Fairy LED Bracelet

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Contributors: Feldi
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Introduction

In this project, we’ll create a wearable bracelet using Fairy LED String Lights and a rechargeable LiPo Battery cast in resin.

Design and build time: 30 minutes — 1 hour
Resin drying time: 24 hours

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Suggested Reading

If this is your first electronics project, we recommend reviewing the following tutorials.

How to Solder: Through-Hole Soldering

This tutorial covers everything you need to know about through-hole soldering.

What is a Circuit?

Every electrical project starts with a circuit. Don't know what a circuit is? We're here to help.

Battery Technologies

The basics behind the batteries used in portable electronic devices: LiPo, NiMH, coin cells, and alkaline.

How to Power a Project

A tutorial to help figure out the power requirements of your project.

Light-Emitting Diodes (LEDs)

Learn the basics about LEDs as well as some more advanced topics to help you calculate requirements for projects containing many LEDs.

Electric Power

An overview of electric power, the rate of energy transfer. We'll talk definition of power, watts, equations, and power ratings. 1.21 gigawatts of tutorial fun!

Polarity

An introduction to polarity in electronic components. Discover what polarity is, which parts have it, and how to identify it.

How to Use a Multimeter

Learn the basics of using a multimeter to measure continuity, voltage, resistance and current.

Materials and Tools

The following shopping list includes the supplies from SparkFun that you'll need to follow along at home.

You Will Also Need:

Understanding the Circuit

This project is an example of a basic circuit – an electrical loop that travels from a power source along a path (called a trace) to a component (or components) that uses the electricity to function and then back to the power source. For our project, we’ll use an LED (Light-Emitting Diode). When this loop is completed by connecting the battery to the LED leads, electricity from the power source is able to flow from the positive (+) side of the battery through to the LED (lighting it up) and back to the negative (–) side of the battery. This electric flow is called current.

LEDs, like many electronic components have polarity, meaning electric current can only flow through them in one direction. That means that it matters which LED lead is connected to the positive ( + ) side of the battery and which is connected to the negative ( - ) side. If hooked up incorrectly, they will not light up. The batteries are also polarized; they have a positive and negative side. Always check the to make sure your LED leads are correctly oriented before soldering together a circuit. You can test this by simply trying one side and then the other or by using a multimeter.

Putting It Together

STEP 1:

Start by sanding down the leads on the Fairy String LEDs. If you haven’t already, you will need to snip away any hardware that might have come with them to adapt to a wall or battery source.

sanding

STEP 2:

Place the LiPo Battery in the Silicone Mold, followed by the string of lights. Make sure you keep the sanded LED leads and LiPo connector out of the mold.

inserting 1

inserting 2

STEP 3:

Fill the mold up with as much glitter as it will hold. (This is optional. If you don’t like or want glitter, skip this step!)

glitter

STEP 4:

Following the instructions on the packaging, pour the Epoxy mix into the mixing cup and use a paper clip to mix it together. Mix slowly as to avoid making air bubbles.

mix

STEP 5:

Pour the mixed Epoxy into the bracelet mold, setting all your electronic parts and glitter inside of the bracelet.

pour

STEP 6:

After 24 hours, remove the bracelet from the mold.

remove

STEP 7:

Find the + and - lead by using a multimeter or power source, and then solder on a JST connector accordingly.

solder

STEP 8:

Finally, insert your LiPo connection into the soldered JST connector, and enjoy the light!

power

enjoy

Resources and Going Further

Want more e-crafting fun? Check out these similar projects for inspiration!

Let It Glow Holiday Cards

Craft a glowing card for friends and family this holiday season with paper circuits - no soldering required!

LilyTiny Plush Monster

Craft a stuffed monster while exploring the LilyTiny preprogrammed microcontroller. This is a project based on the Plush Monster Activity created at MIT's High-Low Tech Lab by Emily Lovell, Jie Qi, and Natalie Freed.

LilyPad Basics: Powering Your Project

Learn the options for powering your LilyPad projects, LiPo battery safety and care, and how to calculate and consider power constraints on your projects.

SparkFun Paper Circuit Kits

Learn how to build a simple paper circuit using copper tape, a 5mm LED, and a 3V coin cell battery.