Yes, it’s a cliché, but Christmas really is my favorite time of year. Despite the extra obligatory travel that I’ve experienced in a broken family, the Christmas season is usually the one time that everyone comes together (whether physically or via technology). I have so many silly “Christmas” traditions that I observe, too–like the 25 Days of Christmas Specials (I had that idea before ABC Family did), Merry Angstmas, Festivus, gluhwein, beignets–that it makes the whole season more of a month-long festival!
Kmart: “America’s Favorite Portrait Christmas Cards” (circa 1989)
This was back when the portrait card concept was still in its infancy.
2018 Hallmark Keepsake Nintendo Ornament Review
For a Very Special Element14 Christmas, I’ll be building a project using one of Hallmark’s Keepsake ornaments. But first, I’ve got to open them up and have a look at how they work. In this video, I’ll be unboxing as well as reviewing the Donkey Kong and Legend of Zelda 2018 Hallmark Keepsake ornaments, showing their functions, and giving my initial thoughts.
They’re sold out from Hallmark, but you can try the usual suspects: Amazon
Hallmark Donkey Kong Ornament Teardown
In my quest to make the World’s Smallest Donkey Kong Arcade Cabinet, I needed to tear down the 2018 Hallmark Keepsake Donkey Kong arcade cabinet Christmas tree ornament and see how I could use the shell to house my electronics. In this video, you’ll see the complete process (including a lot of trial and error) as well as what makes this “magic” ornament tick!
They’re sold out from Hallmark, but you can try the usual suspects:
Music by Anders Enger Jensen http://eox.no
Thrifting: Of Fairy Lights and Guitar Strings
I needed to pick up some fairy lights for a project, so off to the thrift shop!
Watch the complete Project Rankin
Music by Anders Enger Jensen
Project Rankin: A Retro-Commercial Holiday Ornament
A child of the hyper-consumerist 80s and 90s, Matt grew up on a steady diet of sugared cereal and UHF television. As such, his sense of nostalgia is driven as much by advertising trends of the era as it is by music or other sociological elements. This leads to an interesting relationship with the winter holiday season, where seasonally-themed television commercials hold as high a place in tradition as any carol, tree, or gift exchange. To celebrate this odd bit of seasonal nostalgia, Matt builds a retro-television-themed ornament from a Raspberry Pi that plays those magical commercials from his youth and is powered by a strand of holiday fairy lights!
Engage with the element14 presents team on the element14 Community – suggest builds, find project files and behind the scenes video: http://bit.ly/2MFMG0v
Holiday Fairy Christmas Light String Teardown
Teardown and exploration of how a string of fairy lights/Christmas lights/holiday lights works. Part of the Project Rankin series that intends to build a holiday ornament powered by the AC electricity in a light strand.
How An AC Adapter Works
As part of Project Rankin, I need to be able to convert 120VAC to a more usable 5VDC, so I’ll be using a ubiquitous wall wart. However, I want to keep it as clean and tidy as possible, so I need to wire the adapter directly into the project itself. While I’ve got the case off, I’ll walk through the basic components and how an AC adapter works.