Winnie the Pooh Inspired Kitchen Decor: A Hand-Painted Honey Sign

This Winnie the Pooh inspired kitchen decor is a tall board painted deep black. A honey saying shows through in cream letters, and a small burlap pennant banner on twine hangs from the top. The board is a 20.5 by 36 inch piece of wainscoting, so it fits a pantry door, the wall over a coffee station or a narrow spot beside the fridge.

The idea comes from the honey scene in The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. Pooh is stuck in Rabbit’s front door and not allowed to eat. He eyes a friend’s honey and insists he only meant to have a taste. That makes it a good saying for any kitchen with a snacker in it.

Supplies

Wainscoting board, cut to 20.5 inches wide by 36 inches long
Adhesive vinyl
A cutting machine such as a Silhouette Cameo or a Cricut
Cream acrylic paint and black acrylic paint
Paintbrushes, including one thin brush for touch-ups
Burlap, twine and permanent double-sided tape
A craft knife

How to Make the Sign

Brush a coat of cream acrylic paint over the whole board and let it dry well. Rough wood grain can let paint seep under a stencil, so sand the board smooth before painting.
Type your honey saying in your cutting software. Mix a bold block font such as Bebas with a script font such as Mission Script for the key words. Size the design to fit the board, then cut it from vinyl and weed it.
Press the vinyl letters onto the cream board, rubbing firmly from the middle outward so every edge is sealed.
Seal the edges with one thin coat of cream paint over the letters. Any paint that creeps under the vinyl will then match the letters and won’t show.
Paint black acrylic over the entire board. It can take about four coats to get a deep black, so let each coat dry before adding the next. Use a lightly loaded brush and dab or brush straight down, not across the letter edges, because too much paint pushes under the vinyl.
Peel off the vinyl letters slowly, rolling each one back on itself rather than pulling it straight up, so the cream base coat stays put. Throw the vinyl away.
If black paint has crept into a letter, scrape it gently with a craft knife and touch up the spot with cream paint and a thin brush.
For the banner, cut small pennant triangles from burlap. Stick each one to a length of twine with permanent double-sided tape, then tie the twine across the top of the board.
Hang the board and the banner together.

Adult help is needed with the craft knife and for cutting the board to size.

Variations

Honey colours: Switch the cream for a golden yellow so the letters look like honey. Or reverse the scheme and paint black letters on a pale board.

Spray paint: Spray paint for the top coat creeps under stencil edges less than brushed or rolled paint, because nothing pushes it under the vinyl. Work outdoors and spray light coats.

Smaller board: Put the same saying on a short scrap of wainscoting or a round wood slice to set on a shelf or tie to a honey jar gift. Line up the stencil on a round piece with transfer tape so it sits centered.

Rustic finish: Once the black coats are dry, drag a foam brush with a little cream paint flat along the grain for a worn, white-washed look.

Banner swaps: Cut the pennants from yellow gingham or red fabric to match Pooh’s red shirt. Or cut a hexagon shape so the flags look like honeycomb.