Category: Electronics

Laser Dog Goggles Halloween Costume

Dress your dog up for Halloween! This project mods a pair of Doggles brand dog goggles with a swiveling laser diode for targeting all those ghouls and goblins lurking near ground level. After building these, your dog can be Terminator, Robo Cop, or, in my case, Tank Girl’s kangaroo boyfriend.

While this is a fairly simple electronics project suitable for intrepid novices, there are a few common sense safety considerations to keep in mind throughout:

  • Any battery-powered circuit is capable of burning your pet, but you can mitigate the risk of injury (but never completely eliminate it).
  • Protect batteries from a scratching paw with adhesive, fabric tape, or both. Mount batteries on the exterior components, never in direct contact with your pet’s face. Do not allow lipoly batteries to be abused and remove/discontinue use immediately if your battery is damaged.
  • Adhesives can give off fumes an should be completely dry (sometimes 24 hours or more) before going anywhere near your pet’s face, especially its eyes.
  • Never leave your pet unattended while wearing any costume. Observe for signs of discomfort.
  • While positive reinforcement with treats can help some pets aclimate to any costume, other pets may not tolerate wearing your project at all. Be ready to accept this fact, and don’t push the issue or abuse your pet!
  • Do not shine lasers directly into anyone’s eyes. The laser used in this project is relatively safe but could still cause eye damage if stared at for more than ~30 seconds. 

“Pfft, of course, I’ve thought of all these things and have a few more safety pointers, Becky!”

“That all makes sense to me and I would never put my pet in danger by forgetting to follow proper safety measures!”

Ok then, I think you’re ready to proceed.

Prerquisite Guides

Tools & Supplies:

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UV Manicure Lamp

If you’ve seen my videos or photos before, you already know I like to paint my nails. What you might not know is that it’s UV gel nail polish–  a different chemical formulation that’s more durable, flexible, and lasts much longer than the air-dry stuff.

And it doesn’t just look nice, it lets you do more stuff with your nails– open cans, pick at electronics, do the dishes– I like to call it “structural” nail polish. Without it, my long and useful nails would split and break under the pressures of everyday makin’ stuff.

But gel polish has to be cured in a UV lamp, which is something usually only nail salons have, or, like me, you buy one on Amazon and it takes up as much space as a large toaster oven and has to be plugged into the wall.

Doing your own gel manicure is easy if you have the right tools, dare I say even easier than standard polish because the different viscosity smooths out its own inconsistencies and once it’s cured, it’s completely dry.

It’s easy to whip up your own manicure lamp at home, and Noe Ruiz designed a 3D-printed enclosure for putting it all together. You will need:

To keep up with what I’m working on, follow me on YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and subscribe to my newsletter. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases you make using my affiliate links.

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Sunscreen Reminder Hat

Help remember to reapply your sunblock by building a reminder right into your hat! This sewable circuit uses a FLORA sewable microcontroller and its compatible UV index sensor to sense the sun and play a tune on a piezo buzzer when its time to refresh your SPF.

This is a good beginner project because it doesn’t have very many parts and requires no soldering. For this project you will need:

Before you begin, please check out the following prerequisite guides:

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Nautical LED Friendship Bracelet

Light up those warm nights at the beach or summer camp with this simple soft circuit bracelet.

We were inspired by Etsy’s nautical knot bracelet tutorial and when we read the word “rhinestones” we immediately substituted LEDs. Read on to stitch up your own illuminated friendship bracelet!

Supplies

For this project you will need:

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