We have a leak from the roof. The ceiling in the kitchen has slight water mark and a few ceiling plaster pieces flaked off. Overall, it does not look too bad at all.

A contractor said that he would charge me $100 to repair the ceiling. Since our adjuster came and decided that the insurance is not going to pay anything at all, we have to pay everything out of packet.

I did ceiling patch successfully before with a 10" hole on popcorn ceiling. I am sure I can do this myself again, especially it looks a lot simpler than the hole before. However, I am just concerned if I have the tools or if all the materials I need are sold at home improvement stores. We don't have a popcorn ceiling. The popcorn ceiling sprayer was easy to be used, and the dots were so random. Now we have the ceilings that are patterned like burst out stars.

1. Is there a product/sprayer like that in the store I can buy that has the same pre-designed pattern?

2. Should I scrap the part that has watermark off?

3. I should use the drywall tape which looks like loosely woven cloth to tape it on the ceiling first, right? Then, apply the plaster sprayer, if there is the same patterned plaster sprayer? Or do I just mix plaster and wish myself luck to create the pattern?

4. If the latter, what exactly should I get for the plaster part?

5. Is it worth all these to do it myself buying the materials, or is it better off to let the pro do it with $100? I don't mind the labor myself. I am trying to compare the materials. Since I am not a pro, I would not have the stock for materials. I would have to buy everything new.

Thanks