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Electric Fireplace Teardown Tutorial

Check out  my test project: I upgraded an electric fireplace to use programmable lights and WLED. These fancy LED fireplaces are appearing in homes all over the place. I’ve seen them at State Fairs and home shows, and they’re a great alternative to standard fireplaces, with heat and light built in. They’re efficient and beautiful, but not quite perfect — I found this one free in a neighbor’s…

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Teddy Ruxpin Hacking: Making a Custom Animatronic Toy with Personalized Voices

I just published my latest guide on the Adafruit Learning system: I hacked a Teddy Ruxpin doll from 2017 and turned him into a talking Figment the Dragon doll, with personalized voices and stories for my baby nieces. This was a really fun project! Come Dream with Me Tonight…Teddy Ruxpin is a very cool animatronic talking teddy bear toy, originally from the 1980s and re-released in 2017. Kids…

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Tutorial: LED Water Drip Illusion Dress with NeoPixels and Arduino

Check my latest tutorial on the Adafruit Learning System. I built a dress using NeoPixel LEDs and Arduino code by Phil Burgess: the amazing Oozemaster 3000 code. This code does a mind-blowing job of mimicking the way water flows, oozes, and drips, so this dress creates the illusion that water is constantly glowing and flowing over me. This guide builds on Phil Burgess’ Oozemaster 3000 guide,…

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Tiki Oasis 2023 Performances - Jellyfish Art and Mermaid Glimmer

Exciting news! We will be exhibiting art and performing at the Tiki Oasis convention in San Diego on August 2-6 2023. Tiki Oasis is the original and largest Tiki event in the world. Tiki Oasis proudly brings to San Diego five nights and four days of live music, dancing, pool lounging, sunset dinners, disc jockeys, educational seminars, a bustling Marketplace of over 150 artists and makers,…

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Make a Magic AI Storybook from an Old Book with ChatGPT

‘I wonder,’ he said to himself, ‘what’s in a book while it’s closed. Oh, I know it’s full of letters printed on paper, but all the same, something must be happening, because as soon as I open it, there’s a whole story with people I don’t know yet and all kinds of adventures, deeds and battles. And sometimes there are storms at sea, or it takes you to strange cities and countries. All those things…

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The CircuitPython Show Podcast with Erin St Blaine

Last month I was interviewed by Paul Cutler, the producer of the Circuit Python Show. The podcast is all about CircuitPython, it’s development, use, and growth. The podcast went live on July 19. You can listen here: EPISODE DESCRIPTION Erin St. Blaine joins the show and shares where she finds inspiration, advice for starting Neopixel projects, diffusion tips and tricks, and more. 00:33 Erin’s…

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Light-up Jellyfish Umbrella Tutorial with WLED

I’ve got a new tutorial up at Adafruit.com: make a jellyfish umbrella with lots of animated lights and WLED. This is a pretty easy build, with spectacular results. The lights are easy to control with WLED, a free and open-source web app that allows you to control your lights over Wifi with your phone. Full tutorial link is here:…

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Original Tron Costume Build with Reflective HTV

I recently got hired by Theme Dream Productions to create and wear a Tron costume. They specifically wanted the original 80s Tron look, and while there are a lot of Tron Legacy costumes available online, the original 80s themed ones are hard to find. After a little research, I decided to build this using reflective HTV (heat transfer vinyl). The Tron costumes glow, and I considered using EL…

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NeoPixel LED Diffusion: Tips and Tricks Tutorial

  I get a lot of questions from folks who are new to the world of LEDs asking what kind of diffusion materials are best for NeoPixels or other addressable LED projects. This isn’t just a newbie question either: LED Electronics makers are constantly searching for new ideas about diffusion. Every project is different, and there are so many material choices available. The products range from really…

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Erin St Blaine Featured in Redfin

Check out the recent Redfin article we were featured in: Decorating your apartment with art can add personality and warmth to your living space, but it can be daunting when you’re worried about losing your security deposit. Luckily, there are many creative ways to incorporate artwork into your home without causing any damage. From temporary wall decals to cleverly displayed collections, this…

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I’m delighted to announce my latest project – a Chinese Dragon Puppet with Motion-Reactive Flame Effect tutorial, now available on the Adafruit Learning System. This tutorial is perfect for newbies to programming and building stuff with LEDs. It’s a pretty simple project with just a little soldering, and I’ve done a thorough walkthrough of how to build your motion-reactive code and LED animations…

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Make a Glowing 3d Printed Heart of TeFiti Moana Necklace - Easy Tutorial

Bring the magic of the movie Moana to life with this DIY Heart of Te Fiti necklace tutorial. This tutorial will guide you through the process of creating a glowing Heart of Te Fiti necklace using Adafruit’s nOOds – flexible LED filaments and a coin cell battery. These nOOds are a simple yet effective way to add a touch of magic to any costume piece. Whether you 3D print your own necklace or…

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Tutorial: Light-up Message Cufflinks with NeoPixel LEDs

Check out my newest tutorial: NeoPixel Novelty Cufflinks with scrolling text. Full tutorial: https://learn.adafruit.com/neopixel-novelty-cufflinks-with-scrolling-text/overview In this tutorial, we’ll show you how to make your very own Neopixel Novelty Cufflinks using Adafruit’s QT Py RP2040 and a NeoPixel 5×5 BFF add-on. This project is easy enough for beginners with just a little soldering and a…

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Elsewhere Magic & Variety Show - February 26 at 11, 1, and 3pm in Sacramento

    Our kid’s show in January was a sold-out success! We had so much fun that we’re doing it again. Come on out on February 26 to the Geery Theater in Sacramento for a fantastic show. We have lots more tickets available this time, with showtimes at 11 am, 1 pm and 3 pm. Get your tickets now! Limited Discounted family packs are available but will sell out, so don’t wait! This is a great chance to…

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Cafe Xocolatl Cacao Pod Lampshades

Cafe Xocolatl Cacao Pod Lampshades

There’s a new chocolate cafe in Sacramento! Cafe Xocolatl serves cacao, coffee and tea, and chocolate from around the world. The owners at Cafe Xocolatl wanted beautiful lighting in their new retail space that evoked the cacao culture. I was commissioned to come up with some ideas, and we settled on pendant lamps that look like cacao pods. Natural cacao pods are beautiful, with lovely organic…

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Tutorial: Add Lights to your Costume with Adafruit nOOds - Little Noodles of Light

Tutorial: Add Lights to your Costume with Adafruit nOOds – Little Noodles of Light

I just published my latest tutorial over on the Adafruit Learning System: Add Lights to your Costume with nOOds nOOds are pretty cool. They’re little silicone-coated LED strands that are super flexible and really easy to use. They work just like an LED: connect one end to power and one to ground, and they light up and glow. They come in different colors and a couple different lengths. They’re…

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Jellyfish Lanterns Light Sculpture Installation

Jellyfish Lanterns Light Sculpture Installation