Hey! Hope you had a good Halloween. I’m going to try to write this as fast as possible, as I really should be working. I was going to do this as a tutorial, but instead it will only be tutorial-ish.

Awhile back I bought a ton of LEDs in different colors to make a sign from a kit that I got from EvilMadScientist.com. Someone posted a cool tutorial on how to make hanging ghosts with light up eyes via LEDs.

I borrowed that idea and made some Halloween decorations an hour before it got dark this past Friday. Here’s some of the materials I started with:

I used large (10mm?) green and yellow LEDs, and some ping pong balls as diffuses. Don’t forget the large stuffed Homer Simpson, a Batman mask, rubber cat, and some coffee to keep you moving quickly (as it will get dark fast).

First, I drew some Simpson-esque pupils on 2 ping pong balls.

Take some 3V lithium watch batteries (I used CR2032 from Rat Shack) and stick them between the leads of the LEDs to light ‘em up.

I used mailing tape to hold the leads tight to the batteries. Then, I cut a cross with a utility knife in the back of the ping pong balls, and stuffed the LEDs inside. They sort of lock in and stay pretty well without any glue or tape.

I stuck these through the eye holes on a batman mask, and taped the leads and batteries inside with duct tape. Here’s Homer hanging on the door with the mask (click for full size):

Then I proceeded to abuse this rubbery cat:

I carefully cut out his eyes with a utility knife (sorry kitty!):

I saved the area I cut out, held it over another ping pong ball, and cut a piece slightly larger to use as a diffuser:

I pulled out some of the foam from the eye hole to make some room. I made 2 more LED/battery thingamawhatsits, and stuffed them in the eye holes. I then worked the diffuser into the opening, and positioned it so it would look light it belonged there. Here’s the cat when I finished slicing and dicing him up:

It was hard to get good shots of them lit up, but here’s what I was able to capture:

Here they are from a distance:

Cya.