PAST PROJECT
A Dinosaur Birth Announcement for a Green Nursery
A layered dinosaur sign for our nephew's room, carved with his name, birth date, time, and weight, and painted in three shades of green to match his dinosaur name letters.
Wood: Pine · Available to order
Made For
Our newborn nephew, whose room was all dinosaurs and green
Design
A dinosaur behind three nested arches carrying his birth stats, on a hanging shelf
Core Materials
Pine, paint, and parachute cord
Techniques
CNC carving and cutting, hand painting
A Nursery Built Around Dinosaurs
When our nephew was born in November 2024, his mom told us two things about his room: he loved dinosaurs, and green was the main color. That was all the design brief we needed.
We had already made him a set of glow-in-the-dark 3D printed letters that spelled out his name, so we wanted the birth sign to look like it belonged with them. The plan became a dinosaur in three shades of green, matched to those letters, carrying the four things every new parent gets asked about: his name, the date, the time, and the weight.
A birth announcement is a small piece, but it holds the first facts of a whole life. Long after the hospital bracelet goes in a drawer, those numbers stay on the wall. Building it ourselves meant we could make it fit his room instead of picking something generic off a shelf.
One Board, Four Pieces
We drew the design in our CNC software as a set of nested shapes. The dinosaur is the outer piece, with its long neck, the spikes down its back, and a curling tail. Inside it sit three arches, each one smaller than the last, down to a solid half circle in the middle.
Because every piece fits inside the one before it, all four come out of a single 3/4-inch pine board about 16 by 10 inches. His name runs across the dinosaur just above the arches, the date wraps around the outer arch, the time sits on the middle arch, and the weight goes across the center.
Nesting the pieces this way uses nearly the whole board, and the cut lines between the shapes become the steps you see when the pieces are staggered on the shelf.
Carving the Lettering and Cutting It Out
The CNC handled the cutting in two stages. First, a 30-degree V-bit carved the lettering. A V-bit cuts a groove that narrows to a point, so the letters come out with crisp edges that still read clearly once the piece is painted.
Then the machine cut along each outline so the dinosaur and the three arches came apart as separate pieces.
Letting the machine do this work is what keeps the lines even. A hand-cut arch drifts, and nested pieces only look right when every curve follows the one next to it.
Watch It Carve
We filmed the whole carve and sped it up. In about three and a half minutes, you can watch the lettering appear, then the outlines of the arches and the dinosaur, until the full layout is cut into the board.
Three Shades of Green
Once the pieces were cut apart and sanded, each one got its color. The dinosaur and the outer arch are the darkest green, the middle arch is a step lighter, and the center half circle is the lightest. Going from dark at the back to light at the front gives the sign depth, even when you look at it straight on.
We picked the greens to match the glow-in-the-dark name letters we had printed for his room, so the two pieces look like a set.
The carved letters stay crisp after painting, so the name, date, time, and weight are easy to read from across the room.
A Shelf That Swings
For the stand, we cut a 1/4-inch pine board into a shelf about 18 inches long and 4 inches wide, a few inches longer than the sign, and drilled a hole near each corner. Parachute cord runs up from the holes to meet above the shelf, and a knot underneath holds each cord in place. Hung from a hook, the shelf sways a little, like a tiny swing.
The four painted pieces stand one behind the other on the shelf, staggered front to back, so each one shows its full line of text.
The cord can be untied, too. Without it, the shelf sits on a dresser or bookshelf as a stand.
The Finished Piece
We gave it to his parents along with the dinosaur name letters it was made to match. Hanging together, the sign and the letters tie the whole room to the same theme.
The same design is available to order with your baby's name, birth date, time, and weight, in greens or your own nursery colors.
Caring for a Painted Nursery Sign
This is an indoor piece. Dust it with a soft, dry cloth, and keep it away from steam, moisture, and long hours of direct sunlight, which can fade paint over time. Skip household cleaners and sprays.
Hang it securely, out of reach of the crib. It is decor, not a toy.
Materials and Tools Used on This Piece
- 3/4-inch pine board, about 16 by 10 inches, used for the dinosaur and all three arches
- CNC design software, used to lay out and nest the four pieces
- CNC router, used to carve the lettering and cut out each piece
- 30-degree V-bit, used for the carved lettering
- Paint in three shades of green
- 1/4-inch pine board, about 18 by 4 inches, used for the hanging shelf
- Drill, used for the cord holes in the shelf
- Parachute cord, used to hang the shelf
- Bambu Lab X1 Carbon 3D printer, used for the matching glow-in-the-dark name letters
Why This One Mattered
A new baby in the family deserved something made for his room, not pulled off a store shelf. This sign keeps the first facts of his life on display in the colors his parents chose.
This design is available to order with your baby's details. See the dinosaur birth announcement listing.
Pair it with a set of custom 3D printed name letters, or contact us about other colors, animals, or sizes.