Keep On Making It - August 2020

Lori and I #KeepOnMakingIt every month with a new creative challenge. 

Natasha's Challenge: Combine Technology + Nature

I hacked my solar powered garden lights and created this mini terrarium scene of the cabin that Matt and I rented last year. 

The trees and roof are made from the pine cones that we picked up on that trip! When night falls, the cabin lights up, the fireflies start flashing, and the fire flickers!

There's something I love about putting a solar-powered circuit inside a Terrarium. It's a circuit powered by the sun, just like the plants that are typically in a terrarium, so it's almost like the circuit itself is alive. :)

Process Video:

More Process Photos:

My solar-powered fairy lights were adorable while they lasted - they would charge all day in the sun and then light up for an hour or two when it got dark. After a few years of being outside, the lights rusted and stopped working, but the solar panel case remained in-tact.

I kept the panel and case "in case" I wanted to use it for another project - and this is it!

The circuit board inside uses the solar cell to charge two rechargeable batteries and when the solar cell isn't receiving light (for example, when It gets dark) it switches to using the collected charge in the battery to power the fairy lights.

If you want to make a project like this but don't have my exact model, don't worry! This is a common circuit found in many solar-powered lights for the garden. They charge all day and light up at night - I've even seen similar lights at the dollar store, so look out for the opportunity to pick one up for cheap and see what's inside!

Lori's Challenge: Make something monochromatic

Lori made an adorable pair of shoes - Check out her project on Instagram!