Make a light up flower garden with a button

This tutorial shows how to make a light up flower garden with long tail LEDs and conductive tape. It uses a foam button for the switch and is powered by a 5V to 3V step down buck converter.

VIDEOFlowerButton

Decorative: LEDs laid out in the shape of an M

Material

  • Board
  • Conductive Tape
  • Long tail LED
  • USB Cable buck converter
  • Scissors
  • Wire Strippers
  • Glue or Hot Glue
  • Vynal
  • Material
  • Lace
  • Pom Pom
  • Glitter foam
  • Chenille stick/pipe cleaners
  • Rubber bands
  • Craft Butterflies
  • Button Stickers

Decorative: LEDs laid out in the shape of a long I

Instruction

  • Prepare the space by placing a line of conductive tape across the top and bottom of a board, and then down the side, leaving two gaps
  • One gap will be for the battery connection using the USB cable and alligator clips.
  • The other gap is for the button, which will connect the two sections to allow electricity to flow.
  • Attach the button, ensuring it is securely in place.
  • Flatten the longtail LED wires and strip the ends.
  • Attach the LEDs at different heights using small pieces of conductive tape, ensuring the red wires are at the top and black wires at the bottom.
  • Connect the alligator clips, placing the red clip at the top and the black clip at the bottom
  • Press the button to ensure the lights turn on.
  • Decorate by using textured materials to build layers with grasses and plant material representations.
  • Add three light-up flowers, securing materials with hot glue or white glue.
  • Decorate with various materials like pipe cleaners, pre-cut flowers, butterflies, and pom poms for a balanced composition.
  • Test the lights again by pressing the button to see the flowers light up. Voilà! Now you have your light-up flowers.
Decorative: LEDs laid out in the shape of a P

Problem Solving

  • Make sure that the positive and negative side are not touching
  • Make sure that the positive clip is to the red wires and the negative clip is to the black wires
  • The foam on the button needs to be short enough that a connection is made with the conductive tape on the board but needs to be lifted clear when not pressed