Hand Painted Umbrella Inspired by Winnie the Pooh

MY LATEST VIDEOS

One of my favorite scenes from the movie, and also one of my favorite scenes in any Disney movie — period, is the scene where Pooh devises a plan to get honey out of the bees’ hive by pretending to be a little black raincloud.  He covers himself in mud and uses a balloon to float up into the branches of the tree.  He enlists Christopher Robin to help sell the deception, telling him to walk underneath the “rain cloud,” hold his umbrella, and say, “Tut tut.  It looks like rain.  Tut tut.  It looks like rain.”

When I was asked to come up with a craft inspired by The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, I knew immediately that I wanted to make a painted umbrella to commemorate this adorable scene.

To make a Winnie the Pooh Inspired Umbrella, you will need:

black umbrella

white craft paint

fabric medium

paintbrush

I wanted to make sure that anything I painted on the umbrella A) wouldn’t crack or peel with repeated openings and closings of the umbrella, and B) would stand up to water because – duh – umbrella. 

To accomplish these two goals, it’s important to use the right kind of craft paint and medium.  I chose a quality craft paint mixed 2:1 with fabric medium.  The craft paints don’t wash away with water, and fabric medium ensures that the paint is flexible when it dries.

I found a cursive font online that I liked, and used that as a reference as I hand-painted the quote onto the umbrella.  I kept the whole quote on one half of the umbrella, so it could all be read at once when the umbrella is being used (as opposed to having to twirl the umbrella around to read the whole quote). 

I used a round craft paint brush to paint the quote, and then went back and filled in any light areas with a second coat of paint mixed with fabric medium.

After the paint dried, the umbrella was done!  The paint doesn’t need to be sealed or heat set, unless you are planning on throwing your umbrella in the washer.

I got my son to do his best Christopher Robin impression underneath our big maple tree, that is mercifully free of beehives.  I love how this project turned out!  If I saw an umbrella like this at the store, I would have to exercise a lot of self-control not to buy it!

For more Winnie the Pooh fun, visit The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh facebook page and look for the Blu-ray/ DVD combo pack to hit stores on the 27th!

For more great crafts and snacks inspired by Winnie the Pooh and his friends in the Hundred Acre Woods, click on the links below!

 Did you like this post?  Think it’s worth sharing?  Please share with your friends using the social media share buttons on the toolbar at the bottom of the page!

Thanks,  Jessica