If you've ever wished you could add a mural to your child's bedroom, but decided it was too difficult or costly, let us introduce you to the overhead projector. Yes, that one-time staple of lecture halls allows parents and kids to turn any traceable image into a mural. As FamilyFun magazine reader Daphne Jensen discovered, you simply project an easy-to-make transparency of an image onto the wall, trace it, then fill it in as though you're painting in a giant coloring book. The result is a professional-looking, inexpensive mural that can transform a blank wall into a truly unique focal point of a kid's room. Take a look at our directions, consider all the exciting options for designs, and see if you aren't tempted to add a mural to your home.

Home Run Room
"It was the easiest decorating project I've ever done," Daphne Jensen says of the batter mural she painted in her five-year-old son Brandon's bedroom. The Carmel, Indiana, mom liked using a projector because it was much easier than freehand painting and more creative than using wallpaper or a stick-on mural. Don't worry if you're not artistically inclined. "Working on a scale this size," Daphne says, "it's not hard to paint in." And at $25 for the projector rental and another $15 for paint, Daphne found it cheaper than putting up a wallpaper border. As for Brandon, he's thrilled, especially since his buddies "really think it's cool."

1. Choose an image. We suggest sticking to fairly simple, two-dimensional pictures or designs that don't rely on elaborate shading or perspective. And the fewer colors the better. If your child has trouble selecting a favorite, check out the clip art sources at left (Daphne Jensen found her image on a CD-ROM of clip art). Any image that can be traced or printed onto transparency film will work.

2. Location, location, location. Decide where you want the mural. Do you want to incorporate architectural details? For instance, you might paint a jungle animal "sitting" on a radiator.

3. Make the transparency. There are three ways to transfer an image to transparency film: use a fine-tip marker to trace the picture onto the film, photocopy the picture onto the film, or use an ink-jet or laser printer to print a computer image onto the film. Decide which will work best for your image, then purchase transparency film (boxes of 25 sheets start at $4) at an office supply store. Note that different types are sold for tracing, photocopying, and various printers.

4. Project your picture. Borrow an overhead projector from a school or church or rent one from a rental shop. Experiment with the distance you project from and the size of the image on the transparency to get the mural dimensions you want. (For the mural Daphne made, the baseball diamond on the transparency was 5 inches tall, and we set the projector 10 feet from the wall to enlarge it to almost 4 feet tall.) Use a pencil to trace the outline of the projected image (including any shaded parts) onto the wall. Tip: For straight lines (such as Daphne's baseball diamond), use masking or painter's tape as a paint guide.

5. Select your paint. Interior latex paint, which comes in quarts, is best if you're painting a few colors and filling in relatively large areas. For detail work, use artists' acrylics, available in tubes and bottles at craft and art supply stores. You'll also need appropriately sized paintbrushes.

6. Paint like a pro. For a more realistic effect, paint the background before the foreground. Step back from your mural regularly to see how it looks from the distance it will be viewed from.