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New Guide: Make Your Own Cosplay Fireball Props with Motion Sensing

Cosplay Fireball

Check out the latest tutorial from Erin St. Blaine: make a magical floating fireball prop for your Cosplay character. A snap of the wrist makes the LED flames flare up brightly! This is a fun beginner project, with no soldering required. The code is done in Microsoft MakeCode, with a drag-and-drop code block editor, so it’s easy to change colors or animation triggers.

From the guide:

Complete your cosplay with this Magical Item: a floating fireball that flares up at your command. Whether you’re portraying Kael’thas Sunstrider from WoW or trading flaming shots with Super Mario and Luigi, this fireball will push your outfit over the top. This is a very easy project, with no soldering required. The Circuit Playground board makes motion-sensing programmable lights a snap. Customize your colors and your animation speed with Microsoft MakeCode’s drag-and-drop code editor. You’ll be stopped for so many photos that you’ll never make it to that panel discussion at DragonCon.

Full tutorial: https://learn.adafruit.com/cosplay-fireball-prop-with-motion-sensing/

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Adafruit Weekly Editorial Round-Up: NPR Talks to 6 Marchers from the 1963 March On Washington, CLUE Rock, Paper, Scissors Game using Bluetooth & more!

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ADAFRUIT WEEKLY EDITORIAL ROUND-UP

We’ve got so much happening here at Adafruit that it’s not always easy to keep up! Don’t fret, we’ve got you covered. Each week we’ll be posting a handy round-up of what we’ve been up to, ranging from learn guides to blog articles, videos, and more.

BLOG

NPR Talks to 6 Marchers from the 1963 March On Washington

We’re very thanks to the folks at NPR and to A. Peter Bailey, Courtland Cox, Sondra Hassan, Todd Endo, Daniel Serwer, and Edith Lee-Payne for sharing their experiences and memories. Read more.

More BLOG:

LEARN

CLUE Rock, Paper, Scissors Game using Bluetooth

This project features three versions of a rock, paper, scissors game in CircuitPython. The first is a very simple, single-player text game showing the basic logic of the game. The second is a two-player game using Bluetooth Low Energy advertising to exchange the players’ choices. The third is a multi-player game building on the foundation of the second version, adding displayio graphics and sound. It has been tested with six players and potentially can work with far more. Read more.

More LEARN

Browse all that’s new in the Adafruit Learning System here!

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New Guide: Minecraft Inspired Epoxy Resin Torch Lamp with Touch Control

Check out the newest project tutorial from Erin St. Blaine: make an epoxy resin Minecraft-inspired torch lamp. This lamp has a strand of warm white fairy lights embedded right into the resin, making a lovely starry glow effect. Adding a Circuit Playground Express underneath powers up the lamp with 10 programmable NeoPixel LEDs. The included MakeCode downloadable code makes the lamp flicker like a torch for a really beautiful ambient lighting effect.

From the guide:

Make your own custom Minecraft-inspired Torch lamp from epoxy resin. Embed a strand of fairy lights inside, and set it on top of a Circuit Playground Express. The onboard NeoPixel lights provide a lovely, flickery torch effect. This gorgeous lamp glows from the inside out.

Add a piece of shiny copper tape to the base, and you can change light modes with a touch of your finger. Capacitive touch control is just like magic!

We’ve provided a simple 3d printable base model, or you can get creative and design your own display mount. We made ours look like Viking Dragon Ships to go with our Dragon Wall Sconce, and now we sail into sleep at night with fiery dragonish gargoyles watching over us.

Learn to make your own Resin Torch Lamp here: https://learn.adafruit.com/epoxy-resin-torch-lamp-with-touch-control-3d-printed-base

 

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NEW GUIDE: Alien Xenomorph Halloween Candy Bucket with CPX & MakeCode #adafruit

Why roam around with a boring pumpkin bucket when you can collect delicious candy with a robotic Xenomorph head? This NEW GUIDE takes you through the process of turning an ordinary halloween candy bucket into a terrifying robotic alien head.

This robotic candy bucket shoots out a small receptacle to retrieve candy and bring it back into the bucket.

Learn how to build your own Xenomorph on the Adafruit Learn System!

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Adafruit Weekly Editorial Round-Up: September 15th to September 21st, Celebrating the Adafruit Discord Community, National Hispanic Heritage Month, All the Internet of Things – Ep. 5 and more!

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ADAFRUIT WEEKLY EDITORIAL ROUND-UP

We’ve got so much happening here at Adafruit that it’s not always easy to keep up! Don’t fret, we’ve got you covered. Each week we’ll be posting a handy round-up of what we’ve been up to, ranging from learn guides to blog articles, videos, and more.

BLOG

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14,000 THANK YOUs! Celebrating 14,000 members in the Adafruit Discord Community!

Together as a community, we reached over 14,000+ humans thank you! We share projects, coordinate events, make new friends, build open-source together like CircuitPython, we’ve worked really hard to make this a special place for everyone to share their projects, code, and things they make.

Join today! https://adafru.it/discord

Check out the full post here!

More BLOG:

Keeping with tradition, we covered quite a bit this past week. Here’s a kinda short nearing medium length list of highlights:

Learn

Magical Cardboard Craft Obsidian Sword

This guide takes you through the process of creating your own fantasy weapon that begins to glow as soon as you pick it up.

The design for this sword is taken from the Cartoon Network animated series ‘Steven Universe’.

See the full guide here!

More LEARN:

Browse all that’s new in the Adafruit Learning System here!

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Adafruit Weekly Editorial Round-Up: August 25th – August 31st, Device Simulator Express for Circuit Playground Express and More!

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ADAFRUIT WEEKLY EDITORIAL ROUND-UP

We’ve got so much happening here at Adafruit that it’s not always easy to keep up! Don’t fret, we’ve got you covered. Each week we’ll be posting a handy round-up of what we’ve been up to, ranging from learn guides to blog articles, videos, and more.

BLOG

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Meet Device Simulator Express, #PythonSim a @MSFTGarage project, built by Garage interns that makes it easier to program the @adafruit Circuit Playground Express in #Python, with or without a physical device

OK! Big news! Meet Device Simulator Express, a Microsoft Garage project, built by Garage interns that makes it easier to program the Adafruit Circuit Playground Express in Python / CircuitPython, with or without a physical device!

This summer 16 groups of Garage interns tackled interesting engineering challenges ranging from making apps more accessible to VR solutions for cybersecurity. One of them was sponsored by the Python Tools for AI team and electronics paragon Adafruit to and set out to make programming embedded solutions for IoT devices simpler and more available to a broader audience.

Check out the full post here!

More BLOG:

Keeping with tradition, we covered quite a bit this past week. Here’s a kinda short nearing medium length list of highlights:

Learn

Anatomical 3D Printed Beating Heart with MakeCode

This 3D printed heart beats rhythmically, powered by a servo motor and a Circuit Playground Express board connected to a potentiometer, which allows the user to increase or decrease the heart rate.

See the full guide here!

More LEARN:

Browse all that’s new in the Adafruit Learning System here!

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2019 #BackToSchool Guide: Projects for Students

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Going #BackToSchool isn’t all about shopping, it’s also about lesson planning, making plans, plans to make, and all that good stuff. What are you and your students going to get up to this year? We’ve added a ton of new guides this year to our Learn System – browse below for a few of our favorite classroom projects.

CIRCUIT PLAYGROUND PROJECTS

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Circuit Playground Lesson #0 – The first step on your electronics journey

Gone are the days where you need thousands of dollars of equipment and lots physics/math background. Nowadays, if you want to learn to work with electronics, you can jump right in for $20 or less, and any sort of computer. And we’re talking about learning a lot of electronics – from the basics of analog to the complexities of firmware. With a good pack of parts, you can build a base of knowledge that will take you from your first blinking LED to someone who can start prototyping and inventing custom products.

Learn More

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Sound Activated Shark Mask – Shark mask that starts chomping in response to your voice!

A little cardboard goes a long way. This DIY cardboard shark mask turns the wearer into a fearsome creature from the deep. Using the small microphone on the Circuit Playground Express board, this mask is able to detect loud sounds and start chomping its mouth in response.

Easy project for people who are new to coding and electronics, or anyone who loves cardboard construction.

Learn More

Interactive Map with Circuit Playground Express – Create a map that plays audio clips when different areas of the map are touched

This project shows how to make a talking map, allowing the history contained within a map to be tangible and interactive.

Using conductive paint, a Circuit Playground Express can be connected to different points on a map and provided with short audio clips to play when those areas on the map are touched.

Learn More

MAKECODE GUIDES

Circuit playground Fabric Friend

MakeCode Course for Circuit Playground Express – Make and learn with this course on MakeCode and Circuit Playground Express

This is a project based course on Making with the Circuit Playground Express and Microsoft MakeCode. This course introduces the Making process and has guided maker projects which combine creative activities with coding.

Learn More

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Circuit Playground Express Spinner Game in MakeCode – Create a fun game of chance with MakeCode and Circuit Playground Express

Create a fun spinner game with Circuit Playground Express and MakeCode. Press a button on the Circuit Playground to make animated lights and sounds that help you choose between options.

Learn More

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Wind Blowing Emoji Prop – Blow on this Circuit Playground Express-powered puffy cloud to light it up!

Ever wanted to cosplay as the Wind Blowing emoji but didn’t feel like you could pull it off without an interactive, light up cloud prop? Then this is the project for you! No more excuses, go out and build that costume, and add this simple prop!!

Learn More

BASIC (BUT IN A GOOD WAY)

Raspberry Pi Zero Stand – Simple Stand for Pi Zero

Display your Pi Zero on your desk with this simple yet useful stand. 3D prints in one piece and doesn’t require any supports. It features mounting holes for securing a Pi Zero. A hole in the stand allows for wires to pass through for USB power and peripherals.

Learn More

Stop Motion Animation – How to get started making your own animated stop motion films!

Stop motion animation is lots of fun to watch, and maybe even more fun to make! Using a tablet or smartphone with inexpensive or even free software, it’s very easy to make your own stop motion films.

Learn More

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Adafruit Weekly Editorial Round-Up: July 14th – July 20th

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ADAFRUIT WEEKLY EDITORIAL ROUND-UP

We’ve got so much happening here at Adafruit that it’s not always easy to keep up! Don’t fret, we’ve got you covered. Each week we’ll be posting a handy round-up of what we’ve been up to, ranging from learn guides to blog articles, videos, and more.

BLOG

NewImage

13,000 THANK YOUs! Celebrating 13,000 members in the Adafruit Discord Community!

Together as a community, we reached over 13,000+ humans thank you! We share projects, coordinate events, make new friends, build open-source together like CircuitPython, we’ve worked really hard to make this a special place for everyone to share their projects, code, and things they make.

Join today! https://adafru.it/discord

Check out the full post here!

More BLOG:

Keeping with tradition, we covered quite a bit this past week. Here’s a kinda short nearing medium length list of highlights:

LEARN

NeoTrellis Sound Board

Use an Adafruit Feather M4 and Prop-Maker FeatherWing to make a portal NeoTrellis soundbox! Play and trigger motion activated audio samples with CircuitPython. Build and assemble the 3D printed enclosure to make your own with built-in speaker and rechargeable battery!

See the full guide here!

More LEARN:

Browse all that’s new in the Adafruit Learning System here!