Do it yourself kids theme bedrooms: space furniture, crafts and decorating

If you're looking for ideas to create the perfect room for your pint-sized astronaut, then look no further. The following ideas are sure to do the trick:

Walls- Black, star-lit walls might be the perfect touch for a space themed room, but if you're like most people, the thought of painting walls black probably makes you shudder. Fortunately, there's a simple alternative. Just purchase some glow-in-the-dark paint from your local craft store, and use it to paint stars onto any color wall. During the day the room will appear normal, but by night you'll have the black star-lit room that your child craves.

Lamp- Turn a plain black lampshade into a celestial show by adding a sprinkling of pinholes to simulate the various stars and planets. A needle can be used to make small, star-sized holes, and a hole punch can be used to create large, planet-sized holes. Then, every time your child turns on the lamp, he'll enjoy his very own indoor sky.

Bed- Send your child blasting off to dream land in a bed featuring a rocket ship headboard. To complete this project all you'll need is a bit of plywood, a scroll saw, sand paper and some paint. Once all of your supplies are gathered, draw out a rocket ship on the plywood, and cut it out with the scroll saw. (Before cutting be sure the image is large enough to accommodate the bed.) Then, lightly sand any rough edges, and paint the rocket in your chosen color scheme. Finally, attach the rocket headboard to the bed rails, and it's ready for use.

Bedding- Your little astronaut isn't likely to complain about going to bed when a planet comforter and sheet set await him. To create planet bedding for your child all you'll need is a black comforter, a black sheet set, a few planet-shaped paint sponges (available at your local craft store) and some fabric paint. Then, once all of your supplies are gathered, simply apply paint to the sponges, and press them onto the bedding. It's such an easy project, that even your child can help!

Note: It may be necessary to heat set the paint after application; consult the product label for instructions.

Dresser- If you want to create a dresser that's out of this world, give decoupage a try. All you'll need are some images (astronauts, rockets, planets etc.), decoupage medium, scissors and a paintbrush. Then, just cut out your images; apply decoupage medium to the backsides; and apply them to the dresser. Finish by applying several additional coats of decoupage medium to the front of each image.

Curtains- Create a space-tacular view from your child's window using a basic window shade and a little creativity. First, ask your child to pick out one of his favorite photos of space from a book or website. Then, take the picture to a copy center, and have it enlarged to the dimensions of the window, and printed on vinyl. (Most copy centers have a special poster machine that can handle this job.) Finish by removing the roller from a store-bought shade, and attaching it to the new shade. Your shade is then ready to install!

Try a few of these projects, and you'll have a hard time bringing your child back down to Earth.