exact spot the tape used to be.  

Once the constellations were finished, the room was complete.  Since the paint was only on the ceiling and out of reach and since the paint has no fumes, we were able to put our son down to bed as soon as the room was finished.  And, his reaction when he saw his galaxy was priceless. 

Almost as good was his reaction when he saw his new friends who had come to stay in his room as part of his “Buzz and Woody Movie” room makeover.  I even painted him a little surprise in a constellation-esque message.  The message is a little hard to capture on film as it’s really meant to be viewed with the naked eye, but hopefully it translates well.

Can you read what it says? 

Points if you guessed “to infinity and beyond”, which is Buzz’s catch phrase in the movie.  I thought this would be a good message to my son that literally says the sky is the limit in the goals in which he sets for himself.  And, if the message from mom isn’t “cool” in a decade or two, it’s tiny enough that a small poster {or map} would hide it nicely and it won’t be too embarrassing at sleepovers. 

But, for the next few years, I think it ties in nicely with his new Toy Story decorations.  We're really just missing a Buzz Lightyear figure {all of our local stores were out of Buzz} and our Toy Story room will be complete.  Oh, and, amazing, if I do say so myself.   

Since we were so proud of the Ready Set GLOW makeover, we decided to have some friends over to see the room reveal.  It really is amazing how we took a plain blue room and made it something truly special with a tiny bit of paint in just over an hour, and I was excited to show it off with some Buzz and Woody themed games, prizes and giveaways.

We set up a prize and favors station by the food.

A bounce station with the words "to infinity and beyond" written in chalk on the trampoline surface.

A bubble station.

And, most importantly, a glow station {we used a window-less closet I had painted with stars since it was still so light outside.  This way guests could get a real feel for what the room looks like in pitch black}. 

In the glow station the kids had glow sticks and glow masks we picked up during our Walmart trip that they played with under the cover of the starry sky.  Obviously, the glow station was the coolest.  The three younger girls didn't want to leave the closet all afternoon and they kept runnning in and out with the Toy Story characters.

We had such an overwhelming reaction to the room makeover that we’re now planning on painting even more ceilings with the Ready Set GLOW paint over the next few months.  Since my daughter is super jealous of her brother’s galaxy, we’re going to start in her room next and then move on to our niece’s and nephew’s rooms and then help our friends and neighbors do it in their son’s room as well.  And, one lucky guest at our party got to go home with a Walmart gift card so they could buy some Glidden Disney paint and try it out for themselves! 

Want to try out one of the many Disney Glidden Paints?  They have many themes available that are adorable if you are starting from scratch decorating as well as adding supplemental paints like we did to make a room really stand out!  Find out more at DisneyPaint.com

Compensation and products for review were
provided by Glidden.  The opinions
expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions
of Glidden.