Make your own Christmas gifts

LED lit video game photo frame

Materials:

Photo frame with stand/hook to hang up.

RGB LED strip with power supply.

Clear transparent plastic sheet.

Plain paper and colour printer.

Difficulty: medium.

Approx. cost: £20 (excluding printer).

I'm sure most of us have favourite scenes from the video games we've played so why not frame a scene from a video game and add some RGB lighting for that extra touch? You don't have to limit yourself to taking screenshots from a game in action, you can also use ready made digital wallpaper that features high resolution imagery and print that off to be used in the frame. Here is the LED lit frame I made:

When you have chosen the scene that you want for the frame, print it on paper using the highest quality settings and to fit the inner part of the frame. Remove the back from the photo frame, put the printout up against the glass and hold the paper in place by using a transparent plastic sheet cut so it fits tightly behind the paper. Next, the LED strip needs to be stuck to the inside edges of the frame using the provided adhesive tape such that the LED's are pointing inward rather than toward the frame's front. The LED strip will need to be cut to size and this is where it can get tricky as usually you can only cut at set intervals so you may have to have an unused part of the strip that is blanked off with heatshrink. You'll need a way for power to get to the LED's strips so if need be cut a hole in the photo frame back for the power cord to exit. With the back on power up and you should see the lights illuminate the edges of the frame's front.

PlayStation 1 music card case

Materials:

PS1 case that holds 2 discs.

Birthday card recordable sound module.

Reed switch, magnet and wire.

Cardboard and colour printer.

Glue.

Soldering iron and solder.

Difficulty: hard.

Approx. cost: £25 (excluding printer and soldering iron).

It's common to come across birthday cards that when opened up play music or a personal message and this gift idea adds a retro feeling to that. As you will see below, without too much effort, the  PlayStation 1 case design at a glance wouldn't look out of place with actual game releases but when the case is opened you'll get a blast from the past as the original PS1 startup sound plays.

Here is the PS1 music card case:

Remove from the game case the manual, inserts and discs; I used a UK PS1 case from an existing game which was released on 2 discs. Using the graphic design software of your choice make up the front and back inserts which in my version has a PS1 logo on the front and a number of scenes from PS1 games for the back insert. Print out the designs on to card (I used 170gsm) using the existing inserts as reference and cut your printed out art to size, checking that they fit correctly in the case.

Next, record the PS1 startup sound using the sound module and when you are happy that it has been recorded correctly disconnect the record button and microphone. We need to put the sound module on the left side of the case when opened up in the area that holds the game disc (the disc tray) so first check if the circuit fits and is not higher than where the disc would be. For my sound module I had to remove the batteries and the metal pieces that held the batteries in to reduce the height of the circuit and then solder in external batteries with a simple voltage regulator. Once done you will need to solder the reed switch to wires which in turn connect between the batteries and the positive connection of the sound module circuit. This way, whenever a magnet is brought near to the reed switch the PS1 sound plays. Glue the sound module, batteries and reed switch into place with the reed switch positioned as close to the middle of the case as possible (that is, where the case is hinged). Hide the circuit by way of some more cool PS1 art on a piece of card stuck to the disc holder (you will probably need to remove some of the part that normally holds the disc in place).

On the other side take out the second disc tray, position and affix the magnet in line with the reed switch (off centre) at the case edge and test that the sound plays whenever the case is opened fully. Then you can put the disc tray back and rather than have it empty put your artistic skills to good use again by designing and printing to card a message, such as 'Merry Christmas', cut out as a CD size disc shape. As it can be difficult to cut the inner hole so that the card fits in the CD tray you may want to put something small over the inner hole that is already the correct size, such as a cardboard washer to disguise any unevenness in cutting.

Video game coloured bead objects

Materials:

Coloured, round beads.

Coloured cardboard.

Glue.

Scissors.

Wool scraps, various colours.

Difficulty: easy.

Approx. cost: £12.

Retro video games such as classic Pac-Man and Donkey Kong are as popular as ever; there is something almost magical about the pixelated design of those games. Using some coloured beads, rounded in this case, we can simulate those popular characters in their pixel glory and without breaking the bank. To see what can be achieved have a gander at this photo:

Start with the wooden box and work out if the stickers will fit evenly on the sides of the box otherwise they will have to be wrapped around some parts of the box, as above. Take a look online at a Minecraft grass block (you may want to print out some images) and place the stickers around the box (I left the inside blank although I did cover the bottom of the lid). You do not have to copy the grass block exactly from the game, just try to do a random design. The top (which is the lid) has mainly green stickers - light and dark green - with some green around the tops of the sides of the box. I mixed some white with the green on the top and the sides has a mixture of grey, pink, orange and brown. If you find some stickers don't adhere that well to the box then you will have to use some glue or double-sided tape.

All content of this and related pages is copyright (c) James S. 2017