Best paint to use on balsa?

[bertha79.livejournal.com]

Hi!

I just finished making a wallhanging for my friend for Christmas. He went on and on about how much he loved the fabrics I used in my mom's Christmas quilt (he's really into Japanese stuff), so I made him a mini one for his wall...I attached a hanging sleeve to the back, then I will thread a piece of balsa through the sleeve, drill two holes in it and thread some black wire through that I bought so it can be hung.

I want to paint the strip of balsa black to match, and am just wondering the best kind of paint for this...balsa is kind of soft and I don't want the paint to rub off onto the quilt, or flake off, or whatever...is acrylic fine or should I try something else?

Pic of the wallhanging behind cut...for those who've seen my mom's quilt, it's basically the same...I haven't made the label yet, but it will be called "Injigo" which is the Japanese word for Indigo...



Front:



Back:



With the balsa that needs to be painted: