I got too much paint. Which is better than the reverse.

So it took about 5 hours and roughly 14 oz of paint to get the entire surface blocked in. I think the wrapping paper base really helped cut down on paint needed. The surface is slick and doesn't soak up paint like raw cardboard, and the broad base color hides/compliments areas of transparency. I could have gone with a plain light blue center instead of the cloud printed background - I don't think any of the cloud printing is visible. But it's the dollar store, so it's not like I spent extra for the clouds.

I used an 8oz container of "true navy" (it's not, it's dark periwinkle), 2oz of black, 2oz of too blue and 2oz of bright blue from apple barrel craft paint (these are the cheapest mid-to-dark blue colors I could buy and I was pleasantly surprised they work so well). Through random dumb luck, the black is the multi-surface formula with a satin finish and the others are matte. This actually works great because the glossy black looks deeper and darker, but the matte finish is preferable in the center because it won't draw attention to the wrinkles in the paper mache surface. I used a paper plate for a palette and a 1" disposable foam paintbrush (I went through two of these, replacing the brush at the halfway point). Wish I'd had a larger foam paintbrush but whatever.

Best way to do it seems to be to start with black, painting the edges and the first couple inches of the outer edge. Then work in the navy, blending with the black and creating cloud like shapes up to the center third of the mural, covering the border between the dark blue and cloud printed gift wrap. Then work in bright blue in the center and blend the transition from bright blue to navy with too blue. Pull too blue down in certain areas to create more light in the dark edges. Like, that's about it. Pretty easy. Protip: if you work in broad, bold strokes then any blotchiness looks intentional and artsy.

A person could leave it like that, or they could try to put in more "milky way" detail and make extra work for themselves. I got overconfident after the base color went down so well and wanted to experiment. Creating that "milky way" look is hard, yo. :-( I've added some fancy stuff and I think maybe it looked better without. Oh well. Now I have to add more to the rest of the mural to match, so I probably have to invest another 2-3 hours to get it to look right. It's turning out quite nice, though. Can't wait to add the stars with the UV paint. Sort of a shame I have to put it in the dumpster in January. But I can make another, better version later if I want.

I cleaned the kitchen really good yesterday and then promptly destroyed it, ha ha. It was clean for about 5 whole minutes. I made the ginger ale (from the book "True Brews" and the cranberry spice syrup from "Make Your Owb Soda". Today I need to make some of the dips and do some food prep and clean the bathroom. And finish the mural and look up star templates and figure out how I am actually going to get this on the ceiling by myself. I know multiple cup hooks are involved, but the actual logistics are fuzzy. I bet it's going to be fun. The cats are going to freak out. Step 1) paint giant mural. Step 2) ??? Step 3) giant mural on ceiling hung with stars, everyone is super impressed, best thanksgiving ever.

Gotta get going. I have to get bacon and sausage today from the local market, and I think somehow I need more lemons. I got like 20+ lemons for the hard lemonade and everything and now I have 4 lemons left and I am thinking it is not enough. Gotta do shopping before noon so it's not too busy.