3D Printed Neopixel and Trinket Necklace

I got an UP! Mini 3D printer for Christmas this year.  Wowza.  I'm SO excited.. I haven't stopped playing with it since just about the minute I unwrapped it and I'm having tons of fun.

I printed a mermaid seashell, then I printed Elsa's crown from Frozen which I found on Thingverse.  I'm such a girl.

I've been making necklaces lately (this LED Turtle necklace that I made as a Christmas gift is my favorite so far).  It's a challenge to fit all the electronics and the battery and microcontroller into a small enough package that sits comfortably around my neck, but I'm slowly getting the hang of it.

I decided I wanted to design and print a pendant that is just the right size for a neopixel ring and Trinket microcontroller, with enough space for a small rechargeable LiPo battery and a nice flat back that closes up and looks pretty.  The ABS plastic filament my printer uses diffuses light really nicely so I decided to try using multiple thicknesses to add interest and texture.

This is harder than you'd think.. I've never done 3D design before and it makes me think in ways I haven't had use since high school geometry.   But it's also much easier than you'd think because there are some awesome free tools out there that had me up and running in minutes.

I have been using Tinkercad and I like it so far.. I've got a lot to learn but after 5-10 different attempts I ended up with a pretty delightful 3-D Printable necklace enclosure.


It's got a hole for the USB port for charging.  It has another hole for the wires to come out at the top.  It has a front side which is rounded to hide the electronics and a back side which is flat and smooth against my neck when I wear it.  (next step will be to learn how to make them snap neatly together, but hey, give me a minute, it's only my first day).  It also has a pretty cutout pattern of lines and circles to diffuse the light in an interesting way.

I printed it out, then painted it gently with gold leaf paint to give it some sparkle and more definition.  The paint is opaque so it really brings out the design.

For the electronics, I'm using a Trinket 3v and a LiPo charger, both of which I removed the battery connectors from and soldered directly to the pads instead.  (Those little connectors are SO BIG when you stack them up!  The components stack quite neatly without them)

I'm using a 12 Neopixel Ring and a single LED from a Neopixel strip in the middle.  The code is my new favorite "Holiday Twinkle Lights" sketch using FastLED.  I made this one gold and white fairy lights since it looks so nice with the gold leaf paint.

I'm also using a magnetic clasp as an on/off switch, which seems to be my new favorite switch method for necklaces.  It's super elegant and clean.

I'm pretty proud of this!  My first 3D Printed Design Thing and it feels so professional and slick.  :) :)

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Nail Art!

Nails have always been extensions of our personalities and the nail polish that used to adorn them was not only as a form of expression but identification too especially where black nail polish was concerned- you would know someone is a rock star by spotting black nail polish. Before,  a perfect manicure entailed well shaped, clean and polished nails with a particular color to match an outfit or

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Dragonfly Faerie Ideas, Fabrics and Sketches

It all started with a button.

pretty pretty pretty button!

I found this button at the fabric store and it may be the most gorgeous, beautiful thing I think I've ever seen in my whole life.  I grabbed all they had.  They had three.

It's been sitting in the top of my button drawer, winking at me, for a week or two as I finished up the Steampunk Hoodie.  Finally, this morning, I turned my attention back to it and started dreaming, imagining, and designing outwards from the button.  Well, from the three buttons, actually.  (What on earth can I make with just three buttons?  I asked myself..)

It's gotta be faerie.  It's gotta be fancy.  It's gotta be iridescent and ornate and costume-y and it needs to be green.  With all that in mind, and a whisper of an idea that came to me while writing in my RealJournal, I headed to the Fabrics R Us in San Jose with my friend Miriam.

This place is *amazing*.   I have to be a little bit glad that it's a 20 minute drive from me.. close enough that I can go there when I need something special, but far enough away that I'm not over there every day.

They've got more fabric than you can shake a stick at.  Great prices.  And really unique and beautiful stuff.  We spent far too long wandering up and down the aisles, running our fingers over everything and doing the "ooooohh this is SO PRETTY" dance.  I took pictures.

I finally decided on a tie-dye green sparkle stretch velvet and an iridescent blue sheer.  Once I have the design hammered out a little more I will most likely go back for one of the incredible sequined overlay fabrics. 

It's going to become a fairy waistcoat dress.. similar in pattern to my Cigarette Girl costume.  Instead of tails, it will have folded dragonfly wings that dangle down the back.  There will be off-the-shoulder puffy sleeves, some purples and blues and greens combined into a wavy tattered skirt, and it's going to be made to accommodate my Fancy Fairy wings. 

Pretty fabric pictures!!  How will I ever choose? 

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Dark Green Forest Faerie Coat.. Creativity Strikes!

I went to Tahoe this week for two days.  Two blissful days of doing absolutely NOTHING, except I brought my new colored pencils (Thanks Santa!) and sketchbook.

For some reason, it always surprises me that creativity comes on so strongly as soon as all the stress in my day disappears.  (ya think?)   It hits like a lightning bolt, and sometimes then I just can't STAND not to create.

I drew this coat.  It's based on a couple of my other hoodies (it seems I have a "style"), but new in a few exciting  ways.

Someone I met at a Christmas Eve party loved my flower faerie hoodie and asked if I ever make longer stuff, which inspired me to give it a go.  I've never tried making a longer coat before and was a little nervous.. but it wasn't really that hard.  Just Make Everything Longer.  Hm.

I ran into another friend on Christmas day who was wearing an awesome sweater-with-attached-scarf.. and that idea's been bouncing around in my head ever since, so I decided to incorporate that.  The scarf is attached at the back of the neck and can be worn dangly in the front or back, or cinched up around the neck for extra coziness.  I LOVE this element!  It's so fun and whimsical and it adds so much to the design.


I did the same type of leaf-sleeves I've been using on just about EVERYTHING lately, and added the leaf motif to the pocket design too.. hands go in through the middle of the leaf.  I shopped around for fancy leafy buttons too, and decided at the end to go with magnetic snap/button thingies (SO COOL!) and decorate with leaf faux-buttons.

I just finished this coat.  I'm wearing it right now.  I'm really really happy with how it turned out.. I think I'm getting pretty good at this.  The one thing I'll probably change next time is the pockets.  The idea was stellar, the implementation a little odd.  I wanted them soft and fuzzy inside as they're just the right height for hand-warming, but making them out of a couple layers of fleece makes the hips of the coat poof out in a funny way.  Maybe it's just because the waist is so fitted that it looks a little funny.. if I loosen the lacing on the sides a bit it lays better.  Probably it's just me (I've got a pretty agro hourglass hip shape going on).  I'm going to be interested to see it on another model to see how it lays.

Better Pictures Soon!  I think I might get some good forest shots today.  :) :)

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Creativity is Loudest in the Morning - Ideas (So I don't forget them)

I've got this huge pile of fleece in my closet.  The last few hoodies I've made have been made using unusual fleece (peacock print) and the fleece itself both inspired, and limited, the hoodies.  You can't get too crazy with design, when the fleece itself is all crazy, or you end up with way too much extra crazy, and nobody wants that.

I've got ideas rolling around for some of the simpler colors.  I have some black and red patterned fleece that wants to be a Darth Maul hoodie, and this morning I got an idea for the brownish tie dye fleece.. it is wanting more and more to become and Adventurer Hoodie.

Adventurers. 19th Century explorers.. Amelia Earhart, Sir Richard Francis Burton, Lewis & Clark.  The opening sequence of the Pixar movie "Up".  The golden age of explorers is exciting to read about or think about, and the style is just so much fun.  In my head there are Indiana Jones-style maps with big dotted lines on them.. lots of brass rivets and grommets.. fur lined hoods and plentiful pockets for swiss army knives.. loops for carrying your ice axe.. sturdy metal zippers and fastenings everywhere because your life may someday depend on this garment you wear.

Hmmmm.. now, what did I do with my sketchbook?...

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