Sparkle starry night - etextiles mixed media by Mimi Leinbach
 
 
 

 

Mimi makes some pretty wonderful mixed-media scrapbooking projects, and we were delighted that she would put some Sparkle in a couple of her projects.

The stars at the top of the house have holes punched to let the lights from Sparkle and leds shine through. We used a variety of led colors (white, blue, pink), and the program is simply (always (twinkle 2)). (I gotta say, I love being able to write a tiny bit of program that can have a wonderful little effect).


Ingredients:
  • One mini-canvas
  • drafting and painting supplies
  • One Sparkle kit


This time, rather than attach Sparkle directly unto the canvas, we sewed to a white sheet of felt, which is then then stuffed between the canvas and frame from behind.

Follow the instructions on the Sparkle tutorial to learn how to attach all the pieces together. Two differences: we used a plastic battery holder instead of the adhesive dots, and we added an on/off switch (which is not really needed since Sparkle can go to sleep).

First, draw an outline of your project.
Keep in mind the frame is pretty thick, so you won't have the entire canvas for Sparkle components.


 
Next, follow the steps on the Sparkle tutorial to see how you'd connect all the electronic pieces.


You can paint over all the LED boards and Sparkle board, leaving just the actual LED lights exposed. The tiny red-light and touch strip on Sparkle are not painted over, so you can reprogram it later.

The conductivity of the thread doesn't seem to have been affected by the paint, but if you're worried, you can put a bit of masking tape on the connections before painting over them.


 
 

And that's all it takes. Now point your painting at the Programming page to change how you want it to behave.